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Events & Programs

Looking for something new to do? Check out our upcoming events and programs. Tune into a livestream, or watch a recording of a past program on our YouTube channel.

Mourning in McLean
Monday, September 15th – Friday, November 21st
9:00am – 5:00pm

Death is one of the only guarantees in life.In early U.S. history, death was a more frequent occurrence, arriving through disease,...

Featured

Free Admission in Honor of Indigenous Peoples' Day
Monday, October 13th
9:00am – 5:00pm

Enjoy free admission all day on Monday, October 13, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. in honor of Indigenous Peoples' Day!...

Mourning in McLean: The Story of Death, Grieving, and Funerary Customs in 19th & 20th Century Central Illinois as told by Candace Summers
Saturday, October 18th
2:00pm – 3:00pm

Join the Museum's Senior Director of Education, Candace Summers, for an illustrated program that will explore the many facets...

Online + In Person

Cole Pulice presented by pt.fwd
Tuesday, October 21st
6:30pm – 8:00pm

The Museum, in partnership with pt.fwd, is excited present saxophonist, composer and improviser Cole Pulice. This free concert wil...

Lincoln's 'Lost Speech' Found: Origin of the Illinois Republican Party with Bill Kemp
Wednesday, October 22nd
6:00pm – 8:00pm

Join the Museum's Librarian, Bill Kemp, to go back in time to May 29, 1856, when Abraham Lincoln gave the keynote address at ...

Next To Normal Story Slam: Remember Me
Friday, October 24th
7:30pm – 8:30pm

Next To Normal Story Slam: Remember MeThe Next to Normal Story Slam began in 2018 as a way to bring people together through storie...

Plan Your Visit

With five exhibit galleries, a hands on Discovery Room, and four floors of Museum to explore, there's a lot of history to get caught up on. So let's cover the essentials to help you plan your Museum visit. A special thank you to our Presented by Sponsor COUNTRY Financial for supporting free Tuesdays at the Museum during 2025.


Admission
  • Adults $10
  • Seniors (65+) & Veterans $8
  • Museum members FREE
  • Students & Children FREE
  • Indigenous Tribal Members (with ID) FREE
  • Every Tuesday, for all visitors FREE
  • SNAP Recipients (with EBT card) FREE
  • Active Duty Military (with ID) FREE
  • Big Brothers/Big Sisters and their Little Brothers/Sisters FREE
  • Many community groups & corporate members FREE

How to Get Here

Our address is 200 N. Main Street, but our entrance is on Washington Street.

There are bicycle racks on the Washington Street plaza behind the Lincoln Bench. 

All city buses drop off on Front Street, one block south of the Museum.

Parking around the Museum is free but you must move every 2 hours. We recommend parking in the Lincoln Parking Deck on Front St. ($1/hr) for more extended visits. Parking downtown is free after 6pm and on weekends.

Hours
  • Monday: 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
  • Tuesday: 9 a.m. to 8 p.m.
  • Wednesday: 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
  • Thursday: 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
  • Friday: 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
  • Saturday: 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
  • Sunday: Closed

Exhibits

Explore the rich history of McLean County in our five permanent exhibits, hands on Discovery Room, and numerous displays. Our online exhibits bring McLean County history to you, wherever you are.

A Deadly Deception: The Asbestos Tragedy in McLean County
This new temporary exhibit explores the history of the asbestos manufacturing plant on Bloomington’s westside. It tells a story of people being forced to endure toxic conditions and environmental hazards all in the pursuit of profit.
Merwin Gallery
The Merwin Gallery features almost 300 objects from the Museum's 18,000+ object collection. In this display space, objects from the collection will be moved in and out of the gallery regularly so visitors can return again and again, always to see something new.
Challenges, Choices, and Change
This exciting 5,000-square-foot exhibit in four galleries explores the experience of living, working, farming, and creating community in McLean County.

Research

The Museum has thousands of online and on-site resources for researching local history topics and genealogy. These are some of our most popular resources.

Pantagraph Negatives Collection Overview
Overview of the project that has digitized over 100,000 so far, and video tutorials
Finding Aids
Detailed inventories of archival collections in the Museum, organized alphabetically and able to be filtered by topic, from the 1820s to the present.
City Directories
Thanks to a partnership with Bloomington Public Library and intern Noah Tang, local directories from 1855-1920 have been digitized, and are available on the Internet Archive.
Search our Library Catalog
See what books we have in our library. We are a non-circulating library so you must come to the library to see these books, and they cannot go home with you.

Learn

Our educational programs reach thousands of students, seniors, and community members each year.


School Programs
The Museum is an award-winning educational institution accredited by the American Alliance of Museums that offers FREE hands-on, educational programming for grades pre-K through college.
2025 Futures in History Camp
This out-of-this-world, 5-day camp experience includes facilitation by Museum staff and other experts, all materials needed for hands-on learning, meals and snacks, friendship, fun, and more!
Senior Reminiscence
Bring Museum educators directly to your facility at no cost to you. Using authentic objects, photographs, and inquiry-based facilitation, we encourage older adults to recall, share, understand, and connect.
Speakers Bureau
Our Speakers Bureau features experts in McLean County and Illinois history who are passionate about sharing their expertise with your group. To schedule a Speakers Bureau program and for information about pricing, please contact the Education Department. Special rates are available for not-for-profit organizations and community groups.

Self-Guided Tours

Take a self-guided tour around town, or explore our Making a Home exhibit en español using our mobile tour platform, Tourient.


Social Justice Walking Tour
Explore how 19th and 20th century Bloomington dealt with immigration, labor rights, gender equity, and racial justice.
Looking for Lincoln in Bloomington-Normal
Bloomington-Normal is one of the richest communities for Abraham Lincoln-related sites—some of which look much as they did during his lifetime! This narrated tour was written and performed by James Keeran.
Downtown Bloomington Architectural Tour
Over time, buildings have been constructed, renovated, destroyed, and replaced... but what remains represents the dense history of the city of Bloomington. Unlock the past in this tour!
Construyendo un Hogar
Las historias que aquí se cuentan revelan los desafíos que enfrentaron las diversas personas quienes hicieron del condado de McLean su hogar.

Become a Member

Want free admission to the Museum every day of the year? Or invitations to special member-only events? Becoming a member is a meaningful contribution to the Museum's mission of preserving local history. Plus, enjoy reciprocal benefits at over 400 museums & historic sites in the U.S. through the Time Travelers Program.

Join us

Become a Volunteer

We provide rewarding opportunities for active volunteers and flexible positions for occasional volunteers too.

Explore opportunities

Cruisin' with Lincoln on Route 66 Visitors Center

Cruisin' with Lincoln on Route 66 Visitors Center contains a gift shop and local tourism information. We feature locally produced products, Abraham Lincoln souvenirs, and Route 66 souvenirs. When you visit the Museum, you will enter and exit through the Visitors Center!

Learn more