A series of 10 lectures by nationally acclaimed authors and speakers in the fields of theology, archaeology and history will be held at the Passages exhibit in Santa Clarita, the Bible musuem in the former Orchard Supply Hardware space in the Bouquet Canyon Plaza shopping center.

This month’s speaker, Dr. Chris Hays of Fuller Seminary, will lead a discussion titled In the Beginning were the Words: The Origins of Writing and the Alphabet. The discussion will be held  July 28 at 7 p.m.

Passages speaker series events are free to the public but seating is limited. Those interested in attending are asked to reserve their seats by calling 1-888-297-8011.

[Click here] for more information as well as a complete list of the monthly speaker series topics and lecturers at Passages.

Passages, a 30,000-square-foot, interactive, traveling exhibit on the history of the Bible, opened in Santa Clarita on April 3, 2015 and will be in place through Feb. 27, 2016.

Called “a sampler of Jewish, Roman Catholic and Protestant treasures” by USA Today, Passages features some 400 artifacts from one of the world’s largest private collections of rare biblical texts and artifacts, including:

* Israel’s Qumran Caves, where the Dead Sea Scrolls were discovered;

* The Jerusalem Chamber at Westminster Abbey, where scholars finalized the King James Bible Gutenberg’s print shop, where the invention of the printing press revolutionized the written word;

* A multimedia adventure area, designed by VeggieTales creator Phil Vischer, where kids explore the stories of the Bible;

* The surface of the moon, where U.S. astronauts carried a microfiche Bible on Apollo 14.

“Passages provides everyone, from the casual visitor to the intellectually curious, from scholars to schoolchildren, with a one-of-a-kind opportunity to go behind the scenes of one of the most influential, best-selling books of all time,” said David Trobisch, Th. D., collection director for Museum of the Bible and biblical manuscript scholar. “You would have to travel the world to catch just a glimpse of what you can experience at Passages in Santa Clarita.”

The Passages exhibit admission for adults is $12, admission for seniors, military, college students and youth ages 6-17 is $10 and children ages 5 and under are free.

Senior group tours, student field trips, homeschool groups and church small-group excursions are encouraged.

Senior passes and group discounts are available

The Passages exhibit is open on Tuesday, Thursday – Saturday from 10 a.m. – 6 p.m., on Wednesday from 10 a.m. – 9 p.m., on Sunday from 1 – 6 p.m. and is closed on Monday.

About Passages:

Passages is a 30,000-square-foot, interactive, traveling exhibit chronicling the history of the Bible, from its transmission and translation to its impact and controversies.

In Santa Clarita, California, from April 3, 2015 to Feb. 27, 2016, the family-friendly exhibit features some 400 items from one of the world’s largest private collections of rare biblical texts and artifacts.

Since its debut in 2011, several hundred thousand people have experienced Passages in five other U.S. cities, where 90 percent of surveyed visitors have rated the exhibit five out of five stars.

Many artifacts traveling with Passages will be featured in Museum of the Bible; a select few will also travel to Philadelphia in September for a special exhibit marking Pope Francis’ first visit to the U.S.

About Museum of the Bible:

Museum of the Bible invites all people to engage with the Bible through museum exhibits and scholarly pursuits, including artifact research, education initiatives and an international museum opening late 2017 in Washington.

The 430,000-square-foot, $400 million Museum of the Bible, dedicated to the impact, history and narrative of the Bible, will be located three blocks from the U.S. Capitol.

As of 2015, it has sponsored traveling exhibits in six U.S. cities and four other countries.