Press Release

WASHINGTON D.C. – Recently community leaders, donors, government officials, and special guests have been invited inside the Museum of the Bible’s construction site – located just three blocks from the Capitol Building and two blocks from the National Mall – to take part in a “hard-hat” tour of the of the Museum of the Bible.

Now, that same experience is being made available online through an extraordinary 360° video tour.

The video tour was produced and donated by Christian Vision using an emergent video technology that captures footage and integrates graphics from a literal 360-degree perspective. The 360° tour takes viewers through each floor of the museum, allowing them to look around and explore all potential angles. On desktop, users can also manipulate the viewing angle by dragging with their mouse or touch screen even as the host guides them along. Mobile users can hold their device up at eye level and move their phone in any direction to see views as if they were standing on site.  It can also be viewed with virtual reality goggles for an immersive experience.

“I think it can be difficult for people to fully grasp the scope, design and the innovative nature of this enormous project, housed in a 430,000 square-foot building,” says Steven Bickley, Vice President of the Museum of the Bible. “We started doing these hard-hat tours to show friends of the museum just how much progress has been made and just how beautiful it will be when it’s completed. What we quickly realized is there is simply no substitute for walking the space for yourself and looking around with your own two eyes. We’ve gotten so many requests from the public to take the hard-hat tour that we decided to do something truly immersive; something that would allow everyone to get a behind-the-scenes look at the museum before it opens in November of 2017. We’re very grateful to Christian Vision for their incredible work and for the hours of time and expertise they poured into this project.”

The video provides a preview of many of the standout features of the state-of-the-art museum, from the 40-foot-tall brass doors at the entrance, to the 150 ft. LED lobby screen.

The video tour even lets the audience stand on the rooftop of the building as the guide points out the museum’s close proximity to other famous Washington DC landmarks, including The Capitol, The Library of Congress, Washington Memorial, The White House and the Lincoln Memorial.

 “The 360° tour is the next best thing to actually physically being there,” adds Jeremy Burton, Director of Communications and Marketing. “Not only does it demonstrate how the Museum of the Bible is walking distance to other popular touring sites, it also reveals how specific spaces within the museum will look before and after construction. The video uses design renderings laid over top of footage of the construction site to give our audience an idea of what the exhibits, rooms, corridors and the grand entryway will look like when the project is finished. In many ways this video is indicative of the museum’s overall commitment to technology. This video has also been very popular on our social media channels and has given our friends and fans a new way to connect and share with this amazing museum.”

When the Museum of the Bible opens its doors to the public in November of 2017, guests will exchange the 360° hard-hat tour guide for the Museum of the Bible’s proprietary Digital Docent. The technology employs individual tablet devices that users can take with them as they tour the museum. The Digital Docent will provide a highly personalized and curated museum experience by allowing users to indicate specific areas of interest, how much time they have to tour the museum that day as well as how much they already know about the Bible as a starting point. The Docent will then map out an ideal journey that suits their particular interests while emailing any content they wish to take with them or that they missed along the way. 

To watch The Museum of the Bible 360° Hard-Hat Tour on YouTube, click here.

OR

To watch it on Facebook, click here.

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Museum of the Bible - The Museum of the Bible is an innovative, global, educational institution whose purpose is to invite all people to engage with the Bible.  In 2017, Museum of the Bible will open its 430,000-square-foot nonprofit museum in Washington, D.C., located just two blocks from the National Mall and three blocks from the Capitol. A digital fly-through of the Museum is viewable here.

Website | https://www.museumofthebible.org            Twitter | @museumofBible