The Ford Orientation Center and Donald W. Reynolds Museum and Education Center are the major components of a $110 million campaign by George Washington’s Mount Vernon to restore the “Father of Our Country” to his rightful place of honor and distinction in America.

One of three amazing life-size models on display at the Donald W. Reynolds Education Center

By exploring 25 galleries and theaters, visitors will learn about Washington’s exceptional life and accomplishments through interactive displays, a major movie, short films produced by The History Channel, and high-tech, immersive experiences. Three life-size models created by a forensic anthropologist and a team of interdisciplinary experts will depict Washington as never before seen at three significant stages of his life – including as a land surveying teenager – which will dispel the elder statesman icon and encourage people to think about Washington in a new way: an incomparable American hero who evolved from a young man of modest means into this country’s first and greatest president.

A rich and comprehensive collection of objects will introduce Washington’s world in a new state-of-the-art museum. Visitors will get an unprecedented look at furnishings, china, silver, clothing, jewelry, Revolutionary War artifacts, rare books and manuscripts, and other personal effects of the Washington family. Many of these treasures will be exhibited at Mount Vernon for the first time in the new museum.

Jean-Antoine Houdon's terra-cotta bust of George Washington greets visitors to the Donald W. Reynolds Museum

Responding to the desire of Mount Vernon’s regents to ensure that the Ford Orientation Center and Donald W. Reynolds Museum and Education Center did not overwhelm or detract from the historic Mansion, GWWO tucked 65 percent of the 66,700-square foot complex under the four-acre pasture just inside Mount Vernon’s main gate, a design which guarantees that the pastoral setting and viewsheds to and from the Mansion will be preserved. Traditional Hogg Island sheep, like those Washington raised 200 years ago, will graze in the pasture, invoking a bucolic setting similar to the Mount Vernon of Washington’s day.

Learn more about the Ford Orientation Center

Learn more about the Donald W. Reynolds Museum and Education Center