New exhibitions of American immigration to open in New York's Ellis Island museum

The Peopling of America Center at Ellis Island featuring exhibitions that chronicle immigration to America before the processing station at Ellis Island was opened in 1892 and after it was closed in 1954 will open to the public on May 20.

With the completion of the post-Ellis Island era exhibition, and the entire story of American immigration now being told, the Ellis Island Immigration Museum will be renamed the "Ellis Island National Museum of Immigration," and become the country's official museum chronicling all immigration from the colonial era to today.

"We are very excited to have developed with our partners at the National Park Service a museum that represents all eras of immigration to the United States," said Stephen Briganti, CEO and president of The Statue of Liberty-Ellis Island Foundation.

"The museum's transformation begins in the historic Baggage Room, which sets the stage for the centuries of immigration now featured," he said. "Visitors will first experience the interactive World Migration Globe, where they can trace patterns of movement throughout human history."

The new post-Ellis Island wing of the Peopling of America Center, called "The Journey: New Eras of Immigration," focuses on immigration from 1954 to the present time, and reflects the rapid pace of technological progress that has characterized migration since World War II and the challenges and opportunities faced by immigrants in the modern world.

Exhibits use dynamic media and interactive elements to display the post-war immigration movement and changing demographic trends over the decade. Film vignettes feature new immigrants sharing their first-hand accounts of arriving and living in America. Endi