Illinois may be known as the Land of Lincoln but Iowa has many close ties to the nation’s 16th president. The State Historical Museum of Iowa is launching a new traveling exhibit on Abe Lincoln that will visit schools and libraries statewide, according to Cyndi Pederson, director of the Iowa Department of Cultural Affairs.
Pederson says, “This mobile museum will talk about all of the connections that Lincoln had to Iowa and his legacy he left behind.” Pederson says many students might otherwise not be able to learn about Iowa’s many links with the Great Emancipator, with so many budget cuts at all levels in schools.
“It’s harder and harder for them to make the trip to Des Moines or to their local museum because of lack of busing and field trip opportunities,” Pederson says. “We didn’t want that to stop students from learning about Iowa history so we took a proactive approach and decided we’ll come to you.”
The exhibit was developed in cooperation with the Iowa Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial Commission, a panel on which Pederson is vice-chair.
The exhibit will travel to Iowa schools in conjunction with a stage performance being produced by the Old Creamery Theater of Amana. “They have a one-person play, called ‘Lincoln as a Young Man,’ and they will be marketing that throughout the state,” Pederson says.
“We will be able to be an added bonus to that school visit if they chose to bring the mobile museum along with the play.”
For more information, visit www.iowahistory.org and click on the “History on the Move” link.