History museums provide visitors with opportunities to connect with the past in a way that prioritizes the people of history. This case study examines how people, both those in the past and our audiences today, can be central to gallery teaching through the use of mindset attributes. The use of a change agent mindset has shaped the civics programming developed by the Senator John Heinz History Center to make the content more relevant to students in a way that encourages them to consider how they can become change agents. The framework for understanding historic people through identifiable characteristics increases empathy, makes explicit parallels with actions and experiences that students have, and significantly improves program engagement and impact.