With the aim of becoming the world’s most technologically advanced museum, The Museum of the Bible opens (in Washington D.C. in late 2017) at what, with the new US administration, is a topical time.
With talk of Ben Carson – a biblical literalist – becoming the new Education Secretary, this addition to the museum landscape in the city promises, if not science and education in the traditional manner, then at least an insight into a mindset exerting a powerful influence on the new Government.
The brainchild of Steve Green, a billionaire evangelical, who has spent over $800 million in creating the exhibits, developing the building itself and driving through the project, the museum is just a few blocks from the US Capitol and even closer to the great museums of The Smithsonian.
What the museum will be is technologically advanced, having unveiled a “$42 million investment in a visitor experience that will be unrivaled in the industry”.
Cary Summers, president of Museum of the Bible said, “Museum of the Bible’s team of innovators, in concert with some of the world’s leading creative and technical minds, has dedicated itself to building the most technologically advanced museum in the world.This team brought together the most impressive electronic systems in the world, dreamed up how to create the best museum experience and then invented the rest of the tools they needed to bring our guests the most interactive, memorable experience possible.”
A highlight of the museum will be a a 472-seat Performing Arts Hall designed for 360-degree projection mapping and utilising 17 state-of-the-art 4K projectors.
The digital entry arcade ceiling is another eye-catching creation with a huge 140-foot by 15-foot display and 555 LED panels with five-millimeter pixel pitch giving arriving guests an immediate and brilliant introduction to the exhibits.
David Greenbaum, a VP of SmithGroupJJR, the lead architect for the project, said, “In the museum landscape in Washington, D.C., this museum will stand out. It will be a memorable experience for all kinds of visitors from around the nation and the world—a chance to explore a well-known book in a totally new way. The architecture weaves together humanity, history, art and technology to express the spirit and significance of the Bible’s ancient writings.”
Here is what Newsweek said about Steve Green and his family’s ambitions:
“The Greens are the Koch brothers of the evangelical movement and have spent hundreds of millions to blur the line between church and state. They fought a “religious freedom” case all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court, winning a 2014 ruling that allows businesses to refuse to cover contraception for women, as required per the Affordable Care Act. They also bankrolled a controversial Bible curriculum for American public schools (not yet approved) and poured a fortune into fundamentalist Christian colleges and institutions here and abroad.”
