Interior Department plans AI Theodore Roosevelt exhibit for America250

America 250

Interior Department plans AI Theodore Roosevelt exhibit for America250

Speaking softly and carrying a big stick gets new meaning at new library

Charles Creitz Fox News

Published

December 26, 2025 3:05pm EST

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Teddy Roosevelt will come to life for America250 at namesake National Park amid AI revolution

Theodore Roosevelt National Park will utilize groundbreaking AI technology to let Americans engage with the environmentalist icon directly one century after he left office, Interior Secretary Doug Burgum told Fox News Digital.

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EXCLUSIVE: President Theodore Roosevelt is known for revolutionizing how America manages and explores. Now, revolutionary artificial intelligence technology will allow Americans to engage with the legendary president one century after he left office, Interior Secretary Doug Burgum told Fox News Digital.

While Roosevelt was famously brought to life on the big screen by the late Robin Williams in "Night At The Museum," Burgum said the Interior Department envisioned a slightly different iteration of bringing the president back to life.

Roosevelt will be rendered in a groundbreaking AI exhibit in the form of a human-avatar that will respond intelligently to visitor’s questions at his namesake national park, Theodore Roosevelt National Park on the North Dakota-Montana line.

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The exhibit will have its grand opening during the America250 celebration, Burgum told Fox News Digital.

The new site is "one of the biggest things" that the Interior Department is planning for the new year, the former North Dakota governor said.

"That will occur over our Fourth of July weekend," he said.

The exhibit will be housed at the Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library. Burgum noted that Roosevelt authored more books than any other president, and offered more spoken-word than any other president except President Donald Trump.

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Roosevelt came to the "Dakota Territory" in 1883 to hunt bison, and today the lands within his namesake part don’t look much different than they did then. Besides miles of breathtaking landscape, the park explores Roosevelt’s ranch life, conflicts with and cultures of local Native American tribes, and the cattle-ranch boom of the 1880s.

Many of the animal trophies netted by Roosevelt later ended up festooned in the Old Ebbitt Grill, a famous Washington, D.C., saloon across the street from the White House.

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"[If] you come to the library, you're going to have a chance to visit directly with Theodore Roosevelt," Burgum said.

While Roosevelt’s maxim was to "speak softly and carry a big stick" — suggesting actions are more important than words — the landmark library will enthrall the public with his own vernacular, Burgum said.

"Ask him a question, he'll answer in his own words. So it's going to be a fun experience. Kids are going to be dragging their parents to this museum."

"And if you love the outdoors, which Theodore Roosevelt did, the library looks into Theodore Roosevelt National Park," Burgum said, adding that the national park is the only one named for a person instead of a place — like "Hawai’i Volcanoes," "Yosemite" or "Gettysburg."

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Teddy Roosevelt national park and person

Theodore Roosevelt National Park, left; Theodore Roosevelt, right. (Hulton Archive/Getty Images; Bernard Friel/Getty Images)

While Shenandoah National Park is synonymous with its coterminous roadway — Skyline Drive — and Harpers Ferry National Park is home to its own Amtrak station, Roosevelt’s park will also feature another working mode of transportation.

"There’ll be a hitching post in front of this library," Burgum quipped, as horseback was the mode of choice during that 1858-born president’s time.

Charles Creitz is a reporter for Fox News Digital.

He joined Fox News in 2013 as a writer and production assistant.

Charles covers media, politics and culture for Fox News Digital.

Charles is a Pennsylvania native and graduated from Temple University with a B.A. in Broadcast Journalism. Story tips can be sent to charles.creitz@fox.com.

Interior Department plans AI Theodore Roosevelt exhibit for America250