The Museum of the Bible is officially being built in the nation’s capital.

Construction has begun on the longtime project of Hobby Lobby head Steve Green.  The museum, scheduled to open in 2017, will have 430,000 square feet dedicated to the history of the Bible and the word of God.

“In many respects this is the kickoff of a three year project. We’ve been working on it for two years, this is the first time that anything major will be exposed to the public,” Cary Summers, president of the Museum of the Bible, said Thursday.

“Hopefully, it will be a great addition to this city. As you know, Washington, D.C. is the capital of museums in the world.”

Green, a collector of Biblical artifacts, had purchased a facility in 2012 for the purpose of building the museum.  The museum will not only be open to the public but also be open to seminaries around the world to study the various Biblical artifacts collected by the Green family.

The artifacts are also part of a course curriculum created by Green.

“It just seems to make sense because of the scholarship that we have, the artifacts that we have, the museum that we have, that we develop that into a curriculum that basically teaches what the museum displays,” said Green. “That is a venture that we’re working on as well.”