Museum of the Bible to open in 2017 in Washington DC

The Museum of the Bible is currently being constructed in Washington, D.C. and is scheduled to be open to the public in 2017.

The 430,000-square-foot structure will house approximately 40,000 items, including biblical manuscripts, rare printed copies of the Bible, fragments of the Dead Sea Scrolls, Torah scrolls, and even cuneiform tablets that have been dated to the time of Abraham. These are part of one of the largest collections of Bible-themed artifacts, some of which have been donated or loaned by institutions like the National Christian Foundation.

In a video, Founder and Chairman of the Board Steve Green says,"When we first got started, we were just looking at buying an artifact or two and we kept having opportunities being presented and we just kept buying."

Part of the exhibit is now on display in Santa Clarita in California via Passages, the traveling exhibit. The project was launched in 2011, and it takes around 400 artifacts to different places. Previously, the collection was put on display in Colorado, Minneapolis, Georgia, North Carolina and Oklahoma. It was also taken to places like Israel and The Vatican. In Cuba back in 2014, Passages was put on display at the Catedral de Nuestra Senora de la Asuncion and focused on "the Bible's impact on Cuba's unique history through specially curated biblical artwork and poetry from prominent Cuban writers, poets and painters."

The Museum of the Bible aims to educate people, and has projects for education like the Interactive Textbok for homeschoolers, material for private schools, and currently under development are materials for independent study. The Private School Bible Curriculum includes a complete student textbook with augmented reality, teacher's guide, Exclusive Learning Management System, among others. There is also the Scholars Initiative that support academic research and scholarships.

The Museum of the Bible, where the collection of biblical artifacts will have their permanent home, is located near the Capitol and National Mall.