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Illinois State Museum
The Illinois State Museum is located in a relatively new building when
compared to most of the other sites you will visit in Springfield. It was
completed in 1963.
Lincoln’s presence is felt even here. If you look to your left as you
approach the front steps of the museum you will see a replica of a tall
Northwest Coast Native American totem pole. Whose likeness do you think is
on the top of the pole?
You are right – Abraham Lincoln.
Something for Everyone
The interactive exhibit on the first floor, new in late spring 2004, explores environmental changes in Illinois during the past 500 million
years. Students visit Tropical Illinois, Frozen Illinois and Interglacial
Illinois. Other exhibits illustrate various Illinois habitats in more recent
times.
A long-time favorite display, the cast of the skeleton of a mastodon, is
still a part of the first floor exhibit. Mastodons, huge, elephant-like
mammals, roamed Illinois thousands of years ago.
A portion of the second floor is dedicated to early Native American life and
culture in Illinois. The life-size scenes in the Peoples of the Past exhibit
are a good reminder that people had been living here for centuries before
Lincoln came to Illinois.
The At Home in the Heartland exhibit displays full-size and miniature rooms
from various times in Illinois’ more recent history. The second floor also
contains an art gallery.
Small groups of children can touch and play with science and nature exhibits
in an area of the basement called “A Place for Discovery.”
Other Services
In addition to the exhibits, the Illinois State Museum provides a wide
variety of other services to our state’s citizens. An auditorium in the
basement is used for lectures, movies and slide shows. The museum sponsors
field trips, helps identify objects and allows public use of its library
with prior appointment. The museum also produces several publications and
offers educational opportunities through museum-school partnerships and
special educational programs for student groups.
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