After more than a decade of planning and three years of construction, the new Museum of the Tower of David in Jerusalem has opened its doors to the public and has done so as the official museum of the city, since June 1. The new museum offers an immersive experience that combines the millennial history of Jerusalem with the knowledge made available by interactive technology. In addition, with this renovation, for the first time in its history, the ancient citadel is accessible and thanks to its location – in the Tower of David, as its name suggests – it has become the gate to explore Jerusalem.
In the new Museum of the Tower of David, the 4,000 years of history of Jerusalem and the importance of the city for the three monotheistic religions are narrated through different interactive ways that make the visitor explore the past of the city. In fact, the space features 10 brand new themed galleries that are hidden in the old guard rooms of the structure that surrounds the courtyard, which, in turn, is packed with archaeological finds dating back 2,800 years.
Carefully chosen artifacts from various eras coexist with innovative and engaging multimedia exhibits to create a sensory experience that encourages visitor participation. For example, there's a 40-foot interactive media wall, titled Sands of Time , that allows visitors to discover Jerusalem's 4,000-year history for themselves with a simple touch. Other outstanding elements are the 3D scanning of a model of Jerusalem from the 19th century from a bird's eye view, the interactive projection on a mosaic map or an interactive sphere of the world that with a single touch measures the distance between different cities of the world and Jerusalem .
Additionally, films created for the museum include an animated history of its 4,000-year history of Jerusalem in just three minutes, by Golden Globe-winning artist Ari Folman.