The massive Museum of the Bible, scheduled to open Friday in Washington, has three main exhibit floors, lecture and meeting space, restaurants and a rooftop garden, a ballroom and a 472-seat theater with wraparound projection walls.
Exhibits are readied inside the Museum of the Bible, Monday, Oct. 30, 2017, in Washington. The project is largely funded by the conservative Christian owners of the Hobby Lobby crafts chain. Hobby Lobby president Steve Green says the aim is to educate not evangelize. But skeptics call the project a Christian ministry disguised as a museum. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin
A door opens to the "Exodus" section inside the Museum of the Bible, Monday, Oct. 30, 2017, in Washington. The project is largely funded by the conservative Christian owners of the Hobby Lobby crafts chain. Hobby Lobby president Steve Green says the aim is to educate not evangelize. But skeptics call the project a Christian ministry disguised as a museum. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin
A door opens to the "Exodus" section at the end of the "Passover" presentation inside the Museum of the Bible, Monday, Oct. 30, 2017, in Washington. The project is largely funded by the conservative Christian owners of the Hobby Lobby crafts chain. Hobby Lobby president Steve Green says the aim is to educate not evangelize. But skeptics call the project a Christian ministry disguised as a museum. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin
Cary Summers, president of the Museum of the Bible, walks through an exhibit at the museum, Monday, Oct. 30, 2017, in Washington. The museum was built by the owners of Hobby Lobby, cost $500 million to build, covers 430,000 square feet and is a few blocks from the U.S. Capitol. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin
People preview the exhibit "The World of Jesus of Nazareth" at the Museum of the Bible, Monday, Oct. 30, 2017, in Washington. The museum was built by the owners of Hobby Lobby, cost $500 million to build, covers 430,000 square feet and is a few blocks from the U.S. Capitol. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin
Steve Green, the owner of Hobby Lobby and a founder and major backer of the Museum of the Bible, poses for a portrait at the museum, Monday, Oct. 30, 2017, in Washington. The museum cost $500 million to build, covers 430,000 square feet and is a few blocks from the U.S. Capitol. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin
Security workers stand inside a large open stairwell area at the Museum of the Bible, Monday, Oct. 30, 2017, in Washington. The museum was built by the owners of Hobby Lobby, cost $500 million to build, covers 430,000 square feet, and is a few blocks from the U.S. Capitol. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin
An exhibit discussing slavery and the Bible in the United States is displayed inside the Museum of the Bible, Monday, Oct. 30, 2017, in Washington. The museum was built by the owners of Hobby Lobby, cost $500 million to build, covers 430,000 square feet and is a few blocks from the U.S. Capitol. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin
An exhibit discussing slavery in the United States is displayed inside the Museum of the Bible, Monday, Oct. 30, 2017, in Washington. The project is largely funded by the conservative Christian owners of the Hobby Lobby crafts chain. Hobby Lobby president Steve Green says the aim is to educate not evangelize. But skeptics call the project a Christian ministry disguised as a museum. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin
Steve Green, the owner of Hobby Lobby and a founder and major backer of the Museum of the Bible, poses for a portrait at the museum, Monday, Oct. 30, 2017, in Washington. The museum cost $500 million to build, covers 430,000 square feet and is a few blocks from the U.S. Capitol. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
WASHINGTON (AP) — The massive Museum of the Bible, scheduled to open Friday in Washington, has three main exhibit floors, lecture and meeting space, restaurants and a rooftop garden, a ballroom and a 472-seat theater with wraparound projection walls. The museum is located three blocks from the Capitol and was largely funded by the owners of the Hobby Lobby arts and crafts chain. The company president, Steve Green, says the museum is nonsectarian. Religion scholars and others will be combing the exhibits to see if that claim bears out.
Admission is free, although donations are requested. Here are some details about what to expect:
KIDS
A first floor children’s area highlights acts of courage depicted in the Bible and has a high-tech feature that projects a watery surface with marine life below. Children can walk across the image, creating the illusion of walking on water.
THE THEATER
The theater will open with the show “Amazing Grace,” a musical that played briefly on Broadway about John Newton, a slave trader and Anglican priest who wrote the Christian hymn of the show’s title and denounced the slave trade.
JESUS’ WORLD
An extensive exhibit aims to recreate what Nazareth looked like during the time of Jesus, including a mikveh, or ritual bath, and a courtyard depicting village life. People in period costume will guide visitors through the section.
The museum aims to highlight how the Bible has influenced people in ways they may not realize. On television screens, videos will play pop music songs with an explanation of the Bible verse that inspired the lyrics. Another section has high fashion inspired by Scripture.
FIND THE VERSE
A motion simulator called “Washington Revelations” creates the sensation of flying over the nation’s capital to see Bible inscriptions and references in buildings and monuments throughout the city.
THE VIEW
Along with a rooftop garden, a glass-walled atrium provides clear views of the Washington Monument and the Capitol.
