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Lancaster Project
227 Hartman Bridge Road between Sight & Sound and the Amish Village
There is an Antique Village there now. I would keep the antique renters until the mortgage is paid off. I would use the front house.
This is the house that has been converted into a shop. The main floor of this house would be used for the IBSS Gift Shop which is now online at IBSS GIFT SHOP.
The basement of the house would be made into a museum, or center of Biblical Archaeology. This would have displays about how we got the Bible. Old BIbles and manuscripts would be displayed with other ancient artifacts. It would follow a timeline through Bible history.
Side yard could be leveled out and made into a gravel parking lot. Where the trees begin would be where the creation nature trail begins. You can see the wonders of creation. Along this trail would be piles of different rocks and fossil where you can hunt for fossils and interesting minerals and take a small bag home with you. The trail would lead down to the river where you can pan for gold. Maybe have a shed with black light so you can see what rocks will glow in the dark. Before the trees begin maybe we could put cement castings of the dinosaur tracks found in the Paluxy River. The cost for seeing the displays and taking a bag of rocks & fossils would be $10 adults, $8 children under 5 are free.
Out back is a large barn about 60 feet long by 55 feet wide. I would let the rent continue to pay rent until the mortgage is paid off. Then use this building for a museum. This building might be best for a Biblical Archaeology Museum.
Next to the barn is a large metal building about 80 feet long by 50 feet wide. This might be good for a Creation Museum of Natural History.
Inside the metal building there is a stairway leading up to a partial second floor with storage/office underneath. It might be nice to have a second floor balcony going around the sides of the building with the middle opened. Display could be on the balcony. I would keep the main garage door closed and use the glass side door as an entrance. I would keep the renters in this building until the mortgage is paid off or we have enough money coming in that we don't need renters. It would be good to show the big bang of creation and then the geologic ages with rocks and fossils to illustrate the time period.
Between the barn and metal building is a small shed about 14 feet wide and 35 feet long that needs to be painted. This might be good for an exhibit of the Dead Sea Scrolls. Between the buildings is an alley way to the back yard which woudl be good for a Time Tunnel into the Past to the back yard which would be an ancient Bible Village.
This is the back yard behind the two big buildings. I would build a New Testament style house that Jesus may have lived in. I would have a watch tower, olive press, wine press and other replicas from Bible times. It would be an ancient Bible village like the Nazareth Village in Israel as seen in this video below.
This is Nazareth Village. Their web site is http://www.nazarethvillage.com/. Maybe Sight & Sound could help with costumes and live animals.
Along the side of the building shown here,I would dig some archaeological pits, and bury replica artifacts so kids could pretend to be on a archaeological dig, and actually dig up artifacts. They would dig up sand and dirt and then sift the dirt to find artifacts. Small items they could keep. There could be a Sumerian dig pit, an Assyrian dig, pit and a Israelite dig pit. I would put a gate at the end of the buidling in this picture.
At the back of the house I would put some picnic tables on the grass and patio. At the back window have a snack bar where they can buy drinks and snacks.
There are a number of parking spaces available on the side and back.
Here is a drawing of the whole property. It is not to scale, but gives you a good idea of what is on the property.
Creation & Science Center
I envision the museum as a natural history museum exploring the wonders of nature. I see a time tunnel that takes you back to the beginning of creation. As one walks through the geological ages you will be able to see the different rocks and fossils. I would like to have different piles of fossils and rocks so that children could take samples home. They would also be able to tour our Creation Nature Trail where they can find more interesting rocks and fossils and pan for gold. One key section of the museum would illuminate the creation/evolution debate. I would picture the different sides of the debate with pros and cons of each side.
Bible Archaeology Center
I also would have a Biblical Archaeology Museum in the basement of the house first. Then expand it to the barn on a larger scale. I would also have the first floor of the house as a museum gift shop that would help support the Institute. I would like school groups to be able to come.
Bible Village
Go back in time to the first century AD to the time of Jesus and see how he lived. I would build a New Testament style house that Jesus may have lived in. I would have a watch tower, olive press, wine press and other replicas from Bible times. It would be an ancient Bible village like the Nazareth Village in Israel. There is a similar site in LaGrange, GA called Explorations in Antiquity Center. See http://www.explorationsinantiquity.net/replicas.htm and dig pits see http://www.explorationsinantiquity.net/kids.htm
Would you be interested in helping us? There are several possibilities. Would you help us raise money for this project? Could you direct us to people or organizations that would be interested in this project? Our first step is to raise enough money to buy the building. Any donations are tax-deductible. Any help or advice would be appreciated.
Sincerely,
Stephen C. Meyers, Th.D.
Email: ibss@comcast.net