Press

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork/AP) — The Children’s Museum of Manhattan is teaching kids with hands-on political history.

Its new exhibition features documents with authentic autographs from U.S. presidents. They’re covered in plastic glass, and some are hung low enough for children to touch.

Highlights of the “I Approve This Message” interactive exhibition include two original pages of Abraham Lincoln’s handwriting covering a legal settlement, one of Richard Nixon’s resignation letters and personal checks signed by Harry Truman, Calvin Coolidge and Theodore Roosevelt.

Young museum-goers can sit at a child-sized Oval Office desk, use a pretend voting booth, participate in presidential scavenger hunts, participate in mock elections and even create their own campaign slogan button — perfect for any pint-sized politician.

“So far, we’ve had six presidents from this great state. Who knows what the 2016 election will bring?” Children’s Museum Executive Director Andrew Ackerman said in a statement. “Our young visitors may be inspired to be America’s next great leader one day.”

The exhibit also features presidential profiles with original art from Mike Lowery, author of “Ken Jenning’s Junior Genius Guides: U.S. Presidents.”

Organizers say the exhibit’s contemporary presidential portraits feature “a splash of color and whimsy.”

The documents are from the private collection of the late Fred B. Tarter.

The exhibit is open for children ages 2-10 and will run from Oct.1 through December 31.

For more information on the Children’s Museum of Manhattan, click here.