WASHINGTON, DC.- The Library of Congress will launch The Source: Where Curiosity Sparks Discovery, a first-of-its-kind experiential research gallery designed for children and teens ages 8 to 15 on May 9. The new gallery reimagines how young people connect with history, inviting them to explore the Library’s vast collections and to create their own meaning through hands-on discovery.

At its core, The Source introduces young people to how knowledge is created by engaging directly with the Library’s primary sources. Through interactive stations brimming with hundreds of collection items in text, image, sound and film formats, the gallery encourages critical thinking, media literacy, curiosity and creativity.

Seven years in the making, the 4,000-foot gallery on the ground floor of the Jefferson Building is a key component of the Library’s long-term plan to create an all-new visitor experience called A Library for You. The Source is meant to expand access to the Library’s vast holdings and make them relevant, engaging and meaningful to young people and their families and educators.

“The Source reflects the Library of Congress’ enduring commitment to expanding access to knowledge for all Americans. By inviting young people to explore history, creativity and discovery through immersive experiences, we are not only opening our collections, but we are also encouraging critical thinking and lifelong learning,” said Acting Librarian of Congress Robert R. Newlen.

Shari Werb,director of the Library’s Center for Learning, Literacy and Engagement and lead curator of the gallery, said The Source encourages young people to understand the value of using primary sources as they follow their curiosity as budding researchers, storytellers and creators.

“We know that young people have access to information everywhere, and we hope that through The Source they will develop tools to examine it critically and carefully — making research a lifelong practice,” Werb said.

Video kiosks will bring visitors face to face with librarian experts from various collections ranging from music to photographs to folklife. Visitors can follow a researcher’s journey through research boxes focused on myriad social, environmental and political topics, among others. One highlights the evolution of basketball, another explores what inspires cartoon artists, while another showcases the work of former National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature Meg Medina exploring New York life in the 1970s. Another shows youth adviser Caleb Sinnwell’s research into the Ghost Army, a U.S. Army unit tasked with battlefield deception tactics during World War II.

Blending hands-on exploration with primary sources, The Sources features reproductions of collection items organized in four color-coded immersive zones, one for each format: magenta for text, dark blue for images, yellow for sound and teal for film. Here are highlights of a few contents featured in each zone.

Text Zone

Visitors encounter rare books, manuscripts and historic newspapers and documents that reveal how ideas take shape through the written word.

• 40 manuscripts from collections housed in the Music Division, Manuscript Division, American Folklife Center and Veterans History Project. This includes presidential papers from Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln, and Teddy Roosevelt, among others.

• Bound volume of 50 front pages of newspapers from November 1897, representing then-current U.S. states and territories during the month when the Library’s Thomas Jefferson Building opened.

• 10 newspaper front pages covering historical events, including the Declaration of Independence, the Lincoln assassination, the end of World War II, and the 1969 Apollo 11 moon landing.

• Replica of a microfilm reader covering topics such as early U.S. history, the fight for women’s voting rights, and the Civil Rights Movement.

Image Zone

Visitors can explore history through photographs, prints, maps and illustrations – and create their own interpretations.

• 40 images that can be scanned on the investigation stations to explore in detail.

• 24 posters and 24 portraits featured in a flip book, including an 1895 poster of Harry Houdini and portraits of abolitionist Harriet Tubman and jazz trumpeter Louis Armstrong.

• 21 large format posters of sketches relating to historic landmarks such as the Statue of Liberty, the U.S. Capitol, and the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.

• 28 maps, including maps of Washington, D.C., and the world.

• Replica of a stereoscope viewer that produces a 3D effect from archival photographs.

Sound Zone

Visitors can explore recordings covering speeches, oral histories, music and environmental soundscapes.

• 50 sound samples available through hands-on listening stations.

• Oral histories from the Veterans History Project, highlighting firsthand narratives of those who served in the U.S. Armed Forces from World War I through the present.

• Broadcasts of historical events, including speeches by pioneering aviator Amelia Earhart, first lady and activist Eleanor Roosevelt, and a recording of legendary Major League Baseball outfielder Hank Aaron.

• Replica of a phonograph to play all the recording samples.

Film Zone

Visitors can explore moving images, from the early days of cinema to contemporary media, and view interactive exhibits about storytelling through the process of editing, framing and sequencing.

• 59 film examples, including clips of “The Wizard of Oz,” a 1926 Babe Ruth home run, and a woman working as an air traffic controller in Chicago in 1950.

• Three drawers with newsreels, documentaries, ads and promos, documenting discoveries, elections, wars, and other milestones in history.

• Replica of a projector to play all examples.