Dead Sea Scrolls Exhibit
Oldest known manuscripts From Hebrew Bible on Display in Missouri
More than a blockbuster show, this well-conceived display will satisfy viewers young and old. It also stands up to critical review.
No doubt, the Dead Sea Scrolls exhibit has mass appeal. Besides seeing something from the mysterious-sounding Dead Sea, lots of people want to see the oldest known manuscripts from the Hebrew Bible, known as the Old Testament in Christian religions. The exhibit also showcases non-biblical fragments and artifacts from the Qumran people who scholars believe created and preserved the documents.
Since its opening in February, the Kansas City, Missouri sponsors have sold 105,000 tickets, at nearly $20 each, and the evening lecture series was sold out. This is impressive for the typically conservative spending Midwest.
Granted, the exhibit has historical, scientific, and cultural significance beyond compare. Still, do these elements alone make it a good exhibit? Does it stand up to critical review? Let’s see.
A Critical Review:
The Montshire Museum of Science has created a tool for critically reviewing exhibits. Applied to The Dead Sea Scrolls, we come up with some useful answers.
The exhibit is inviting and understandable. The Dead Sea Scrolls exhibit meet these criteria hands-down. A massive, 30-foot cave-like entrance (simulating where the scrolls were excavated) takes visitors into the introductory gallery and video room. The information in the gallery sets the stage well, while the video was weak in comparison.
Overall, the exhibit is visually appealing, reasonably comfortable – even with the large crowds – and well organized.
The exhibit invites exploration, allowing visitors to draw their own conclusions about ideas. The Dead Sea Scrolls presents several conflicting views about many aspects of the fragmented documents, including their age, origins, authenticity, and significance.
The exhibit inspires interaction among visitors. This exhibit nearly has all the prerequisites for lively discussion, if not heated debate: religion and politics! Enough said.
The exhibit content is accurate. The Dead Sea Scrolls does take on some big topics, but it does so without watering down the complex information too much. The balance of general and detailed information satisfies both generalist and expert viewers.
The exhibit is accessible to people of different ages and abilities. This exhibit wins on this level as well. There are a number of ways to access the information: well-written wall texts and/or audio wands. Although the audio wands became a distraction to some visitors who chose to read the labels instead, the audio wands were a hit with the younger crowd (primarily the iPod generation). The wands are also helpful to those with auditory disabilities, e.g. hearing loss or language processing problems.
Visitors leave with new ideas. A successful exhibit should leave visitors turning over new ideas and sharing them with others. Additionally, visitors should be able to apply some of the ideas to their own life experiences.
Although my family reluctantly attended the exhibit, we discussed it several times after the viewing. Not only did we learn more about our Christian roots we learned about another religion with which we have much in common. Surely, this type of insight is much needed in today’s religiously-conflicted world.
This reviewer encourages all readers to see this exhibit if it comes to your viewing area. For more information, try visiting the numerous websites related to the topic, such as iBibilio's page.
To learn more, the Biblical Archaeology Society offers a free e-book and articles here.
