Bible Museum opens doors to scholars, too

The Museum of the Bible promises to bring the Bible to the public - and scholars to the Bible. 

The Museum of the Bible, set to open in the nation's capital late next year, sponsors research through its Scholars Initiative, facilitating a global network of scholars to pursue research and provide students with an opportunity to develop as scholars under the guidance of scholar-mentors.

The 430,000-square-foot museum will feature a private collection of artifacts and objects, including Torah scrolls, Dead Sea Scroll fragments, and rare ancient copies of the Bible, to number more than 40,000 items.

Dr. Michael Holmes, executive director of the museum's Scholars Initiative, says most students don't "get anywhere near" original documents. 

"But with the model the museum's using - of a senior scholar, faculty members with the right skills, who will get students involved - you have undergrad and grad students doing firsthand research on ancient documents," he says. "This gets them tremendously excited."

What that creates, Holmes further explains, is the "next generaton of scholars" who can point to scholarly work with original biblical souces, including the famous Dead Sea Scroll fragments. 

Holmes says the project is a great rollout towards the projected November 2017 opening of the Museum of the Bible.