Unspecified/General

In the south-west quadrant of downtown Washington just three blocks south of the National Mall, the Museum of the Bible is one of the largest private religious museums in the United States and one of the most architecturally distinguished new museums opened in the federal capital during the late 2010s. The dramatic 430,000-square-foot building occupies a converted historic 1923 refrigerated warehouse and opened to the public on 17 November 2017 following a 500-million-dollar private development undertaken by the Hobby Lobby founder Steve Green and his family. The museum's permanent collection comprises some 40,000 individual biblical and biblical-history-related artefacts, with approximately 3,000 individual objects on public display at any given time. The collection was assembled over a 15-year period beginning in 2009 through aggressive purchasing in the international antiquities market by the Hobby Lobby family-owned arts and crafts retail chain. The collection's rapid growth has been the subject of significant controversy, with several high-profile cases of disputed provenance and forged artefacts emerging in the years immediately preceding and following the museum's opening. The museum's permanent exhibitions occupy six full floors organised around three principal interpretive themes. The History floors cover the historical development of the Bible text from its earliest manuscript origins through the contemporary digital era. A standout artefact is one of the largest collections of Dead Sea Scroll fragments held outside Israel, although a number of the fragments have subsequently been determined to be modern forgeries and quietly withdrawn from public display. The Stories floors cover the narrative content of the Bible through immersive multimedia presentations including a walk-through recreation of the village of Nazareth in the first century, a presentation of the Hebrew Bible's Genesis-through-Kings narrative arc and a corresponding presentation of the New Testament narrative. The Impact floors cover the broader cultural influence of the Bible on western art, literature, music, science, government and popular culture from the medieval period through the contemporary era, with rotating exhibits drawing on the permanent collection and visiting loan exhibitions. A rooftop garden on the building's sixth floor provides panoramic views of the central downtown Washington skyline including the United States Capitol and the Washington Monument. The museum is open daily with extended weekend evening hours, with modest admission charges and discounted online pricing for advance booking.

Type: Tourist Attraction

Address: 400 4th Street Southwest, Washington, DC, United States

Telephone: 866-430-6682

Website: museumofthebible.org

Opening Date: 17/11/2017