My husband and I just returned from Springfield and spent 4 hours at the museum. We loved it! It's simply NOT possible to see everything in 1 hour as another reviewer suggested. That is, if you take the time to read the displays and listen to such things as the "talking heads" wall - a multitude of perspectives on the Emanicipation Proclamation, the "Ask Lincoln a question" room, Tim Russert's show, etc. We arrived there on a Saturday - 10:30 - and had approx. 30 min. wait to buy tickets, then long lines to see both the Log Cabin and White House exhibits. This was tedious, so try to go even earlier if you're going on a Saturday. I couldn't help but think some of the exhibits could have been displayed more efficiently so people didn't have to file by in essentially single file lines. For the log cabin, that isn't possible, but part of the White House exhibit could have been arranged better. Still, that was not a huge detractor to our overall enjoyment.
We are both teachers and thought it was extremely educational, although more appropriate for middle grade students on up through adults. Is it "scholarly" enough? One review said not, but for that you can go across the street to the Presidential Library, I guess. From a teacher's standpoint, these displays were highly informative and entertaining - very visual and unusual. However, with that said, to get the most out of it (hence our 4 hours) you do need to read a lot. For this reason, I personally would not take young children - maybe not even under 10 or so. They would enjoy the log cabin and a few other things, but would tire quickly of the many things requiring reading. Plus much of the politics of the whole Civil War era would be beyond their comprehension. I imagine quite a few parents leave before they have their fill because of squirming kids. There is a play room for kids, but I didn't check it out - assume kids need to be supervised by their parents.
I think kids would enjoy the Lincoln New Salem historical village north of town much better - real cabins to walk into, outhouses, people in period costumes, a few animals, and a much smaller exhibit of the size kids could tolerate. We liked this very much too. See photos.
Yes, it is VERY cold in the museum. I had to go outside and sit in the 80 degree sun to warm up, and I had a sweater on! Deli/cafe had a nice assortment of food, although we didn't eat. Huge parkade is very conveniently located across the street.
The downtown was very disappointing. By 3:30, very few cafes were open; many only serve lunch and/or open for dinner at 5 or so. And there aren't many stores. There was a candy store open, a couple places to get ice cream, used book store, and some others. You'd think that the town would have worked on spiffing up the area the whole time the museum was being built, in anticipation of the crowds. I hope that's in the works. If you don't care about shopping for gifts/unique items, then this won't bother you.
Overall, it was a very enjoyable day. If you can work in a trip to the Lincoln-New Salem historical village, do so. We found tickets to their outdoor amphitheatre online and saw a GREAT musical show! Perfect evening.
