Can you plan a year in advance? If so, then this is for you: tickets went on sale today, December 15th, for the first showing of the Dead Sea Scrolls in thte Pacific Northwest. The catch? They’ll be here Sept 23, 2006 - January 7, 2007. Personally, I can’t plan well beyond two weeks in advance, so asking me to plot out a year in advance is pretty hopeless. But, if you are one of the better organized among us, and know you’ll be here then, tickets are $19.75 for timed entry, at the Pacific Science Center (877-377-1947). In addition to the scrolls, the show will exhibit a collection of artifacts from the desert where the Scrolls were found.

For those not in the know, the Dead Sea Scrolls were discovered in 1947 by a Bedouin shephard. In the seven years following the discovery, over 900 scrolls were found in the caves in the region of Qumran. About a quarter of these are religious and Biblical in nature (largely covering the Hebrew Scriptures).

There’s been a lot of date as to the origin and authors of the Scrolls, and for most of the 50-odd years of their existence, they’ve been locked away, only to see the light of day when academics begged their way in. But in recent years, fragments of the scrolls have been traveling around the country (and Canada), drawing large crowds.

The money from the show - estimated to come it at over $1.8 million - will go towards preservation of the documents.

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