Visiting Lincoln

Last week I traveled to Springfield, Illinois to observe Jim Aylesworth receiving the Prairie State Award for Excellence in Writing for Children. The banquet and award ceremony was held in the Abraham Lincoln ballroom/hotel in Springfield Illinois which provided my friend and I to spend a day or so visiting the awesome Abraham Lincoln Presidential Museum. One of the most impressive displays (and there were many) was the projection of "Civil War in Four Minutes." Graphically the show presented the movement of boundary lines and the main battles and events that took place during the five years of the war. A DVD showing the same show is available from the museum's store (available on line from the museum site) for $12.99. Well worth the price if you are interested in the Civil War or are teaching the era in a classroom of any type. Not all items available in the Museum store is available online. I was able to purchase a blue and white pitcher, one similar to the china used in Lincoln's Springfield home. Presidential china was also available but the price was a "little" out of my research budget. Another highlight of the trip was a trip to the Lincoln home.