AT THE SMITHSONIAN

Text President Lincoln

Senior Editor

June 17, 2009

Back in January, the New York Post reported that a 13-year-old girl in Silverado Canyon, California, sent 14,528 text messages in one month. (The average number of texts per month for 13- to 17-year-old cell phone users is 1,742.) And in March, two Pennsylvania men attempted to set a world text-messaging record. Combined, they sent 217,000 in a month, beating the previous record, set by a man in India in 2005, by 35,000.

Can u say adctd2txt?

Well, Smithsonian Connections, a heritage trail of sorts to the Smithsonian, connecting events and exhibitions at all the museums through a single topic, noticed the trend and has decided to use it to its advantage. Cant beatm joinm, rite?

Connections has launched "Text President Lincoln," a program that allows Smithsonian museum visitors to text "ABE" and have him guide them through some of his favorite objects and trivia. (Parents: maybe this is how you can get your tweens to interact with the artifacts.)

Here's how it works. If you are at:

National Air and Space Museum, text "ABE 1" to 95495.

National Museum of American History, text "ABE 2" to 95495.

Smithsonian American Art Museum or the National Portrait Gallery, text "ABE 3" to 95495.

Smithsonian Castle, text "ABE 4" to 95495.

National Postal Museum, text "ABE 5" to 95495.

Or visit Smithsonian Connections' W3* for more information.

* Web site