Exploring Jewish Life

There’s no better place to start an exploration of Jewish life than “In the Beginning…” Follow the biblical story of creation with a three-dimensional, multi-media display. Press a button to transform darkness into light. Look through a “telescope” to see the moon, planets, and stars. Peer into a lush aquarium, pet realistic looking animals and much more.

After six days of creation, God rested on the seventh day, and so the museum’s look at the creation story concludes with a fun-filled presentation of Shabbat, the Jewish day of rest. Walk on a giant table set for the Shabbat meal and discover the many wonderful symbols, rituals and customs.
Giant candles catch the eye and feature surprises hidden in their bases. Climb on one challah and braid another. Watch a video about wine presented in a huge Kiddush cup and use matzoh ball computers to print out recipes for traditional dishes and learn about Shabbat traditions from around the world.

Stroll through a replica of an old-fashioned shtetl- a village- to explore the Jewish holiday cycle. Weave your way in and out of storefronts and homes, peer through windows and visit “outdoor” displays. Investigate a shofar-maker’s workbench. Sit in a beautifully decorated sukkah, and “shop” for the perfect Lulav and Etrog. Press olive oil for Chanukah and become a news correspondent in a real newsroom in order to publicize the miracle of Chanukah. Retell the Purim story with costumes, and search for information on a large, interactive Passover Seder plate with plenty to lift up, look under and flip open. Play a bow-and-arrow game for Lag B’Omer and relive the experience of receiving the torah.

Enjoy role-playing fun and gain an understanding of the basics of the Jewish dietary laws. Stock up on kosher products with scaled-down shopping carts, artificial food, working scales and checkout scanners. At the checkout scanner, instead of ringing up prices, answer questions about various items on a touch-screen monitor.

With the shopping done, it’s time to head to the kosher kitchen. Sort the two sets of dishes and utensils into the appropriate cupboards.
Open the refrigerator and get a real surprise—it talks! And it has a great sense of humor too! Set the table for Shabbat dinner and watch a kosher cooking show featuring real kids as chefs.

Enter a city where everywhere you look is an opportunity to bring more goodness to the world. You’ll get to send a “get well” letter to a child in a hospital, watch a charity gumball roll through a marble run, and play a light-up maze, by choosing to respect parents and teachers.