WATCH: Museum of the Bible—New Video 'Fly-Through' Gives an Idea of What You'll Find There

Aimee Herd/News Staff : Mar 29, 2016
MuseumoftheBible.org

Museum of the Bible will be an unparalleled experience, using cutting-edge technology to bring the Bible to life. It will span time, space, and cultures, inviting everyone to engage with the Bible. With three permanent sections and space for temporary exhibits, there will always be something new to explore.

The Museum of the Bible is slated to open in late 2017, and a new computer-generated 'fly-through' of the building and exhibits will likely whet your appetite in anticipation. (Artist depiction via MuseumoftheBible.org)

The new museum, dedicated to the history, artifacts depictions and more, relating to the Bible, will be a unique and inspiring addition to the many historical sites already available to visit in  DC.
 
Click here to watch the video, below are some interesting facts about the soon-coming Museum of the Bible.
 
FACTS:
Museum of the Bible invites all people to engage with the Bible through museum exhibits and scholarly pursuits. Dedicated to the impact, history and narrative of the Bible, the museum, located at 400 4th St. SW, will open in 2017 three blocks from the U.S. Capitol in Washington. 
 
BY THE NUMBERS 

Total square footage: 430,000 

Floors: 8 (including two basement levels and two new floors being added onto the existing rooftop) 

Central exhibit floors: 5 (Impact, History and Narrative of the Bible; long-term international libraries; and long-term international museum galleries) 

Construction and property costs: More than $400 million 

Workers on-site daily at construction's peak: 500 – 600 

Time it will take to read every placard, see every artifact and experience every activity in the museum: 9 days at 8 hours per day 

Floor height (in feet) needed to accommodate exhibits: 25 

Length (in feet) of giant LED ceiling screen running the expanse of the museum's grand lobby: 200 

Biblical garden: 1 on rooftop 

Ballroom: Dinner seating for 500, lecture-style seating for 1,000 

Performing arts hall seating capacity: 500 

Number of Biblical texts and artifacts on display on the History floor alone: More than 500 

Number of blocks from the National Mall: 2 (approximately three minutes walking) 
 
MUSEUM TIMELINE 

2010: Museum of the Bible established as 501(c)(3) nonprofit 

March 2011: The Museum of the Bible Collection makes public debut to gathering of business, government, academic and religious leaders at the Vatican Embassy in Washington 

July 2012: Washington Design Center purchased for $50 million as site for forthcoming Bible museum 

Summer 2014: Museum architectural concept submission is approved by the U.S. Commission on Fine Arts, the local  DC  Advisory Neighborhood Commission and the  DC Historic Preservation Review Board; The Terminal Refrigerating and Warehousing Co. building is also designated as an historic landmark by  DC's Historic Preservation Review Board 

December 2014: Crews begin interior demolition process, creating a blank slate for new exhibit build-out and working to lower the ground floor to accommodate basement levels and elevator shafts 

February 2015: Major construction begins with the start of demolition on a 1980s-era addition to the historic former refrigeration warehouse that will become the museum 

Late 2017: Anticipated opening date for Museum of the Bible 

Click here for more about the museum.