Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial Commission and HISTORY(TM) Bring History to Life for America's Students With an Online National Teach-In Honoring Lincoln's Birth

Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial Commission and HISTORY(TM) Bring History to Life for America's Students With an Online National Teach-In Honoring Lincoln's Birth

Featuring Prominent Lincoln Scholars Doris Kearns Goodwin, Harold Holzer and Matthew Pinsker

Live Webcast Scheduled for February 12th at 1:30pm EST

WASHINGTON, Feb. 2 /PRNewswire/ -- As the 200th anniversary of Abraham Lincoln's birth on February 12, 2009 approaches, interest in this beloved American president is at an all-time high. The Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial Commission (ALBC), in partnership with the television network HISTORY(TM), announce a National Teach-In on the life and legacy of our 16th president to be held on the bicentennial of his birth. The National Teach-In is a live webcast and will be available nationwide, online, on Thursday, February 12th, 2009 at 1:30pm EST. Educators and students can tune-in and view the live webcast at www.history.com/lincoln.

(LOGO: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20080416/NYW113LOGO )

The 45-minute long Teach-In, in conjunction with the ALBC, reinforces HISTORY's commitment to America's students and educators by making history more active and engaging. The Teach-In will bring history to life as a distinguished panel of three prominent Lincoln scholars share their expertise, answer questions from the live audience and field questions from schools tuning in via the webcast. The event, which will take place at the National Archives in Washington, DC, is aimed at middle through high school levels, with particular emphasis on 8th grade. For HISTORY, the Teach-In is part of an ongoing mission to preserve history through numerous educational and community outreach initiatives including Save Our History(TM), and Take a Veteran to School Day.

Sharing their commentary and expertise from the National Archives Building will be: Pulitzer Prize-winning historian and Team of Rivals author Doris Kearns Goodwin; Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial Commission Co-Chairman and noted Lincoln scholar, Harold Holzer, whose latest book is Lincoln President-Elect: Abraham Lincoln and the Great Secession Winter 1860-1861; and historian Matthew Pinsker, who holds the Pohanka Chair in American Civil War History at Dickinson College and is author of the acclaimed book Lincoln's Sanctuary. Dr. Libby O'Connell, Chief Historian, Senior Vice President Corporate Outreach for HISTORY, will moderate the Teach-In.

More than 80 students from the District of Columbia and Fairfax County, VA, will participate in the Teach-In, as the live audience. Three eighth grade classes from the DC public school, Shaw at Garnett-Patterson Middle School, will be in attendance. Also attending is, James A. Percoco, who teaches history at West Springfield High School in Springfield, VA (and is author of the book Summers with Lincoln), who will be bringing his Applied History class of 28 high school seniors to the Teach-In. Pre-taped questions from schoolchildren have been prepared for the panelists by students from Roosevelt High School in Los Angeles, Bethune Middle School in Shreveport, LA and McMain Secondary School in New Orleans.

More than 3,000 schools from all over the country and abroad have already registered to participate in the Teach-In. Registration will be available right-up until the broadcast begins. Afterward, the archived program will be available at www.history.com/lincoln and www.abrahamlincoln200.org.

Many of the schools registered for the Teach-In have also signed on to be designated Lincoln Legacy schools, having mounted Lincoln-related projects, using the lesson plans and resources featured on the ALBC web site, and showcasing the colorful Lincoln Bicentennial poster and lesson guide available free to participating classrooms. To gain Lincoln Legacy designation for schools, teachers should register online at www.abrahamlincoln200.org.

In November 2008, at Lincoln's birthplace in Hodgenville, Kentucky, HISTORY announced a nationwide year-long initiative to commemorate the bicentennial of Lincoln's birth, with the new campaign GIVE A LINCOLN FOR LINCOLN(TM). The initiative stretches across television programming, digital and grass roots platforms and is in partnership with the National Park Foundation (NPF) and National Trust for Historic Preservation (NTHP). Outback Steakhouse is the presenting sponsor of the campaign.

The goal of the GIVE A LINCOLN FOR LINCOLN(TM) campaign is to encourage Americans of all ages to donate Lincoln-head pennies, five dollar bills, or make larger donations online to help preserve six key sites associated with Lincoln's life and legacy. All donations collected through the campaign will be distributed to the NPF and the NTHP for the six Lincoln sites - Lincoln's birthplace in Kentucky, his boyhood home in Indiana, the Lincoln home in Springfield, Illinois, the Lincoln Memorial and Ford's Theatre, both in Washington, D.C. and Lincoln's Cottage in Washington, D.C.

About the Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial Commission

Congress established the Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial Commission to plan the nation's celebration of the 16th president's 200th birthday in 2009. The Commission works to engage the broadest range of individuals and groups in the commemoration. Through education programs, public forums, and the arts, the Commission provides an opportunity to re-examine Lincoln's legacy in our 21st century democracy. Its members, who are appointed by the president and congressional leaders, include political leaders, jurists, historians, and collectors. For more information, please visit www.abrahamlincoln200.org.

HISTORY(TM) and HISTORY HD(TM) are the leading destinations for revealing, award-winning original non-fiction series and event-driven specials that connect history with viewers in an informative, immersive and entertaining manner across multiple platforms. Programming covers a diverse variety of historical genres ranging from military history to contemporary history, technology to natural history, as well as science, archaeology and pop culture. Among the network's program offerings are hit series such as Ax Men, Battle 360, The Universe, Cities of The Underworld and Ice Road Truckers, as well as acclaimed specials including 102 Minutes That Changed America, King, Life After People, 1968 with Tom Brokaw, Nostradamus: 2012 and Star Wars: The Legacy Revealed. HISTORY has earned four Peabody Awards, four Primetime Emmy(R) Awards, 12 News & Documentary Emmy(R) Awards and received the prestigious Governor's Award from the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences for the network's Save Our History(R) campaign dedicated to historic preservation and history education. Take a Veteran to School Day is the network's latest initiative connecting America's schools and communities with veterans from all wars. The HISTORY web site, located at www.history.com, is the definitive historical online source that delivers entertaining and informative content featuring broadband video, interactive timelines, maps, games, podcasts and more.

Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20080416/NYW113LOGO
Source: HISTORY

CONTACT: Heather DiRubba, +1-212-210-9760, Heather.DiRubba@aetn.com

Web Site: http://www.history.com/
http://www.history.com/lincoln

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