[4] The 100,000-square-foot (9,300 m2) glass and terra-cotta building was designed by James Polshek and includes an atrium, a 25,000-square-foot (2,300 m2) area for exhibits, a Center for Jewish Education, and a theater.

[6] The opening ceremony was held November 14, 2010 and was attended by over 1,000 people, including Vice President Joe Biden, Mayor Michael Nutter, Governor Ed Rendell, and Rabbi Irving Greenberg.

[10] In March 2020, The National Museum of American Jewish History filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, seeking relief from debt incurred by the construction of its Independence Mall home.

[11] In August 2020, following the signing ceremony for the Great American Outdoors Act in which President Donald Trump mispronounced the name of Yosemite National Park as "yo-semites",[12] the museum's online gift shop experienced a surge in sales for a pre-existing, similarly phrased "Yo Semite" T-shirt.

In 2012, The Weitzman (then NMAJH) held a special exhibition that featured one of the most important documents pertaining to religious freedom in the United States.

[25] In its opening year, the exhibit contained a film about the inductees’ lives[26] and artifacts, including Sandy Koufax’s baseball mitt and sheet music from Irving Berlin.

[24] The exhibition was renamed the Ed Snider 'Only in America' Gallery and Hall of Fame in honor of the former chairman of Comcast Spectacor.