Israel Museum

The Israel Museum, Jerusalem ( _he. מוזיאון ישראל, ירושלים, "Muze'on Yisrael, Yerushalayim") was founded in 1965 as Israel's national museum. It is situated on a hill in the Givat Ram neighborhood of Jerusalem, near the Knesset, the Israeli Supreme Court, and the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. The late Jerusalem mayor Teddy Kollek was the driving spirit behind its establishment.

Architecture

The museum complex was designed in the late 1950s by Alfred Mansfeld and Dora Gad, with the Shrine of the Book designed by Armand Phillip Bartos and Frederick John Kiesler, and the Billy Rose sculpture garden designed by Isamu Noguchi. [Charles S. Spencer. [http://www.studio-international.co.uk/archive/israel_museum-1965-170.asp "The Israel National Museum"] Studio International. 1965, Volume 170, 64–67.] It is an example of postwar Modernist architecture consisting of low, rectangular, flat-roofed buildings spread out on the hilltop, surrounded by a maze of courtyards. The museum is currently undergoing major renovations scheduled for completion by the summer of 2010. [http://www.english.imjnet.org.il/htmls/article2.aspx?c0=12840&bsp=12737&bss1054=12840]

Covering an area of 47,000 square meters on a 20 acre site, the museum is ten times larger than it was when it opened. Under the current plan, new buildings will be added and the long walk up to the entrance will be shortened. [Steven Erlanger. [http://www.iht.com/articles/2007/08/13/arts/museum.php "Toward a more user-friendly Israel Museum"] International Herald Tribune. August 13, 2007.]

Collections

The museum today includes extensive collections of Judaica, ethnography, fine art, artifacts from Africa, North and South America, Oceania and the Far East, archeology, rare manuscripts, ancient glass and sculpture. A uniquely designed building on the grounds of the museum, the Shrine of the Book, houses the Dead Sea Scrolls and artifacts discovered on Masada.

econd Temple Era model of Jerusalem

One of the most recent and exciting additions to the Museum is the Second Temple Era model of Jerusalem. The model reconstructs the topography and architectural character of the city as it was prior to 66 CE, the year in which the Great Revolt against the Romans erupted, leading to the eventual destruction of the city and the Temple. Originally constructed on the grounds of Jerusalem’s Holyland Hotel, the model is now a permanent feature of the Museum’s twenty-acre campus, adjacent to the Shrine of the Book

Educational programs

The youth wing, comprising galleries, workshops, classrooms and a children's library, runs educational programs for schools and year-round art classes for children and adults.

References

External links

* [http://www.imj.org.il/ The Israel Museum in Jerusalem]
* [http://www.ilmuseums.com/museum_eng.asp?id=12 The Israel Museum] at ilMuseums.com
* [http://www.jerusalemshots.com/cat_ru74.html Jerusalem Photo Portal — Israel Museum]
* [http://www.gojerusalem.com/SitePage.aspx?siteID=210&FirstCat=Sights&SecCat=Museums&FirstCatVal=120&SecCatVal=27' Israel Museum information - Go Jerusalem Travel Portal]
* [http://www.imj.org.il/model/index.html Relocation of the Second Temple Model of Jerusalem to the Israel Museum]