Celebrate Abraham Lincoln and other presidents of the past with performances, craft activities and more at the Chicago History Museum’s annual family-favorite event, Presidents’ Day, on Monday, February 19 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Museum admission is FREE for Illinois residents on this day. Doors open at 9:30 a.m.

Highlights of the day include a performance by the Chicago Brass Band and a production of “Meeting the Lincolns” by With Lincoln Productions. First Lady Mary Todd and President Lincoln will speak about their youth, education and the struggles of the Civil War, followed by a Q&A session. Visitors can mingle and snap a picture with the famous first-couple before the program.

Families will enjoy kid’s face-painting, storytelling for kids,  live folk music and more. A full schedule of the day’s activities can be found online here.

Visitors are invited to explore the Museum’s permanent exhibitions, “Abraham Lincoln,” which explores the Civil War and Lincoln’s assassination and “Lincoln’s Chicago,” where visitors can discover how Lincoln saw Chicago in his lifetime.  Notable objects on view include Abraham Lincoln’s Death Bed, circa 1850-1865, and Lincoln’s gold pocket watch presented to the president-elect in 1861.

ABOUT THE CHICAGO HISTORY MUSEUM

The Chicago History Museum is situated on ancestral homelands of the Potawatomi people, who cared for the land until forced out by non-Native settlers. Established in 1856, the Museum is now at 1601 N. Clark Street in Lincoln Park, its third location. As a major museum and research center for Chicago and U.S. history, the Chicago History Museum strives to be a destination for learning, inspiration and civic engagement. Through dynamic exhibitions, tours, publications, special events and programming, the Museum connects people to Chicago’s history and to each other. To share Chicago stories, the Museum collects and preserves millions of artifacts, documents, images and other items that are relevant to the city’s history. The Museum gratefully acknowledges the support of the Chicago Park District on behalf of the people of Chicago.