The Lincoln Douglas debate museum is opening new exhibits to give the public a view of the debates that occurred in Charleston over 100 years ago.

The debate museum, 126 E St., opened up one new exhibit last weekend and plans to open up three more in the upcoming week, said Rick Riccio, exhibit designer for the debate museum.

The stereopticon exhibit that opened Sunday gives visitors a three dimensional view of what Abraham Lincoln looked like. Visitors will look through an eyepiece and see a view of Lincoln that dates back to the early 1850s, Riccio said.

One of the new exhibits set to open this weekend is a video animation of the route that Lincoln traveled on his trip throughout Illinois to seven different debate sites. The animation shows the route that Lincoln took as well as his means of transportation.

“The animation shows you how he traveled,” Riccio said.

Lincoln traveled over 3,500 miles during his trip through Illinois in 1958 and stopped in many towns just to talk to people, Riccio said.

Another exhibit at the museum will give visitors information about each of the seven debate sites in Illinois. The exhibit allows visitors to press a button for each of the seven locations and hear 30 seconds of the speech given by Lincoln and Stephen Douglas.

The speeches are narrated by B.F. McClerren and Tony Oseguera, who often portray Lincoln and Douglas during debate re-enactments.

The final exhibit for the museum is an etched glass window that will portray what Lincoln and Douglas looked like while giving the debates. The window faces the actual platform on which the two gave the debates and will be lit up, Riccio said.

The museum already has a children’s exhibit where children can put their heads in a cutout of Lincoln or Douglas or put their hands in a replica of Lincoln’s hand or a foot in Lincoln’s boot.

There is also a small theater in the museum that plays a 12 minute re-enactment of the debate that was broadcast on CSPAN, Riccio said.

Charleston is one of 11 cities in Illinois chosen by the state to be a representative for the “Looking for Lincoln” program because of the historical element of the city. Charleston is the only town to have a museum dedicated to the events of the debates.

“Nowhere else is this story being told,” Riccio said.