Envisioning a Visitor Center that Strengthens Civic Engagement
The Annex Project aims to strengthen civic engagement and pride in being a Californian. It offers the chance to plan what a day in the Capitol offers visitors to add to their understanding of California, their place in it, and how work done in the Capitol safeguards our common future, both at home and across the globe.
Can a visit to California’s People’s House inspire and connect visitors of all ages and abilities so they leave feeling excitement and pride about being a part of California and its hopeful, dynamic and inventive embrace of the future?
Each visit becomes a jumping off point to a lifetime of civic engagement.
There are at least four kinds of images/information which can help shape the experience of a day in the Capitol from beginning to end.
- California’s Natural Endowment, i.e., California’s beauty seen in its distinctive places and diverse people and social life;
- California History;
- Civic Education and Engagement; and
- California’s Global Brand.
By presenting information about California in ways that emphasizes how being a Californian makes one an heir of all this content, the center should promote an understanding of the visitor’s place in California. The aim is to inspire awe, appreciation and a greater sense of life connection to our state and government as visitors see themselves and their communities in the Capitol.
Re-Invigorate Historic Capitol Symbols
California’s Capitol and grounds are rich with exhibits of history and symbols conveying an understanding of the stature and significance of state government. The Capitol Annex Project, and specifically the Visitor Center, offers a chance to refresh some of these, highlighting their understanding of California government, and re-appropriating these ideas for their relevance to civic understanding and engagement. The following symbols tell stories of our government’s guiding principles.
