SPRINGFIELD - Among the more well-known fare at Springfield's Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum is a small nook filled with children's toys, including Civil War period clothing kids can wear for photos.

It was there, stopping on a trip from Genoa, Wis., to Gulf Shores, Ala., that full-grown Betty Denison and Judy Jambois had much of their fun.

"We played dress-up," Denison said.

That child-like fascination with history is the museum reaction directors want from visitors.

Lincoln's would-be 200th birthday comes next year - he turns 199 on Feb. 12. So, the 16th president is assured some extra attention in the coming year, with the Springfield museum perhaps at the center of it.

Lincoln spent his adult years here as a lawyer and lawmaker, and later left town for the White House from a train depot blocks from the museum.

That scene and others are portrayed in life-like detail within the museum, a fact that can irk purists and draw criticism over its Disney World-style effects.

But museum leaders say that very approach is largely why 1.4 million visitors have come through the doors since it opened more than two years ago.

"There was immediate acceptance," said Illinois State Historian Thomas Schwartz.

Realistic scenes

The museum tries to give visitors a full view of Lincoln's life through two series of exhibits and two special-effects-laden presentations.

The first exhibit allows museum-goers to walk through the log cabin of Lincoln's youth, complete with a realistic statue of the young boy.

But after coming out of the cabin, a more alarming realism of the time comes into full view.

A life-size scene of a slave auction where a family is being torn apart is lit by red light, showing a stark contradiction from the peaceful cabin to the tragic auction block.

"It's disturbing," said Sharon Rapacz of Springfield on her first visit. "But I think it's realistic."

Further scenes and original, rare artifacts throughout the museum show the several aspects of Lincoln's life.

One life-sized scene shows pistol-wielding assassin John Wilkes Booth creeping into the theater box where Lincoln and his wife are cuddling.

In another, a faux-television production studio shows news coverage of the 1860 event as if it were happening in a modern-day TV studio. It's anchored by "Meet the Press" host Tim Russert.

A fast start

Museum officials estimate 1.4 million people have entered the museum since President Bush attended its opening in April 2005.

Now, for Lincoln's 200th birthday next year, the museum is developing mobile displays that can travel to museums across the country. There won't necessarily be huge fanfare in Springfield for the 199th birthday on Feb. 12, said Rick Beard, museum executive director.

"We're about Abraham Lincoln every year, every day of the year," he said.

So the challenge is to get visitors to return regularly to a museum that doesn't plan to change much soon.

One idea is special exhibits, including one on presidential campaigns that runs through Election Day in November.

Beard says his hope isn't necessarily that returning patrons learn something new on repeat trips.

"It's an experience that's largely emotional," he said.

A starting point?

Schwartz said that in a gift shop containing everything from obligatory shot glasses to a $6,000 hand-crafted replica bed, the most popular items sold are the books.

The goal of the museum, he says, is to inspire curiosity, not necessarily quench it.

"That's what we want," Schwartz said. "We want people to have these questions and engage them."

On her trip from Wisconsin, Jambois said she was interested to learn the famous Emancipation Proclamation was a controversial document that didn't necessarily free all the slaves.

"That was kind of awakening," she said. "I think I'd pick up a book now."

mike.riopell@lee.net / (217) 789-0865

Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum

Location: 212 N. Sixth St. in Springfield

Hours: 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily.

Admission: $7.50 for adults age 16 to 61; $5.50 for seniors, students and uniformed military; $3.50 for children; free for children under 5

Details: Rates are scheduled to go up March 1. Parking is available off Sixth Street between Madison and Mason streets.

More info: (800) 610-2094, www.alplm.org

Quirks hide in museum displays

The 100,000-square-foot museum holds plenty of secret special effects to keep visitors entertained. Here are some quirks to consider that aren't so secret:

l Museum staff occasionally slightly change the poses of Lincoln and his family throughout the exhibits to mix things up for repeat visitors.

l The lifelike statues are built on metal frames. Skin is made of latex, which was the most photo-realistic material available.

l "Meet the Press" host Tim Russert performed a modern-style analysis of the 1860 presidential campaign in one take.

l Staff controls the temperature of some rooms to fit its intended mood. A room holding a scene where Willie Lincoln is dying, for example, is kept slightly colder to give visitors chills.

l Initial museum developers had a hard time finding an authentic cast-iron stove to properly replicate the one in the White House kitchen from the time. Then, they checked eBay. Problem solved.

l The "Ask Lincoln" feature is narrated by actor William Schallert, who played the father on "The Patty Duke Show."

l The gift shop offers a hand-crafted, replica bed from Lincoln's time in the White House for $6,000. One has been sold.

- Source: Dave Blanchette, museum spokesman.