Sunday, February 01 - Saturday, February 28, 2026
All Day
Included with admission. Visit this video installation near the historic site’s central rotunda to hear from prominent civil rights leaders who spoke and wrote from behind bars, using their voices to challenge oppression and inspire collective change.
Ask any staff member for more information.
We strive to make the penitentiary and our site, programs, and exhibits accessible to all visitors. Click here to learn more about accessibility and accommodations at ESPHS.
This program is part of A Time for Liberty: Our Shared History, Our Shared Future, a yearlong slate of free, inclusive programs exploring the evolving meanings of liberty and justice in America. A Time for Liberty is made possible with support from civic and cultural partners including the City of Philadelphia, America250PA, Campus250, the Philadelphia Funder Collaborative for the Semiquincentennial, the Philadelphia City Fund’s 2026 Milestone Grant Fund, supported by PECO, the National Trust Preservation Fund of the National Trust for Historic Preservation, and the National Endowment for the Humanities.
Any views, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this program series, do not necessarily represent those of the National Endowment for the Humanities.
This program is part of Finding Justice Month, a series of programs that invite visitors to explore how expression—through words, art, and music—has always been a natural and essential human right, even within spaces of confinement.
This program is part of Finding Justice: The Civil Rights Movement. Through storytelling, historical interpretation, and creative engagement, these programs highlight the voices and actions of those who fought for civil rights and challenged the nation to live up to its founding ideals.
Tuesday, September 08, 2026
5:30pm - 7:30pm
Free online and in-person. Join us for a conversation exploring Norway’s ""normality principle,” a groundbreaking approach to incarceration that prioritizes humanity and rehabilitation, and learn about ongoing efforts to replicate the model and research its impact through the Scandinavian Prison Project at SCI-Chester, a state correctional institution near Philadelphia.
Speakers include Michael Zaken, DCJ (Western Region Deputy Secretary, Pennsylvania Department of Corrections), Morgen Jaco (Deputy Commissioner of Restorative and Transitional Services, Philadelphia Department of Prisons), Stian Estenstad (Director, Network After Imprisonment—Norwegian Red Cross), Steven L. Chanenson, JD (Professor of Law & Faculty Director of the Girard-diCarlo Center, Villanova University), and Kevin Amir Bowman (CEO and Founder, Just Better Men; former resident of “Little Scandanavia” at SCI-Chester).
Tuesday, September 15, 2026
5:30pm - 7:30pm
Free online and in-person. In recognition of National Voter Registration Day, the Philadelphia City Commissioners' Office and the Eastern State Center for Justice Education are partnering to present a panel and networking event exploring voting rights and civic engagement for justice-involved individuals and all community members.
Moderated by Vanessa Caracoza (Deputy Executive Director, Philadelphia City Commissioners' Office). Panelists include Omar Sabir (Chairman, Philadelphia City Commissioners’ Office), William “Bill” Hart (Associate Director, Temple University—Office of Community Affairs and Engagement), Benjamin D. Geffen, J.D. (Senior Attorney, Public Interest Law Center), Assata Thomas (Executive Director, Division of Reentry—City of Philadelphia’s Office of Public Safety), and others to be announced.
Thursday, September 17 - Monday, September 21, 2026
All Day
This Constitution Day—and all week long—join us to reflect on the role of the First Amendment in securing freedom and liberty for all. Enjoy family-friendly, interactive programs that explore the power of journalism and art inside prisons and what free expression means for those who are not fully free. Image: Pyrrhic Defeat: A Visual Study of Mass Incarceration, © 2024, Mark Loughney. Presented in Collaboration by Mural Arts Philadelphia and Eastern State Penitentiary Historic Site.
Thursday, September 17, 2026
2:00pm - 3:00pm
Explore the history of the U.S. criminal justice system beginning with Eastern State Penitentiary, a revolutionary attempt at prison reform led by Benjamin Franklin and other Framers of the U.S. Constitution. Consider how founding ideals of liberty and freedom impacted—and continue to play a role in—justice reform today.
Moderated by Kerry Sautner, Ed.D. (President and CEO, Eastern State) and featuring Ashley T. Rubin, Ph.D. (Associate Professor of Sociology, University of Hawai'i at Mānoa), a leading scholar in U.S. carceral history and author of "The Deviant Prison: Philadelphia's Eastern State Penitentiary and the Origins of America's Modern Penal System."
Saturday, October 03, 2026
11:00am - 2:00pm
As part of a yearlong celebration of national firsts, join Eastern State for a full-day event exploring the history and legacy of America’s first penitentiary.
Tuesday, October 06, 2026
5:30pm - 7:30pm
Details to come, check back for updates.
Friday, October 09 - Monday, October 12, 2026
All Day
Details to come, check back for updates.
Tuesday, October 13, 2026
5:30pm - 7:30pm
Explore the complex legal story of religious freedom and the justice system, and unpack how it continues to unfold in courtrooms, prisons, and jails across the country today. Delve into notable rulings that protected the rights of incarcerated people to practice their faiths behind bars.
Speakers include Michael Moreland, J.D., Ph.D. (Professor of Law and Religion & Director of the Eleanor H. McCullen Center for Law, Villanova University) and others to be announced.
Sunday, October 25, 2026
3:00pm - 5:00pm
Free for kids in costume and their caregivers. No reservations necessary. Join us for some fall-themed family fun: trick-or-treating, scavenger hunt, story time, hands-on activities, art making, music, and more!
Friday, November 20, 2026
All Day
Details to come, check back for updates.
Tuesday, November 24, 2026
5:30pm - 7:30pm
Details to come, check back for updates.
Thursday, December 03, 2026
5:30pm - 7:30pm
Additional details to come, check back for updates. Join us for an evening that opens with a panel discussion and features live musical performances exploring how religious connection sustains people through incarceration.
Wednesday, December 09, 2026
2:00pm - 3:00pm
Details to come, check back for updates.