2015/2016 Annual Report.

Transcription

1 2015/2016 Annual Report

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3 Table of Contents Page Director s Report 3 Introduction 4 The Collection 5 Recent Acquisitions 2015/ Bringing the Bible to Life 7 Guided Tours 9 Bible Plant Garden 12 About Us 13 2 A nnual Report the bible museum

4 Director s Report The delivery of a compelling visitor experience, day in day out, is the most critical and challenging work that the Bible Museum in Australia does. It goes to the heart of what we are here for, and it is essential to our success, financial sustainability and continued growth in the service of God. Visitor feedback has revealed that 99% of visitors found their experience 'enjoyable', with many very likely to return. The importance of the visitor experience is central to the Museum's charitable objects, and our vision and mission. Our volunteers welcome visitors into the inspiring stories behind the most important book in the world, so that they too can see, feel, smell, hear and join in over 3000 years of Biblical history. General promotion of the Museum was expanded during the year, including social media, and local, state and national media coverage. A highlight was the 3 page article about the Museum in the Australian Geographic Magazine July In the past year, 2015/16, we have been visited by Probus clubs, vintage car clubs, church groups, and many families. Members of many Christian religious denominations have included Anglicans, Baptists, Brethren, Christadelphians, Church of Christ, Coptics, Greek and Russian Orthodox, Jehovah s Witnesses, Lutherans, Mormons, Pentecostals, Roman Catholics, Seventh Day Adventists, and Uniting Churches. Visitors have also included Jewish, Buddhist, and Hindu believers, as well as people who have no religious beliefs. We have continued to expand the collection, to include several important facsimiles, such as the Aleppo Codex and Codex Vaticanus, as well as some authentic archaeological artefacts. Finally, I would like to acknowledge the support of my daughter Jean, and all our many donors, volunteers and funders and to express my very grateful thanks for their commitment and generosity to the Museum. Without them the Museum could not reach as many people as it does, or achieve all the things that the Word of God deserves. Ellen Reid Director 3 Annual Report the bible museum

5 Our Vision The Bible Museum is a non denominational Judaeo/Christian Museum which was established in 2009 in regional Victoria. It is run by a small group of dedicated volunteers, operating on a tight budget. It is a registered non profit charity with the ACNC and has tax concessions from the ATO. The Bible Museum s primary objectives are: to further public knowledge and understanding of the Bible (Old and New Testaments), its history, message and influence, primarily through exhibits, displays, and education programs; to conduct the Museum for the development, maintenance and exhibition of the Collection, for the benefit of the general public; to provide a context of the Jewish and Christian religions, culture and continuity, including in relation to Australian history, for the purposes of study, education and enjoyment; to explore how the Bible has shaped the past, illuminates the present and shows the potential of the future; to maintain and develop the Butterfly and Bible Plant Garden, for the purposes of: o portraying the spiritual aspect of the Bible Museum, ie. the transformation or metamorphosis that the Word of God can make in a believer s life; o providing enjoyment and enrichment for visitors through close contact with living butterflies and encouraging the creation of butterfly gardens at home; o displaying living specimens of plants found in the Bible or indigenous to Israel or the Middle East; Picture right: Main Collection room at the Bible Museum 4 Annual Report the bible museum

6 The Collection The Bible Museum revolves around the Reid Family Bible Collection, which has been collated over the past 35 years. Comprised of over 1600 Bibles and other biblical items, it covers a wide variety of interesting areas. Picture above: A fine example of a Hebrew Scroll, early 20 th Century Picture above: 19 th Century Family Bible These include Hebrew scrolls, Syriac, Latin, Anglo Saxon, foreign languages, military, miniatures, family Bibles, illuminated manuscripts, coins, stamps, champagne bottles, Judaica, tapestries and much more. An extensive collection of Bibles in English, with facsimiles of Anglo Saxon portions, New Testaments by Wycliffe and Tyndale, and complete Bibles from Coverdale onwards to the 21st century. Special occasion Bibles include British royal events (coronations, weddings, anniversaries), American presidential inaugurations, and military (from Cromwell, Boer War, and onwards) Bibles. Study Bibles include Bibles issued for various denominations (Brethren, Catholic, Jehovah s Witnesses, Mormons, Pentecostal, Seventh Day Adventists, etc) attract a wide variety of Christians. Many of the Bibles are several hundred years old and so conservation and preservation are of high priority. Picture above: Large wall tapestry, designed from a page of the Hebrew Codex Leningrad. 5 A nnual Report the bible museum

7 Recent Acquisitions 2015/2016 The Bible museum aims to provide public access to copies of the oldest possible historically significant Bible manuscripts. Purchases in the past year have included facsimiles of: Aleppo Codex (oldest Hebrew text) to accompany the Leningrad Codex. Codex Alexandrinus and Codex Vaticanus New Testaments to accompany Codex Sinaiticus. Lindisfarne Gospels, St Cuthbert s Gospel and the Book of Kells. The museum holds an extensive collection of Bibles in languages other than English. This collection has been expanded in the past year with many Australian Aboriginal and other indigenous languages. Size matters, and as the Bible was at the forefront of printing technology we now have several Bibles in Nano format. Picture left: Jean Reid with the Aleppo Codex facsimile T h There are Bibles in audio format, with new sound boxes that provide examples of the Lord s Prayer in Australian Aboriginal (Kriol), Anglo Saxon and Jewish Aramaic. Picture above: Nano Bible in Hebrew 6 A nnual Report the bible museum

