The life and legacy of Abraham Lincoln will come alive in the new home of the Lincoln Heritage Museum on the campus of Lincoln College when it reopens in April 2014 in Lincoln, Illinois. The museum will use Alcorn McBride’s Digital Binloop, A/V Binloop HD, ProTraXX, DMX Machines and V16 Pro to interpret the world in which the 16th president lived, particularly as it pertained to Illinois.
Groundbreaking for the first building on campus took place on Lincoln’s last living birthday in 1865. The Lincoln Heritage Museum began in 1942 with the bequest of a vast Lincoln and Logan County history collection with the stipulation that a museum be established. The holdings have continued to grow, prompting the museum’s move to the new Lincoln Center on the north side of the campus.
“The new facility is really designed as a whole experience,” says Alan Eidson of Eidson Studios, which performed the AV design and installation. Taylor Studios, Inc. of Rantoul, Illinois is the exhibit design, fabrication and lighting firm for the entire project. “There are multiple rooms with multiple presentations within each room. Visitors interact with 53 audio and video programs by 35 motion and touch-points. The touch-points are controlled by proximity sensors from Technovision and include objects such as a plow, rose, quilt, books, maps and even a coffin.
“Many of the presentations have rear projection, and there are six video and audio programs. For one of the presentations, visitors look through a wall in the box at Ford’s Theater to witness a reenactment video of Lincoln’s assassination then look through another wall to see a video of the house where the mortally wounded president died. Between those presentations a multimedia review of Lincoln’s life is shown.”
Eidson says Alcorn McBride gear was selected because the company “had all the components we needed for a complete package.” A Digital Binloop carries the surround sound audio; an A/V Binloop HD provides synchronized video playback. Two DMX Machines control about 400 lights in the facility. A ProTraXX 16-channel audio player is used for other programs; and a V16 Pro serves as the show controller.
“I like the Binloop set up in one rack unit,” Eidson says. “They have it all in one package and make it very easy – they were the best choice for reproduction of the media. Then I learned more about ProTraXX and the awesome DMX Machines – I have used them for many years. Both Taylor and I were very familiar with Alcorn and its programming, so it was a no-brainer to choose the V16 Pro show controller.”
Eidson reports that all of the products are “stable and integrate easily” with other equipment. He also hails Alcorn McBride support. “They’ve been just great. Any time we have any issues or questions they are very accommodating.”
About Alcorn McBride:
Founded in 1986, Alcorn McBride is the leading manufacturer of show control, audio and video equipment for the themed entertainment industry, and a rapidly growing provider of audio and video systems for retail environments and transportation applications. Staffed by some of the industry’s best engineers and backed by outstanding customer support, the company has demonstrated great agility in bringing new designs to market. A hallmark of Alcorn McBride products is their durable, zero maintenance design. The company’s products provide consistent, reliable operation for audio and video playback applications worldwide. For more information, visit
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