Museum of the Bible - Part I

After deciding earlier in the week that we definitely wanted to visit the Museum of the Bible we logged on to their website and reserved our tickets in advance.

Judging by the attendance when we visited (which wasn't packed but neither was it desolate) reserving our tickets likely wasn't necessary, but I did enjoy seeing their ticketing process through firsthand experience.

As mentioned previously we arrived at the museum before they opened at 10:00 so we headed over to the Mall for a while.  When we got back it was still before our scheduled entry time of 10:30, but not too much before.  Nobody gave us grief about showing up a bit early.

We first had to pass through security.  If you visit be sure to read through what is posted on the website before you arrive.  Make sure to leave your spraypaint at home, ;-).  You can't bring a bag that is too large since all bags have to be passed through scanning machines.  The photo above is from the lobby side.  First you put the bag into a box in the honeycomb that is green and you pass through the metal detector.  It was easier than the TSA though as no shoes or belts had to be removed!

 After going through security we paused for a minute to shuffle things around before we headed to ticketing.

The ticketing queue didn't appear to be very long.

The digital signage system over the ticketing desk looked quite nice.  I suppose that due to the $0 ticket cost (suggested donations are encouraged but not pushed) the cashiers aren't quite as busy as those at other attractions.  The one we interacted with just scanned our tickets and gave us a map.  He didn't even try to upsell either of the attractions that had an extra cost.

Another view of the ticketing desk.

 As I'm involved with making many signs at work I always pay attention to signs when I visit another attraction.

 As I said donations are encouraged, but not pushed.  Since we'd reserved our tickets online we didn't actually get asked about a donation.

 This digital display is in the ceiling of the atrium/lobby area.  I should have taken at least a short video to show how it changed, but I didn't think of that while I was there.  According to the MOTB website the "150-foot long LED ceiling displaying biblical art and scenes"

 The atrium is large and feels quite open.  This view faces towards the rear of the museum and the start of the exhibits.

 This view looks back towards the Museum entrance.

Here is a 360 degree view of the lobby.

This is the membership desk.  Interestingly enough when the Creation Museum opened the membership and ticketing desks were also widely separated in the Portico of the museum.

 Between the ticketing and membership desks is an orientation area.

The orientation area features a series of large digital screens at the rear of the space along with a number of monitors that are parallel to the floor.  These monitors display previews of the content on each floor which I assume are intended to help guests plan out their day.  I believe they're also meant to connect with the digital guides--which we did not use.

 Basement floor.

 First floor.

 Second floor.

 Third floor.

 Fourth floor.

 Fifth floor.

Sixth floor.

The next post will cover the children's area and navigation around the museum.

~Matt

PS Here is a video Museum of the Bible just published about the first floor.