8 Bringing the Bible to Life It is one thing to read and talk about biblical artefacts, but quite another to visualize how they would have looked and even smelt in real life. The Bible Museum has many artefacts, models and replicas which help with this learning experience! King Herod s Temple Model 1 st Century Oil Lamps Large scale Ark of the Covenant model New additions to the Archaeology section this year include a Judean jug (900 BC) and Roman unguentarium perfume bottle (1st century) as well as replicas of the Nabonidus and Cyrus cylinders. Picture right: Jean Reid with a 9 th Century BC Judean Jug (in local paper) 7 A nnual Report the bible museum

9 Musical instruments, such as horns (or shofars) and trumpets can be tried out by everyone, even if you have never played an instrument before. Other instruments, such as a 10 string harp and psaltery, are part of the display. Oils and spices, including Frankincense, Myrrh and Spikenard, were part of the ancient Middle Eastern world. These expensive perfumes can be smelt to bring to life these exotic sounding names. Another addition to the collection this year was Apocalypse perfume, which was created by a Scottish perfumier. It contains many of the nouns which are used in the book of the Apocalypse, from the 1611 King James Bible. These include brimstone, sulphur, honey, wine, horses, and many other scents, which go into making a most intriguing perfume. It helps visitors to consider the book in a whole new dimension! 8 Annual Report the bible museum

10 Visitors & Guided Tours The Bible Museum is visited by thousands of people every year. They come from overseas, as well as all States of Australia, in groups or individually. The groups include school groups, service clubs, vintage car clubs, church members, youth groups, and even mystery tour groups. Coach outside the Bible Museum Most visitors are given guided tours which include the highlights of the Museum collection and History of Writing workshops. This year the Museum hosted 25 pre booked tour groups. Booked tours varied in size and focus from general interest visits with participants keen to learn more of the Museum and its collection, to special interest groups. In addition to those groups who booked with the Museum, we also welcomed a number of groups who had not booked including photography clubs from Melbourne. A number of these groups were first time visitors to the Museum and we also welcomed back a healthy proportion of groups and individuals who have established the Museum as a destination of choice for their annual visits program. Picture above: Large tour group at an outside talk at the Bible Museum 9 A nnual Report the bible museum

11 Butterfly Garden All these butterflies pictured above were raised at the Butterfly Garden at the Bible Museum 10 A n n u a l R e p o r t the bible museum

12 Butterfly Garden Unique Metamorphosis workshops provide the Bible Museum s spiritual message: Be ye transformed (Greek: metamorphous) by the renewing of your mind. Romans 12:2. Monarch and other butterflies are attracted to nectar rich plants in the garden, and their caterpillars are bred on specific host plants. In season, thousands of caterpillars have pupated and butterflies have hatched from their pupae in front of visitors. The butterflies are released into the garden, and disperse around the town, attracting further visitors to the museum and garden. Picture left: Caterpillar becoming a chrysalis Picture left: Ellen Reid being interviewed for ABC Radio 11 A n n u a l R e p o r t the bible museum

13 Picture right: Visitors to the Bible Plant and Butterfly Garden Picture left: Filming a butterfly emerging from its pupa Bible Plant Garden The Bible has many references to plants so a garden was planted in This includes many trees and shrubs which are now maturing. In season, visitors now see acorns, almonds, figs, grapes, mulberries, olives, pomegranates and herbs. A tub of papyrus provides stems which are used in the History of Writing workshops. Potted trees include a Cedar of Lebanon, Aleppo and Cyprus Pines, Date Palm, Willow and Sycamore. In 2016 new gravel paths were added to the garden to make access easier for large groups of visitors. 12 Annual Report the bible museum Picture above: Basket of real and model Pomegranates

14 Ellen and Jean Reid are the founders and primary volunteers at the Bible Museum. The Reid family have been collecting Bibles and related items for more than 35 years. Their enthusiasm for sharing their collection with the public developed into the creation of Australia s only Bible Museum, which opened in About Us Ellen Reid and her daughter, Jean, both have an in depth knowledge and love of the Bible and its history. Their long term vision is to build the Bible Museum into a national institution. Mrs Ellen Reid Tertiary Qualifications: Diploma of Pharmacy, Postgraduate studies in pharmacy and ethnobotany. Former member of the Pharmaceutical Societies of WA & GB. Community Pharmacist (35 years), both in WA & the UK. Current Occupation: Full time volunteer & Board Director at the Bible Museum (Australia) Role includes: Overseeing the direction of the museum, expanding and cataloguing the collection, supervising full & part time volunteers, creating and maintaining displays and exhibitions, curator, liaising with other organisations and more. Miss Jean Reid Tertiary Qualifications: Bachelor of Applied Science Previous Work History: Food Technologist and IT Administrator Employers included: Nestlè (Australia), Reuters News Agency (UK), and Southern Health (Australia) Current Occupation: Full time volunteer & Board Secretary at the Bible Museum (Australia) Role includes: Curator, website administrator, maintaining social media, finance & budgeting, fundraising, marketing promotions, cataloguing, liaising with other organisations, creating and maintaining displays and exhibitions, and more. 13 Annual Report the bible museum

15 The Bible Museum & Butterfly Garden A Registered Non Profit Charity ABN: Napier Street St Arnaud Victoria 3478 Ph: Or M: Open hours: Tuesday 10am 5pm Wednesday 10am 5pm Thursday 10am 5pm Friday 10am 5pm Saturday 10am 5pm Check website for latest hours info@thebiblemuseum.com.au Web: Facebook: facebook.com/biblemuseumaustralia