Philadelphia museum adds Ukrainian audio tour for Declaration exhibition

Overview

Updated 1 hour ago

Visitors to the Museum of the American Revolution in Philadelphia can now take a Ukrainian-language audio tour of The Declaration’s Journey. The museum launched the guide on Oct. 22, becoming the first institution in Philadelphia to offer a Ukrainian-language exhibition audio tour.

The guide is part of a program led by Ukraine’s first lady, Olena Zelenska, that has placed 125 Ukrainian-language audio tours in 59 countries. The exhibition includes Ukraine’s 1991 Act of Declaration of Independence alongside more than 120 artifacts from 50 lenders.

Why it matters

The tour puts Ukrainian alongside six other languages at a founding-era U.S. museum, extending Ukraine’s cultural diplomacy into American civic space.

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Key Indicators

125

Ukrainian audio guides worldwide

Part of Zelenska’s initiative as of the museum’s launch.

Countries with at least one guide

The program places Ukrainian narration at cultural and historical sites abroad.

First in Philadelphia

The museum is the first Philadelphia institution to offer a Ukrainian-language exhibition audio tour.

U.S. institutions with Ukrainian guides

Voice of America reported the museum is the fifth U.S. institution to add one.

Voices

Curated perspectives — historical figures and your fellow readers.

People Involved

Olena Zelenska

First Lady of Ukraine

Leads the global Ukrainian-language audio guide initiative

Denys Sienik

Chargé d’Affaires a.i. of the Embassy of Ukraine to the United States

Spoke at the Oct. 22 launch

Iryna Mazur

Honorary Consul of Ukraine in Philadelphia; President of the Ukrainian Federation of America

Helped bring the guide to the museum

Dr. Tyler Putman

Senior Manager of Gallery Interpretation, Museum of the American Revolution

Spoke at the launch

Organizations Involved

Museum of the American Revolution

History museum

Launched the first Ukrainian-language exhibition audio tour in Philadelphia

The Philadelphia museum interprets the American Revolution and is hosting The Declaration’s Journey through Jan. 3, 2027.

Embassy of Ukraine to the United States

Diplomatic mission

Partner on the Philadelphia audio tour

The embassy partnered with the museum and local Ukrainian organizations to create the guide.

Ukrainian Federation of America

Community organization

Partner; helped bring the guide to Philadelphia

The organization partnered with the museum and embassy on the Ukrainian-language audio tour.

Office of the First Lady of Ukraine

Cultural diplomacy initiative

Runs the global Ukrainian-language audio guide program

The office leads an initiative to place Ukrainian-language audio guides at cultural and historical sites worldwide.

Timeline

2020 November 2026

3 events Latest: Today

November 2026
WHYY reports on the new tour
Today Report

WHYY publishes report on the Ukrainian-language tour.
Today
October 2026
Philadelphia museum launches Ukrainian tour
Launch

Museum launches Ukrainian-language audio tour at Oct. 22 event.
October 22nd, 2026
2020
Ukrainian audio guide initiative begins
Cultural diplomacy

Zelenska initiative starts placing Ukrainian audio guides at cultural sites.
2020

Scenarios

Another Philadelphia museum adds a Ukrainian audio guide by end of 2027

Possible Resolves by End of 2027

Discussed by: Organizers at the Oct. 22 launch said they hoped the project would begin similar tours at museums across Philadelphia and the United States.

The Ukrainian consulate and the Ukrainian Federation of America could replicate the partnership with another Philadelphia institution. That would require a museum to agree, secure translation and recording, and add the guide to its visitor system.

Zelenska initiative passes 150 Ukrainian audio guides in 60 countries

Possible Resolves by End of 2027

Discussed by: The First Lady’s office and Ukraine’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which run the initiative with diplomatic missions.

The program had 125 guides in 59 countries at the Philadelphia launch. Reaching 150 guides in 60 countries would require adding sites in at least one new country and expanding existing partnerships.

Ukrainian tour stays available through The Declaration’s Journey closing

Likely Resolves by Jan 4, 2027

Discussed by: The museum, which lists the exhibition as running through Jan. 3, 2027.

The audio tour is tied to the special exhibition. The museum could keep it available for the full run, or remove or replace it before the exhibition closes.

Historical Context

2 moments from history that rhyme with this story — and how they unfolded.

1951

Goethe-Institut (1951)

West Germany founded the Goethe-Institut to teach German abroad and project cultural influence after World War II. It built a network of language schools and cultural centers outside Germany.

Then

German language instruction became a tool of West German foreign policy.

Now

The Goethe-Institut became a standard model for language-focused cultural diplomacy.

Why this matters now

Zelenska’s audio guide program uses a similar tool: placing a country’s language inside foreign cultural institutions.

August 1991

Ukraine’s Declaration of Independence (1991)

Ukraine’s parliament, the Verkhovna Rada, adopted the Act of Declaration of Independence on Aug. 24, 1991. The United States recognized Ukraine’s independence that year.

Then

Ukraine became an independent state after the Soviet Union’s collapse.

Now

The 1991 declaration became a founding document of modern Ukrainian statehood.

Why this matters now

The document is displayed in The Declaration’s Journey, and Zelenska cited it in her message for the Philadelphia launch.