Ranger-Guided Tours: The National Park Service provides ranger-guided walking tours of the museum. The tours last approximately 45 minutes and are accessible for handicapped visitors. Tours include museum highlights and are offered on a first come-first served basis, staff levels permitting. Check at the information desk for details. No reservations for tours are accepted. Ranger-guided tours are offered at Ellis Island with ASL - American Sign Language translation at scheduled intervals. Current ASL tour schedule. Audio Tours of Ellis Island are available from the park's concessions in English and several foreign languages for a nominal fee ($6.00). For more information please contact the Ellis Island concessionaire, Aramark at: 212 344-0996. Documentary Film: "Island of Hope, Island of Tears": This award winning, 30-minute documentary film is shown at regularly scheduled times in two theaters accompanied by a 15-minute park ranger introductory talk. Each theater seats 140 people. Tickets are required and available for free at the Ellis Island information desk. Theatrical Program: The Statue of Liberty-Ellis Island Foundation, Inc., in cooperation with the National Park Service is proud to present a theatrical production based on actual immigrant accounts that are part of the Ellis Island oral history project. Professional actors bring to life the experiences that were shared by millions of immigrants who made their way to the New World through Ellis Island. This 30-minute presentation is offered daily Spring through Autumn at regularly scheduled times. Contact the Foundation at: (212) 561-4500 for information and reservations. (nominal fee program) or e-mail Board of Special Inquiry Program: This living history program presents the accounts of actual immigrant hearings conducted during the time of peak immigration at Ellis Island. This program is conducted in the "Hearing Room" which has been carefully restored to the period of 1908-1911. Audience participation decides the fate of the immigrant standing before them. Visitors learn the importance of immigration policy at the turn of the century and current-day immigration law. This free program is offered at regularly scheduled times starting mid-April. For details, check at the information desk. Genealogy Workshop: The National Park Service, with the collaboration of The National Archives presents a workshop for visitors who wish to research their family immigration history. This workshop is offered on a monthly basis (March - October) and provides instruction about how to gather, interpret and use historical data to trace family histories. The workshop is free to all visitors of the museum. Call (212) 363-3200 for additional information.
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