Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum, Springfield, Illinois 

History is more than a never-ending list of past events, dead people and dusty artifacts. It even has the potential to come alive. 

The Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum located in Springfield, Illinois, is the largest of all presidential libraries, containing more than 47,000 Lincoln artifacts as well as 13 million Illinois state historic artifacts. Interactive galleries, life-like wax figures and detailed displays mix with traditional museum artifacts, providing guests with an unforgettable experience.

David Blanchette, the communication manager of the library and museum, said the goal of the Illinois Historic Preservation Agency in planning the museum was to break completely new ground.

“[The presidential library and museum] treats a traditional subject in a very nontraditional way,” he said. “It’s more than documents on walls and dead stuff in boxes.”

In the first year after the site opened in April 2005, more than half a million visitors of all ages toured the museum, Blanchette said.

“A lot of work went into this project, but it was worth it because now people from all over the world come to visit the library and museum,” he said.

One of the most impressive sections is the Whispering Gallery. The hallway weaves from side to side in a funhouse manner, with slanted walls, doors and picture frames. Each of the frames holds a cartoon from Lincoln’s time which depicts him negatively in some way. The majority of individuals remember Lincoln as the president who saved the nation from slavery, yet this section is in place to remind visitors that not everyone was fond of the nation’s sixteenth president.

Thomas Schwartz, renowned Illinois state and Abraham Lincoln historian who had a direct impact on the creation of the museum, said the museum and library are great resources.

“There are places [in the museum] for typical museum-goers, and more sensory stimulating areas for younger children,” he said.

The museum’s location is distinctive because Springfield is already home to many Lincoln-oriented sites since he resided in the town for so long. However, the story of Lincoln should not be isolated to the Midwest, Schwartz said.

“Any place seriously engaged in the Lincoln story can be part of the Lincoln landscape,” he said. “His story transcends geographical boundaries.”

One of the most interactive rooms of the museum is the Civil War Gallery. The walls of this room are painted blood red. On one of the walls is a large screen showing a four-minute film depicting the different locations of battles, the ever-changing battle lines between the North and South and casualties of the Civil War.

On the opposite wall hang more than one hundred photos of different individuals and locations during the Civil War. Below the arrangement of photos are computer screens on which visitors can touch different pictures to learn their stories.

“This section is a great way for children to learn information about the nation’s history because the interaction is more memorable than words on the page of a textbook,” he said.

The Civil War Gallery contains reproductions and aims to give a detailed overview of everyone who was associated with the war – women, children, blacks, clergy and others, Schwartz said.

“We were very selective in choosing images because we wanted images of complexity as well as a general overview because it’s very easy to get sidetracked and tell the story of the war instead of the people involved,” he said.

Visitors can also view different garments and uniforms from the time, as well as copies of important documents all while proceeding to a display of the final moments of Abraham Lincoln’s life in Ford Theatre as he would have seen it. Lincoln and his wife sat in their box seats enjoying the show, unaware of John Wilkes Booth lurking behind the curtain. In a glass case sits Mary Todd Lincoln’s blood-stained glove from that night.

The final room in the journey through the White House years depicts Lincoln lying in state. The room is massive, and an actual casket, surrounded by calla lillies, sits in the middle of the room as a rendition of “Swing Low, Sweet Chariot” hums quietly in the background. Many visitors are actually moved to tears by the emotional intensity of the room.

Visitors also have the opportunity to view two presentations. One presentation, “Lincoln’s Eyes,” depicts Lincoln’s life and focuses on the personal and political dramas and key issues of his presidency. The presentation uses special effects to make viewers feel as if they are in the midst of an actual Civil War battle with cannons firing, smoke billowing and the ground trembling beneath them. The second presentation is “The Ghosts of the Library,” which explains what exactly a presidential library is and its importance in preserving historical objects to help understand the philosophy of the United States and its citizens.

Mrs. Lincoln’s Attic is the section of the museum geared toward younger children, where they can play dress-up as if they were living during Lincoln’s time.

There is also a traveling exhibit that covers the historical and cultural government of the time including America’s First Ladies, Chicago in the Prohibition era, architect Frank Lloyd Wright and the tragic story of Springfield’s 1908 race riots. In the Treasures Gallery, visitors can view items that were part of Lincoln’s everyday life. The majority of the extended collection comes from a private lender who has donated rare items such as jewelry, garments and personal documents.

Glenda Long of Lacon, Illinois, has visited the museum and library twice with her family since it first opened.

“Coming back a second time, I noticed a lot more,” she said. “The exhibits are so detailed, and you actually learn more the second time because you read more of the actual descriptions. It’s such a great experience.”

The highlight of the trip each time is the films, Long said.

“I think [the films] are entertaining and educational at the same time,” she said. “The facts are all laid out the same way they were the first time I learned it; you’re just being entertained now. It’s fabulous.”

In the end, the museum strives to tell the story of Lincoln, not only so people do not forget the extraordinary individual but also the extraordinary time, Schwartz said.

“This was the first time [at a museum] I actually felt something,” he said. “It engages both the head and the heart. It’s about real people who were heroic because they were ordinary. It’s not that they were superhuman, it’s that they were human.”

Photos Courtesy of David Blanchette