Lincoln’s Cottage receives MUSE award

President Lincoln’s Cottage, a National Trust Historic Site in Washington, DC, was just awarded a Silver MUSE Award from the Media and Technology Committee of the American Association of Museums, for “Lincoln’s Toughest Decisions,” an interactive experience that puts visitors in the role of President Lincoln’s cabinet members. Designed to supplement interpreter-led discussions and aimed predominantly at school groups, the program allows users to explore letters, documents, and archival materials to help them decide how they, as a member of Lincoln’s Cabinet, should advise Lincoln during discussions about critical issues like the Emancipation Proclamation in 1862, the military turning point of the Civil War in 1864, and the strategy for Lincoln’s reelection in 1864.

The judges were impressed with the mix of group and individual experiences and that it emphasizes the use of primary source documents for students. “This installation is a commendable example of technology that is not for technology’s sake, but is instead used as an effective tool for encouraging personal experiences with history. Visitors learn about the process of historical research, gaining multiple perspectives on issues in order to understand how history was made in Lincoln’s cabinet.”

Now in its nineteenth year, the MUSE Awards competition received almost 200 applications from a wide variety of museums in North America, Europe, Australia, and Asia. Entries included audio, cell phone, and interactive handheld tours, interactive kiosks and multimedia installations, podcasts, blogs, games, websites, online collection and image databases, videos, and e-mail marketing campaigns.

For more information, visit www.mediaandtechnology.org/muse/index.html