Knox College sponsors 'Build Your Own Old Main'

The "Build Your Own Old Main" Challenge is sponsored by Knox College in cooperation with the Illinois Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial Commission and the Illinois Historic Preservation Agency (IHPA).

Students, classes and the general public are invited to download and build their own models of Old Main or other Lincoln sites over the summer and fall of 2009.

Display of the models will take place at Knox in October 2009 -- the month of Knox College's Homecoming and the 151st anniversary of the Lincoln-Douglas Debate at Old Main.

"Build Your Own Old Main" Challenge Details

• Download and print the free PDF pages from the Lincoln Bicentennial Commission website. www.lincoln200.net
• Assembly instructions and tips are on the download pages.
• Among the Lincoln sites, the two model cabins are suitable for younger students working alone. The two larger models of Old Main and the Old State Capitol are more complex and are intended for classes or advanced individuals.
• All entrants will receive a participation award
• All entrants will be entered in a drawing for gift certificates from the Knox College Bookstore.
• Gift certificate prizes will be drawn in each of seven categories:
  • Class in grades K-2
  • Class in grades 3-5
  • Class in grades 6-8
  • Individual in grades K-8
  • Individual in grades 9-12
  • Individual Adult
  • Creative Adaptation
• If you plan to enter a model in the drawing, register with Knox College by September 15, 2009 by sending an e-mail to pr@knox.edu. Display and drawing for prizes will take place on the Knox campus in October, 2009. When you register, you will be notified of the exact time, date and location on campus to bring models for the display and prize drawing.

Above, completed model, courtesy the Illinois Historic Preservation Agency; below, example of one corner under construction.