Two of Jacksonville’s oldest and storied institutions are currently featured in an exhibit in Springfield. The Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum has announced the addition of a new exhibit focusing on The Illinois School for the Deaf and Illinois School for the Visually Impaired.
The schools are featured in an exhibit in the museum’s Community Case with a number of artifacts from both institutions. ALPLM Executive Director, Christina Shutt says the museum is excited and honored to be able to give visitors a snapshot of the history of both schools.
“It really came out of a place of, we’re always looking for ways to tell more untold stories in the larger narrative of American history and Illinois history. And we have this wonderful Community Case where we invite members of the community to share their stories related to different themes we are doing.
So we reached out to the schools and they so graciously agreed to share their stories in the case, and not only that, but to also add a number of accessibility features to make the exhibits more inclusive so that their students could better enjoy the exhibition.”
Shutt says the exhibit features a number of items that showcase the history of the schools, with enhanced access features created by both institutions. “You will see things in there like uniforms worn by some of the student-athletes, and items that students made while attending one of the schools. One of the the things that I really love about the exhibit, is for example, The School for the Visually Impaired made braille labels for us.
So people will be able to touch and see a 3D printed logo of each of the schools as well as read through the labels by the use of braille. In addition to that we have also added on a more enhanced audio experience for folks. So when they get to hear the exhibit they will get really great descriptive translations of each of those items. So no matter how they interact with the exhibit, they will get to experience it and to see the richness of its history.”
Shutt says the exhibit has inspired what will become a long-term partnership with both schools to help the museum be more accessible. “One of the great benefits of this really cool partnership is that The School for the Visually Impaired and The School for the Deaf are continuing to help us improve our accessibility throughout the museum.
So we want people to know this is not a one-and-done experience for us. But we’re really looking at how can we make the museum truly accessible for all people, or as we often say here, Abe is for all. So we invite people to experience that as well as well as if they come and think about ways that we can make things more accessible and inclusive for their communities, then we would love to hear that as well.”
Shutt says the Illinois School for the Visually Impaired and School for the Deaf exhibit is an example of the Museum’s overarching mission to tell not just the story of Abraham Lincoln, but the many stories of the state and residents who helped to shape both his life and his legacy.
“That’s really part of our mission which is to inspire engagement through the diverse lens of Illinois history, and sharing with the world the life of Abraham Lincoln. But that first piece of it of telling the diverse lens of Illinois history is so important and critical to who we are.
That of our collections while we do represent one of the largest Lincoln collections in the world, second only to the U.S. Library of Congress, we also are tasked with telling Illinois history and sharing these important Illinois stories like The School for the Visually Impaired and The School for the Deaf.
So we are really honored to be able to share these stories with people to talk about something that is right up the road from us in Jacksonville, and so that many of the visitors who travel from all over the world to come to Illinois- they may not know that information, and so we hope this will give them a taste of the history and that it will be something they want to explore more of.”
The exhibit runs now through October 29th. The Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum is open from 9:00 am to 5:00 pm seven days a week excluding certain holidays. Admission is $15.00 for adults with lower costs for children. Shutt says the museum has a number of low or no-cost days throughout the year as well.
More information can be found on their website at presidentlincoln.illinois.gov, as well as on the ALPLM’s social media including Instagram and Facebook.