Not like the National Mall in Washington, D.C. needed another museum, but it’s getting one and this new attraction may get me to visit our nation’s capital sooner than I planned. Ground breaking started two years ago, but the doors to the Museum of the Bible open this November. The eight-story building is only three blocks from the White House and will hold some true American treasures – not to mention exhibits from other places around the world too. The museum focuses on the role and impact of the Bible through American history. Steve Bickey outlined the museum’s purpose to Fox News:

“The goal is to show and to educate people about the many ways that the Bible has impacted America, not just our history but in terms of civil rights and social justice to fashion,” adding that the facility will offer an “immersive experience to people from all faiths, or no faith, and those who have never even picked up a Bible.”

The museum will house 40,000 biblical and religious artifacts, including portions of the Dead Sea Scrolls (on loan from the Israeli Antiquities Department), the Lunar Bible – the first Bible to travel to – and be read – in space, as well as Bibles once belonging to noted baseball player Babe Ruth and entertainer Elvis Presley. These wonders will be on display in the first five floors, the remaining three to be used for office space, storage and exhibition preparation.

Funding for the $500 million museum has all come from private donations, and the bulk of the exhibits are from the museum founders’ family collection. The founders are Steve Green, president of Hobby Lobby, and his father David. Steve Green is known for drawing lines in the sand and sticking to them, most famous for challenging Obama’s Affordable Care Act which required employers to fund abortions for their employees. He publicly stated that he would rather close up all of his stores than violate his conscience. Thankfully he didn’t have to as the courts ruled in his favor.

One of the largest, and heaviest exhibits is a reproduction of the Liberty Bell, which had to be lowered into the building during construction. It was gifted by Dr. Peter Lillback, founder of the Providence Forum and weighs 1.7 tons.

Perhaps the most unique aspect of the museum is its digital guide app, which allows you to create your own virtual path through the exhibits on their phones. While this is not revolutionary – other museums have virtual tours – this is the first time to this author’s knowledge that it has been distilled down to a phone app.

If you are interested in biblical artifacts and a college student, you may want to check if your university is on of 60 so far that participate in the museum’s Scholars Initiative. The program puts students together with staff analysts to work on artifacts in the collection.

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