Page 29 - Holyland Magazine - 2018 Edition

Your First Welcome to Museum
Walk of the Bible

through Museum As president of the new Museum of the Bible,
of the Bible located just two blocks from the National Mall
in Washington, D.C., I am thrilled to introduce
If you were to see every artifact the Holy Land Magazine audience to this
and attraction, read every piece of incredible, new museum dedicated to the best-
content in every exhibit, and view selling and most-influential book of all-time.
every video and show at Museum The journey to bring Museum of the Bible to
of the Bible, it would take you life started over seven years ago in 2010 and is
about nine, eight-hour days. the culmination of countless man-hours, over
But what might just one of those 50,000 donors, hundreds of staff and vendors,
days look like, floor-by-floor? collaborators and content makers from around
the world. Our goal was simple: to create a
Cardinal Donald Wuerl, Archbishop museum that invites all people to engage the
of Washington, and Cary Summers, Bible. I trust that once you step inside this
President of Museum of the Bible, 430,000-square-foot building, and explore its
at the ribbon-cutting ceremony many exhibits and experiences for yourself,
you will agree there is truly something for
everyone. The Bible belongs to the entire world
and we believe the words contained inside its
pages have something to say to us all.

Now allow me to walk you through this
truly magnificent museum that was created
specifically with you in mind.

Cary Summers
President of Museum of the Bible

Now let’s see what you can expect, floor by
floor.

Grand Entrance and Lobby: 1st
Floor

First, you would arrive at the awe-inspiring
front entrance, flanked by two 40-foot
bronze gates inscribed with the very first
words of the Bible — Genesis 1:1-31 —
taken directly from the original Gutenberg
Bible press plates. You would also see the
illuminated glass artwork inspired by Psalm
19 from the Bodmer Papyrus, an ancient
Greek manuscript written in 16 different
languages.

With your first steps inside, your eyes
would likely be drawn directly overhead,
encountering a 140-foot-long LED ceiling,
rotating through artistic, biblical images and
reflecting the beautiful floor tiles from Tunisia
and Portugal that line the walkway below.

Continuing onward down the expansive
entrance hall, you would be given a Digital

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