To kick-off the National Park Service and the National Park Foundation’s cel­e­bra­tion of the national parks on September 26 — National Public Lands Day — the Statue of Liberty National Monument and Ellis Island will for the first time, open to the pub­lic for a spe­cial evening tour and pro­gram event on September 24 and 25, 2009. As part of the fes­tiv­i­ties, atten­dees will expe­ri­ence a sneak pre­view of Ken Burns’s new doc­u­men­tary The National Parks: America’s Best Idea pre­mier­ing on PBS the fol­low­ing evening.

Visitors to the Statue of Liberty can now get back inside her head, lit­er­ally. The Statue of Liberty’s crown has been closed since 9/11 for secu­rity and safety rea­sons. On July 4, 2009 the National Park Service reopened Liberty’s crown to visitors.