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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.

Museum at the Market
Saturday, September 23rd
9:00am – 12:00pm

Join us at the Downtown Bloomington Farmers’ Market. Stop by the Museum’s plaza on Washington Street to purchase all your local...

Museum at the Market
Saturday, September 30th
9:00am – 12:00pm

Join us at the Downtown Bloomington Farmers’ Market. Stop by the Museum’s plaza on Washington Street to purchase all your local...

Evergreen Cemetery Walk
Saturday, September 30th
11:00am – 1:00pm 2:00pm – 4:00pm

The 2023 Evergreen Cemetery Walk will be held in-person on September 30 and October 1, and October 7-8 with performances at 11...

Online + In Person
Evergreen Cemetery Walk
Sunday, October 1st
11:00am – 1:00pm 2:00pm – 4:00pm

The 2023 Evergreen Cemetery Walk will be held in-person on September 30 and October 1, and October 7-8 with performances at 11...

Online + In Person
Evergreen Cemetery Walk
Saturday, October 7th
11:00am – 1:00pm October 7th at 2:00pm – 4:00pm

The 2023 Evergreen Cemetery Walk will be held in-person on September 30 and October 1, and October 7-8 with performances at 11...

Online + In Person

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.


Admission
  • Adults $5
  • Seniors (65+) $4
  • Museum members FREE
  • Students & Children FREE
  • Every Tuesday, for all visitors FREE
  • Indigenous Tribal Members (with ID) FREE
  • Active Duty Military (with ID) 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 90 minutes. 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: 9am to 5pm
  • Tuesday: 9am to 8pm
  • Wednesday: 9am to 5pm
  • Thursday: 9am to 5pm
  • Friday: 9am to 5pm
  • Saturday: 9am to 5pm
  • Sunday: Closed

Exhibits

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

Abraham Lincoln in McLean County

This exhibit examines Lincoln's life's work, and explores the lasting connections Lincoln made with the people of this community.
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.
Digital Exhibits

Read the rich histories featured in our Challenges, Choices, and Change as well as Abraham Lincoln in McLean County exhibits from anywhere!

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 by subject, 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.


Evergreen Cemetery Walk

The Evergreen Cemetery Walk brings the voices of McLean County's history to life. Costumed actors portray people representing all walks of life from the county's past on the grounds of Evergreen Memorial Cemetery.

Tickets go on sale September 5th.
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.

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

Local experts are ready to give presentations on a variety of fascinating topics. Invite them to your club, meeting, or classroom!

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 Visitor's Center

Cruisin' with Lincoln on Route 66 Visitor's 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