America250: What makes the “American Dream?”

One of Washington, DC’s newest attractions wants to know what the American Dream means to you. The Milken Center’s American Dream Experience is a 70,000-square foot interactive exhibition right across the plaza from the White House.

Visitors are greeted by the golden, glimmering “Tree of Generations” as they walk in to this one-of-a-kind exhibition. Its leaves are alive with the faces and stories of everyday Americans.

Curator Emily Mitzner and her team spent years crafting the ultimate American Dream experience.

“We get to see how Americans today are defining it, how they think they’re doing at achieving it, what elements are working and what elements aren’t.”

Visitors become part of the experience by adding their picture to the interactive golden tree, and they’re also invited to share their journey in their own words. Hanging from the branches are tales of hard work and sacrifice, service in war, and immigrants pursing a better life.

“This is where we start to unpack what the American Dream means,” Mitzner explained on a tour.

Housed inside the former headquarters of Riggs Banks, known as the ‘Bank of Presidents,’ the historic halls have been meticulously restored. The result blends gilded age design with cutting edge technology.

In another grand hall visitors add words to a 38-foot cloud above their heads.

“The number one word is ‘freedom,’” Mitzner points out. “That’s a hard thing to do on your own. Freedom requires that we all are working on this group project together.”

Other versions of visitors’ dreams are made with words like justice, community, wealth, love, and choice.

“It’s really about everyone reaching their opportune level of achievement,” says Mitzner.

Another floor features interactive holograms with celebrity stories of success. Visitors are able to have real conversations with holograms of Serena Williams, Dr. Sanjay Gupta, Sara Blakely, and Sal Khan.

Alongside the celebrities, Americans from all walks of life share their big wins. The space provides a blueprint for anyone to achieve their own version of the dream - using the four pillars of health, education, finance, and entrepreneurship.

“Those have really been the backbone of what it takes to succeed,” Mitzner explaines.

The data featured in the exhibition comes from decades of research by the non-partisan Milken Institute - a think tank dedicated to the idea that everyone should have equal access to the American Dream and working to break down the barriers standing in the way.

“We hope that this can be a space that isn’t political,” Mitzner said. “That it is about what we agree on and help work toward solving some of the things that we don’t.”

Like the virtual faces on the golden tree, a reminder that the American dream itself is alive and ever-changing - a 250-year group project with no end in sight.

The Milken Center’s American Dream Experience is located at 1503 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, DC. It is a free, ticketed experience. Check hours and reserve tickets here.