Philadelphia will have a new museum soon.

Located in the historic city, the Museum of the American Revolution is about to open to the public on April 19th.

Using thousands of historic artifacts and digital recreations of historic events,  the new museum tells the story of how the United States became an independent nation.

"This takes you on a journey from being subjects of the British Empire in 1760 through the creation of the American Republic and explores the legacy of the American Revolution, both in America and around the world, "  said Scott Stephenson, the museum’s vice president for collections, exhibitions and programming.   “Usually with a history museum, it’s more like history as found facts. This is more like: ‘Dinosaurs: Are they like birds or reptiles? Let’s look at the evidence.’”

Visitors are asked questions - then provided with artifacts, artwork and interactive exhibits to help them draw conclusions about the founding of this nation.

"They will see 16,000 square feet of core exhibition. Objects. Witness objects from the American Revolution. They can stand under a re-creation of the Boston Liberty tree. They can stand in the middle of the battle of Brandywine," said Stephenson.

The museum includes George Washington's actual tent where the general lived and worked from 1778-1783.

“This was literally the place where he would retire to read and write dispatches, and no one would disturb him until he came to the door,” Mr. Stephenson said, noting that Washington played a critical role in holding the cause together while living in the tent.

Philadelphia is the right place to tell the story of the Revolution, Mr. Stephenson said, because of its importance in that period, and because of its many historic sites, such as Independence Hall a few blocks away, where both the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution were debated and adopted.

The museum costed $150 million, mostly from private donations, as reported in The New York Times.