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Visiting Lincoln's Birthplace

We're actually taking this week off from school since we had to be out of town Monday through Wednesday and then I'll be at a homeschool convention all day Friday.  However, I was able to squeeze in some education in the form of a fun field trip this week.  

On our way back home from the conference we were attending we made a slight detour to the birthplace of Abraham Lincoln, near Hogenville, KY.


One of our favorite things about visiting the National Parks and Historic Sites is the Jr. Ranger program.  We've been participating since The Princess was in kindergarten and the kiddos have earned quite a few badges.  Last summer I finally conned...er...talked my mom into sewing up these little sashes for them to pin their badges to and wear when we visit National Park sites.  I think they turned out so cute--and the kiddos loved them:) 

We really enjoyed the visitors center.  There was a very interesting film and some nice displays of what the inside of the Lincoln cabin may have looked like.  We had fun browsing around while the kiddos completed their Jr. Ranger booklets. 





After their booklets were completed they received their certificates and new badges from the rangers.


This was some very interesting penny art that a collector created.  It even contained a couple of the very first issue pennies (worth about $4K each now!).  


After exploring the visitors center we were ready to climb the 56 steps (in honor of how many years Lincoln lived) to see the memorial to the cabin where he was born.  It was a beautiful day to be out for a walk!  The memorial is really so nice. 

Inside the memorial is a representation of the cabin where Lincoln was born.  This memorial was begun while Teddy Roosevelt was president and dedicated while Taft was in office.  
 

We took the scenic route back to our car on the lovely nature walk they have there.  It was a much-needed break from our car time!




My only regret was that we didn't have time to drive the 10 miles further to Lincoln's boyhood home at Knob Creek, but that just gives us a reason to go back now!

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Comments

Joelle said…
Looks like a great field trip. Our family loves these kinds of trip. KY is a bit far for us though unfortunately. may one of these days, since I know there is plenty more to see in the KY IN area.
May 17, 2012 at 4:30 PM
Lora @ my blessed life said…
We have only lived here less than a year so we are excited about exploring *our* new home state:) There does seem to be a lot of great things to do and see within not-too-great-of-a-distance.
May 17, 2012 at 4:54 PM
Debbie said…
Looks like fun! This isn't terribly far from us--maybe 4-5 hours, so I'm hoping we can stop here next time we make a trip in that direction.
May 18, 2012 at 9:06 AM
Laura in Montana said…
Lora,
What a great trip! We just finished reading "Killing Lincoln" as a read aloud as a family. My children know so much about Pres. Lincoln and his character now. Thanks for the great pictures. I'll show them to the kids. I'll put this on our list of places to visit....
May 19, 2012 at 11:43 PM
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