Explore our experiential civics programs!
Since 1971, more than one million students and educators have participated in Close Up programs. Our mission is to inspire young people to find their unique voice and help them develop the skills and awareness they need to be engaged citizens for life.
Join us to make lasting memories as you interact with the people, places, and institutions that shape our nation, and discover how your voice can make an impact on American democracy.
We make elections relatable and teachable.
Are you looking to make the most of this exciting election season? Close Up is engaging youth nationwide through our Premier Election Series programs in Washington, our Navigating Challenging Election Issues at School professional development for educators, and our free Election Toolkit of nonpartisan classroom resources.
This July in Washington, Close Up, the Deliberative Democracy Lab at Stanford University (DDL), Helena, the Generation Lab, and the Neely Center at the University of Southern California are partnering for a historic experiment in democracy. America in One Room: The Youth Vote will bring together a scientifically representative sample of 500 first-time voters to deliberate key policy issues facing the nation.
Close Up brought me CLOSER to politics…
the entire notion no longer seemed obscure. I became very involved in politics on the local and national level.
I’m truly blown away by what Close Up’s been able to accomplish in the last two weeks during IMPACT 2020…
The material seems very high level, and my daughter’s been very motivated to participate every day. I wanted to be sure to commend the staff on providing such a great experience!
I learned that there’s a huge network of people with the same goals and drive as me…
and that our collaboration really could make a difference. It gave me hope for the future of our communities and our nation!
Close Up is a positive experience for students…
seeing themselves as having the power to influence the democratic process.
671 N. Glebe Road, Suite 900
Arlington, VA 22203
703-706-3300 or 800-CLOSE UP
CST-1002082-40:
Registration as a seller of travel does not constitute approval by the State of California.
