The world is a book, and those who do not travel read only one page.” -- St. Augustine

Thursday, May 2, 2019

Museum of the Bible -- Washington, D.C.

(CNS photo)
Destination: Ken McKenzie, Museum of the Bible president and CEO, told Catholic News Service that an upcoming exhibit focusing on science and faith would bolster conversation on the answers to questions on two oft-ignored aspects of science, specifically “what ... science mean(s) for the existence and activity of God” and what science means for the “sacredness of humanity.”
Masses are not offered at the museum, but visit https://masstimes.org/ to find Masses in the area.
Photos: (Top left) Brian Hyland, associate curator from Oklahoma City, interprets a sarcophagus replica of Jonah inside the “Vatican Museums and Vatican Library” exhibit at the Museum of the Bible in 2017.
(Bottom left) A bound book is seen inside the “History of the Bible” exhibit at the Museum of the Bible in 2017.
Why to go: From the 17th-century ban by the Vatican of Copernicus’ mathematical calculation that the sun was at the center of the solar system to modern-day arguments about evolution’s compatibility with a belief in God, science and faith have regularly butted heads in the public square.
Seeking to illuminate these debates for the public is the Museum of the Bible in Washington, which announced April 1 that it would be using sizable grants from the John Templeton Foundation and the Templeton Religion Trust toward fostering a “greater understanding of the shared curiosity about our world that stimulates both scientific inquiry and biblical interpretation.”
(CNS photo)
The exhibits will be divided among six sections, each of which will be devoted to pressing existential questions about the beginning of the universe, what keeps it running, how humans and animals differ, what humans “are made of” and if humanity is alone in the universe.
Accessibility: The museum has stairless entries and wheelchairs — first come, first served — for its patrons. Check the website for details.
(Grand) Kid friendly: Families are welcome to the museum. Cost: (online/at the door) $19.99/$24.99 adults;  $19.99/$19.99 seniors citizens, military, first responders and students; $9.99/$14.99 children 7-17; free child 6 and younger.
Info: Address — Museum of the Bible, 400 Fourth St. SW, Washington, DC 20024
Phone — 866.430.6682  
Website — https://www.museumofthebible.org/

— CNS, Sharon Boehlefeld contributed to the story
Send Destinations ideas to seasonedobserver@rockforddiocese.org