Excursion to the Bible House on 25.05.2016

Field report on the excursion to the Bibelhaus Frankfurt

by Jasna Baumgarten

On 25.05.2016, an excursion to the Bibelhaus in Frankfurt took place as part of the seminar "Introduction to the Methods of Biblical Studies", which was accompanied by two tutors.

With a total of 9 participants* we started Wednesday morning at 9 o'clock from the main station in Kassel to Frankfurt. During the journey, which lasted about 2.5 hours, we had lively conversations about the contents of the lecture, our expectations regarding the guided tour in the Bibelhaus and the planning of the day. Arriving at the main station in Frankfurt, we decided to have lunch together. Afterwards, we leisurely walked to the Bibelhaus.

Once we arrived at the Bibelhaus, Mr. Dinkelacker was waiting for us to take the guided tour of the museum rooms. Mr. Dinkelacker is a Protestant pastor and has been working at the Bibelhaus Frankfurt as a religious education assistant for several years.

Our tour began in the "New Testament". We were allowed to sit down in a real boat while Mr. Dinkelacker simulated storm and swell with the help of instruments. We found this kind of "immersion" into the world of the Bible very successful. Mr. Dinkelacker then asked about our expectations and wishes regarding the tour. He led us in fast forward through parts of the history of Israel. He focused especially on the book of the prophets Isaiah and on the importance of the temple. In the second part of the tour, we were allowed to enter a nomad tent on the second floor of the Bible House. For this we took off our shoes and two of us, a woman and a man, dressed up as Sarah and Abraham. Then we were allowed to enter the tent. The women took their seats on the right and the men on the left.
During the tour, Mr. Dinkelacker repeatedly referred to didactic possibilities of the exhibition and explained to us how he arranges tours with school classes of different ages. Especially the room with the nomad tent impressed us all very much and motivated us for an excursion to the Bibelhaus with a view to later school classes of our own. The time passed very quickly, so that many of us expressed the wish to come to the Bibelhaus a second time to look at the other exhibits at our leisure.

All in all, the excursion was very successful. There was an increased desire to have offerings like this more often. During the return trip, we let our new impressions sink in and arrived at the main train station in Kassel at 7 p.m. completely satisfied, but also exhausted.