Associated Press, December 11, 2014
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) — The Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library & Museum will mark the 150th anniversary of the 16th president's death — and its own 10th anniversary — with a host of new exhibits and activities next year.
New digital features will give visitors immediate access to photographs and documents with a touch of their smartphones as they tour the exhibits, the museum said Tuesday. There will also be a presentation of artifacts related to Lincoln's death and funeral — including a silver medallion from the hearse that carried his body to the cemetery, which apparently hasn't been seen since the 1865 funeral.
One of the more unusual exhibitions opening next summer, "To See Jerusalem Before I Die," will, the museum said, "highlight the many ways in which Lincoln related to the nation's Jewish community in 19th century America."
An exhibit about Lincoln's speeches that opened last month, "Undying Words: Lincoln 1858-1865," will continue through February 2016.
The popular shows, "Lincoln's Eyes" and "Ghosts of the Library," will be joined by a new production called "The Battle Hymn Story."
Then on November 19, to mark the anniversary of the Gettysburg Address, the museum will present an event called "Love Loss and Grief: Mourning in the 1800s." Featuring an actress playing Mary Todd Lincoln, the event will examine how the president's widow and the rest of the country were expected to grieve during the 1800s.
"We'll examine education, music, fine arts and mourning customs in a panorama of our state," the museum and library's executive director, Eileen Mackevich, said in a statement.
Visitors will get a chance to talk to the artists and others who helped create the museum during a series of discussions.
The museum will also be the site of a variety of family events, including a strawberry social, a tea party, Civil War ball and parties marking the birthdays of Lincoln's four sons.
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