Backstories
Here are some interesting stories you might not find if you didn’t know where to look.
Grand Opening
Barack Obama and the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library
The two featured speakers at the 2005 Grand Opening of the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library were George W. Bush and a relatively unknown Illinois Senator named Barack Obama.
Video Tour
Take a nine-minute video tour of the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Museum
The Leaders
Lord Nelson (2:15)
2015 - 10th Anniversary
Julie Cellini of The Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum, tells how the story of an artifact inspired the creation of the museum exhibits.
The Leaders behind the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum
2015 - 10th Anniversary
Julie Cellini, Bob Coomer, and Susan Mogerman discuss the history of how the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum came to be.
BRC Imagination Arts
Middle School Magic (1:42)
2015 - 10th Anniversary
Bob Rogers, from the museum’s exhibit design team, BRC Imagination Arts, describes the impact that immersive educational exhibits have on the lives of middle school students.
Lincoln: The Little Museum that Could
2015 - 10th Anniversary
Bob Rogers, founder of BRC Imagination Arts, discusses the history of how the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum came to be and the process that was taken to make the facility what it is today. This is the second of a five part series that took place on April 2, 2015.
A Prairie Home Companion
February 12, 2005
Interview of museum creator Bob Rogers of BRC Imagination Arts, just before the opening. In the link above, the interview starts at 41:15.
In the link below, the interview should start immediately.
The Music
Lincoln's Playlist (2:29)
2015 - 10th Anniversary
Music composer, David Kneupper, describes the creation of the interconnected musical score that plays throughout the museum.
About the Music
2015 - 10th Anniversary
David Kneupper discussed the creative process that went into making the music of the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum.
The Controversy
While the Lincoln Presidential Museum was being designed and built, it was at times controversial. The scholarly advisors rigorously reviewed and approved every detail but some scholars on the outside, who were not asked to be involved in the process, were convinced that any combination of Scholarship and Showmanship would trivialize the scholarship. When the Lincoln opened, reviews in the Washington Post, the New York Times and Los Angeles Times expected to see historical compromises and so they went looking for them. It was astounding how often the media described “alleged historical errors” that in fact were imagined but not there.
Invading Lincoln's Space
April 16, 2005 - Los Angeles Times
Creators of high-tech presidential museum want to ‘grab you by the heart’ in unorthodox ways. Don’t expect a sentimental journey.
Histrionics and History
Washington Post (Feb 15, 2005)
Lincoln Library's High-Tech Exhibits Have Scholars Choosing Sides.
Prior to the museum opening, the use of human figures was heavily criticized by old-school traditionalists, even though such figures were in wide use in other museums including the Smithsonian.
November 30, 2004 - The State Journal Register (Editorial)
Chris Britt, the much loved editorial cartoonist for the State Journal-Register expressed his own opinion via this cartoon. As Britt later wrote, “…the scholarly naysayers have no sense of humor."
Click Here to see an enlarged image of this editorial cartoon