Making history fun for children
Lincoln Presidential Library offers puzzle and art contests as part of 10th anniversary festivities
Local schools encouraged to participate

[October 01, 2014]  SPRINGFIELD – Learning history isn’t simply memorizing dates and taking tests. Students can also learn through games and art, including two events offered by the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum as part of its 10th anniversary festivities.

In November, teams of schoolchildren will compete to assemble a giant puzzle made from the 272 words of Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address. The fastest teams in three different age groups will win prizes provided by the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library Foundation.

Students can also take part in an art contest, with the winning submissions going on display in the presidential museum in April. The students’ work should relate to the 10th anniversary of the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum, which opened on April 19, 2004.

Anniversary events begin in November with the opening of a major new museum exhibition about Lincoln, production of a new play and more, including the puzzle.

The Gettysburg Address Puzzle Contest takes place on three days in November. Students in grades 5 and 6 compete on Nov. 4, grades 7 and 8 on Nov. 5, and grades 9 through 12 on Nov. 6. Teams consist of five students, although an entire classroom is welcome to attend and watch the competition.

The registration deadline is Oct. 28.

To register, get more details or request a copy of the rules, contact Carol Manning (217-558-8929, [e-mail] ) or Maureen Horstman (217-558-8951, [e-mail] ).

Manning and Horstman can also provide information about the art contest, which will offer prizes in three categories: Grades K-5, 6-8 and 9-12.

Art for the contest can be almost anything a student imagines, as long as it relates to the presidential museum’s anniversary, which is also the anniversary year for the end of the Civil War and the death of Abraham Lincoln. The piece must be done on poster board 11 inches wide by 14 inches high; and it cannot use copyrighted characters such as Iron Man or Mickey Mouse.

The submission deadline is Jan. 30, 2015.

The Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum (212 N. Sixth Street, Springfield, Ill.) has welcomed nearly 3.5 million visitors in less than a decade. The ALPLM's museum immerses visitors in Abraham Lincoln's life by combining sound scholarship with captivating special effects; the library offers researchers an unparalleled collection of Lincoln documents, artifacts and photographs.

[Text received; CHRIS WILLS, ABRAHAM LINCOLN PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY & MUSEUM]