The Museum of the Bible may have just opened six months ago, but that hasn’t stopped more than half a million people from visiting the home of the Good Book.
Last week, the museum announced that about 565,000 people have visited since its opening, adding that more than 90 percent of attendees rated their experience as excellent or good.
“We are pleased that more than half a million people have walked through the iconic Gutenberg Gates since last November to experience the largest museum dedicated to the Bible,” said Museum of the Bible President Cary Summers in a press release. “As we enter the peak of tour season, we look forward to welcoming new and returning guests to engage with the history, narrative and impact of the most influential book ever written.”
As we celebrate our six month anniversary, we'd like to say thank you to everyone who made this endeavor possible, and to the 550,000 visitors that have experienced the Book that shapes history at the museum thus far. pic.twitter.com/YTgA26fQU7
— Museum of the Bible (@museumofBible) May 19, 2018
The 430,000-square-foot museum — the newest attraction on Washington, D.C.’s National Mall — opened its doors to the public on Nov. 18.
Next month, Hebrew University will host an exhibit exploring the story of the Romans and the Jewish people in the first century, and July will see the opening of two new exhibits: “Sacred Drama: Performing the Bible in Renaissance Florence” and “Noblewomen and the Bible: Seven Stories from the House of Stolberg.”
Likely the largest project of compilation ever undertaken by one person was a Bible project. Alexander Cruden created a "Complete Concordance to the Holy Scriptures," first published in 1737 and amounting to nearly 775,000 words– all done by hand! pic.twitter.com/EYz8Uz2XGC
— Museum of the Bible (@museumofBible) May 21, 2018
The museum cost $500 million and took three years to build, Religion News Service reported.
While the number of visitors in its first six months was less than half of the visitors the National Museum of African American History and Culture saw in the same time period, it significantly outperformed other recent museum openings, such as the the Broad, a new contemporary art museum in Los Angeles, which attracted less than half a million in its first six months after opening in 2015.
"The Bible is alive, it speaks to me; it has feet, it runs after me; it has hands, it lays hold of me." –Martin Luther #QOTD pic.twitter.com/g3a39Z1ot1
— Museum of the Bible (@museumofBible) May 12, 2018
About three-quarters of the museum’s 1,600 items are bibles and biblical manuscripts, according to RNS.
(H/T: Religion News Service)