Press Releases

MUSEUM OPENS LINCOLN EXHIBIT

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
January 26, 2007

Contact: Nancy Coggins, APR
405.235.3313 or 405.760.9053
nc@oklahomacitynationalmemorial.org

OKLAHOMA CITY NATIONAL MEMORIAL MUSEUM
TO OPEN LINCOLN EXHIBIT
Artifacts, interactives give visitors insight into sixteenth president’s challenges, triumphs

OKLAHOMA CITY –The story of the country’s darkest days is an amazing and largely unknown drama. Lincoln: The Constitution and the Civil War, a special exhibition on loan from the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia, takes visitors along a tense, exciting reconstruction of just how Abraham Lincoln succeeded in saving the nation through interactive elements, artifacts, text, photographs and more.

Lincoln: The Constitution and the Civil War, is a 2,500- square-foot exhibition that highlights the three constitutional crises which Lincoln faced as President: Secession, Slavery and Civil Liberties during the Civil War. The exhibition explores how one individual, who was deeply committed to the belief that citizens can make a real difference, exercised leadership at a pivotal time of crisis for the nation, the Constitution, and the course of freedom worldwide. This engaging exhibit presents the story of Lincoln and the Constitution in a fresh and compelling way that appeals to everyone from families to Civil War buffs and history scholars.

Lincoln: The Constitution and the Civil War features more than 100 images, historical documents and artifacts incorporated into a variety of innovative and interactive exhibit formats. In addition, Lincoln’s voice – in the form of excerpts from his writings and speeches – enables visitors to hear first-hand his thoughts and views on issues such as equality, slavery, freedom, democracy, justice and the Constitution’s rule of law.

The exhibition is organized into six main exhibit areas: Secession Winter, Oath of Office, Crisis of Secession, Crisis of Slavery, Crisis of Civil Liberties, and Lincoln’s Legacy: The Gettysburg Address in His Time and Ours.

Through the exhibit’s media and interactive elements, visitors can stand alongside Lincoln as he is sworn in as President, view Civil War military conflicts and Lincoln portraits through a replicated 1860s box camera, play a replica 1862 board game called “The Secession Game,” use clues to solve an electronic jigsaw puzzle, experience a replicated jail cell for citizens arrested for dissent or disloyalty, and more. Artifacts on display in the exhibit include Lincoln’s trademark stovepipe hat, signed copies of the Emancipation Proclamation and the Thirteenth Amendment, and other historical documents.

“Lincoln stood at the brink of this nation’s greatest struggle, and through his belief in personal responsibility and equality for all, he led the country to a place of greater equality and an understanding of the contributions of all Americans,” said Kari F. Watkins, Oklahoma City National Memorial Executive Director. “His battle to move the nation closer to the Declaration of Independence’s promises of freedom and equality is reflective of our mission to teach tolerance and diversity, as well as effecting positive change in government through non-violent means.”

Pulitzer Prize winning author and noted presidential historian Doris Kearns Goodwin will present a special guest lecture on Lincoln and his presidency in the Oklahoma City National Memorial Center for Education & Outreach on February 12. Tickets for that event are available for $100 per person by calling 405.235.3313.

Nationally renowned Lincoln actor Fritz Klein, who has appeared on C-SPAN, the Discovery Channel, History Channel and major networks as Abraham Lincoln, will be at the Memorial Museum to open the exhibit on February 12, which is also Lincoln’s 198th birthday. Klein will recite some of Lincoln’s most famous speeches as well as give insight into the personality of Lincoln for students and visitors to the Memorial Museum February 12–14 and April 18-22.

Lincoln: The Constitution and the Civil War is sponsored by Ad Astra Foundation, Barnett Family Foundation, Bezalel Foundation, Chesapeake Energy Corporation, Cox Communications, Devon Energy Corporation, Inasmuch Foundation, Mr. and Mrs. Aubrey K. McClendon, Merrick Foundation, The Oklahoma Bar Foundation, Oklahoma Centennial Commission, Oklahoma Farmers Union, Oklahoma Press Association, The Oklahoma Publishing Company, The Oklahoman, Sarkeys Foundation and Wal-Mart and SAM’S CLUB.

Admission to this special exhibit is included with general Memorial Museum admission. School group admission to the Memorial Museum is $4 for students. Funding to assist with student admission for Oklahoma public schools has been made possible through the generous support of the Sarkeys Foundation. Memorial Museum hours are Monday – Saturday, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Sunday, 1 p.m. to 6 p.m. Ticket sales end daily at 5 p.m.

The Oklahoma City National Memorial & Museum was created to honor “those who were killed, those who survived and those changed forever” by the 1995 bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City. The Memorial and Museum are dedicated to educating visitors about the impact of violence, informing about events surrounding the bombing, and inspiring hope and healing through lessons learned by those affected.

For more information about the Oklahoma City National Memorial & Museum, please call 405.235.3313 or 1.888.542.HOPE (4673), or visit www.oklahomacitynationalmemorial.org.

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