Lands of Lincoln: 5 areas tout ties to Abe

— -- In honor of Honest Abe's 200th birthday, USA TODAY's Laura Bly looks at key destinations where the candles are blazing. For a nationwide rundown of events and exhibits, check the Lincoln Bicentennial Commission (abrahamlincoln200.org).

ILLINOIS

Hallowed ground: "To this place, and the kindness of these people, I owe everything," Lincoln said of his adopted hometown, Springfield. Opened in 2005, the 100,000-square-foot Abraham Lincoln Presidential Museum targets the Wii generation with a captivating mix of scholarship and showmanship. (It was designed by BRC Imagination Arts, whose founder is a former Disney imagineer.) Think "4-D" theaters and eerily realistic dioramas, not dusty artifacts under glass. alplm.org

Note and remember: Opening Saturday and continuing through February 2010 at the Chicago Public Library, Tall Man of Destiny: Images of Abraham Lincoln celebrates the myriad views of Honest Abe. chipublib.org

Lincoln bedrooms: A bicentennial package at Springfield's retro-'60s State House Inn includes lodging for two, two tickets to the Lincoln museum and library, breakfast and a $60 credit at a local restaurant, Saputo's, and more for $196 a night. thestatehouseinn.com

Site unseen: The Watermelon Monument in Lincoln (the only city named for Abe with his personal consent) memorializes the young lawyer's 1853 attendance at the town dedication, when Lincoln christened his namesake by — take your pick of stories — either breaking open a watermelon and scattering the juice or uncouthly spitting the seeds. logancountytourism.org

Info:lookingforlincoln.com; lincoln200.net

INDIANA

Hallowed ground: Just south of Little Pigeon Creek in southern Indiana's Spencer County — birthplace of the USA's first theme park, Holiday World — the Lincoln Boyhood National Memorial and Living Historical Farm re-create Abe's hardscrabble years as a Hoosier. He lived here from age 7 (his father, Thomas, moved the family north from Kentucky in 1816) to age 21, when they headed for Illinois in search of more profitable pastures. nps.gov/libo

Note and remember: The 1,500-seat Lincoln Amphitheatre, tucked into wooded hills in Lincoln State Park near the family's old cabin, premieres the musical LINCOLN on June 12; performances run through Aug. 15. Tickets cost $42.95 for adults and include an Amish family-style meal. lincolnamphitheatre.com