Free admission on Lincoln’s birthday
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. – The Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum is offering free admission Feb. 12 in honor of Lincoln’s Birthday and to celebrate the museum reopening to the public. In addition, children will be admitted free on Presidents Day and everyone gets in for half price throughout the month of February.
Lincoln’s birthday is always a special time at the presidential museum, and that’s especially true now that the museum has reopened after being closed for two months because of the coronavirus pandemic.
As is traditional, museum admission will be free on Lincoln’s Birthday. However, guests must schedule their visits in advance at www.PresidentLincoln.Illinois.gov.
Guests can enjoy live music in the museum plaza throughout the day and meet Abraham Lincoln from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. He will be joined by Mrs. Lincoln from 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. The first 100 young visitors will receive a special gift.
The museum is also putting some particularly interesting Lincoln items on display in the Treasures Gallery. They include a cuff link the president was wearing on the night he was assassinated, china from the Lincoln White House and a slip of paper on which Lincoln wrote his definition of democracy: “As I would not be a slave, so I would not be a master. This expresses my idea of democracy. Whatever differs from this, to the extent of the difference, is no democracy.”
On Feb. 12 only, the presidential library’s foundation will also be offering memberships for half price, both in person and online at www.ALPLM.org or by calling 217-557-5589. Members of the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library Foundation get multiple benefits including free museum admission and special prices on merchandise.
The ALPLM is also offering a special for children a few days later. On Presidents Day – Feb. 15 this year – they can visit for free. The first 100 will get gifts. Again, tickets must be obtained in advance.
“Everyone at the ALPLM is thrilled to open our doors once again, and we want to make it as convenient as possible to visit us after a rough year for so many people,” said Acting Executive Director Melissa Coultas. “We could all benefit from a dose of Mr. Lincoln’s wisdom and the diversion of visiting a phenomenal museum.”
To help, the museum’s special prices go beyond Lincoln’s Birthday and Presidents Day. All admission costs will be cut in half for the entire month of February.
The Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum uses a combination of rigorous scholarship and high-tech showmanship to immerse visitors in Lincoln’s life and times. The library holds an unparalleled collection of Lincoln books, documents, photographs, artifacts and art, as well as some 12 million items pertaining to all aspects of Illinois history.
You can follow the ALPLM on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
