By Deseret News Sep 3, 1998, 12:00am MDT

Three-quarters of all American teenagers know what city has the ZIP code 90210 (Beverly Hills), but only one-quarter know in what city the Constitution was written (Philadelphia).

And 81 percent know that the musical group Hanson is made up of three brothers. Twenty-one percent know how many lawmakers are in the Senate (100), the National Constitution Center said Wednesday.The group is building a museum in Philadelphia designed to make Americans more familiar with the Constitution.

There is some good news: Nearly 74 percent know that Al Gore is vice president. But that’s well below the 90 percent who know that Leonardo DiCaprio was the male star of the movie “Titanic.”

Too few Americans have even a basic working knowledge of their government, especially the Constitution, Philadelphia Mayor Edward Rendell told a Senate Appropriations subcommittee.

“I believe that building this museum and reversing this tide of ignorance is absolutely critical to the health of our democracy,” said Rendell, who is chairman of the center. “The Constitution doesn’t work by itself. It depends on active, informed citizens.”

Groundbreaking for the “experiential” museum is scheduled for Constitution Day, Sept. 17, 2000. Rendell is asking Congress to approve a $20 million contribution toward the museum this year, and the center hopes the government eventually will contribute half the $130 million cost.

The nationwide telephone survey of 600 teenagers between the ages of 13 and 17 had a margin of error of plus or minus 4 percentage points.