On the Square Blog

At a time when box offices are shuttered, stages and seats remain uncharacteristically empty, and bright lights of marquees across the country and the world remain dark, the Museum feels compelled to highlight the rich partnerships it has had over the years with local theaters such as Heartland Theatre Company, Community Players Theatre, and Illinois Voices Theatre.

In the interest of the safety of our patrons, volunteers, and staff in light of the developing COVID-19 situation regionally and nationally, the McLean County Museum of History and Cruisin’ with Lincoln on 66 Visitors Center will be closed to the public beginning Saturday, March 14. Should conditions allow, the Museum will reopen to the public on Monday, April 6.

The McLean County Museum of History welcomes and values all visitors. We are committed to representing the entire community by sharing your history, your story. In fact, it is part of our mission to “reflect the diversity of McLean County,” and we take that mission seriously. As an educational institution, the Museum’s job is to illuminate stories and foster opportunities for dialogue so people can learn from the experiences of one another—whether they lived 1,000 years ago or today. These stories must serve both as mirrors that reflect ourselves and as windows that allow us to view the wider world.

For my internship this summer, I researched and wrote biographies of the historical figures to be featured in this year’s Evergreen Cemetery Walk. Other museum staff had already decided who was to be featured and done preliminary research, finding as much material on each person as possible, as well as information about their family and organizations they belonged to. From there.......

During my time at the museum, I have learned to work with the Past Perfect software that many museums across the country use to help establish a database for their collections....