A virtual tour of Ford’s Theatre Center for Education and Leadership

Don’t you love the places technology can take us today – the way social media and video can show us sites we may never get to see otherwise, teach us things we may never otherwise know?

In 2005, when the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum opened its doors in Springfield, Ill., it hosted a conference with more than 20 leading Lincoln scholars. 

One of the presentations that touched me the most that day was a three-generation panel of scholars, which included a young scholar named Matthew Pinsker, prolific Lincoln author Harold Holzer (representing the in-between demographic ), and a gentleman who was then a patriarch of Lincoln scholars, David Herbert Donald, Pinsker’s mentor. I was glad I met the elder scholar that day, and received his autograph in my copy of his book, “Lincoln.” Donald passed away four years later, a few months after the bicentennial of Lincoln’s birth. 

One of the greatest changes we’ve seen in the way we can educate and inspire about the 16^th president is through the use of technology – and Donald’s student is doing it well.  

Pinsker holds the Brian Pohanka Chair of Civil War History at Dickinson College. He is the author of two books about Lincoln, one of which is “Lincoln’s Sanctuary: Abraham Lincoln and the Soldiers’ Home.” He is also co-director of the House Divided project, which provides 21^st century tools to teach 19^th century topics in grades K-12. 

Check out one of the latest – an inside look at Ford’s Theatre Center for Education and Leadership. Pinsker shared this post on LinkedIn today:

This is what a "virtual" field trip looks like... Check out short video tour of new Ford's Theatre Center for Education & Leadership, by @DickinsonCol prof Matthew Pinsker, via @Gilder_Lehrman http://t.co/reSic0tl3i

See the 10-minute video here: 

Teacher's Tour of the Ford's Theatre Center for Education and Leadership from The Gilder Lehrman Institute on Vimeo.