The Eretz Israel Musuem
This focused museum deal with the history and culture of Israel, including its coins, ceramics, glassware and more. There are also temporary exhibits. The exhibits are not interactive. Pavilions are set in an expansive grounds with delightful gardens, which are in turn centered around the archeological site of Tel Qasile.
Directions: and parking: Enter “Eretz Israel Museum” into Waze. There is paid parking for museum visitors by the museum, although parking may be limited.
Public transport: Enter “Eretz Israel Museum” into Moovit.
Admission: The museum is open from Monday to Wednesday 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., Thursday 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. and Friday and Saturday 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. It is closed on Sunday. It is advised that a full tour of the museum takes 3 hours. Descriptions of all the exhibits are also in English. Admission is 52 NIS, free to children under 18 unless with a group, seniors 26 NIS, and students 35 NIS. There is a restaurant inside the museum with indoor and shaded outdoor seating. It is not supervised kosher. Their contract number is 03-745 5729. This is their website.
Early Canaanite pottery exhibited in the Ceramics Pavilion.
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These are the pavilions:
The Kadman Numismatic Pavilion shows the story of coins and their evolution as currency from ancient times to today.
The Alexandar Museum of Postal History and Philately tells the history of postal and communications services over the last 2,500 years, especially that in the Land of Israel in the past 150 years.
The Ceramics Pavilion shows different aspects of ancient ceramics.
The Nechushtan Pavilion shows different aspects of the extraction of copper, including the restoration of an ancient copper mine.
The Glass Pavilion shows some of the world’s most beautiful and rare ancient glass utensils.
The outdoor Mosaic Square shows ancient mosaics.
The permanent exhibits at the Rothschild Center show the special connection of the Rothschild family, particularly Edmund de Rothschild, with settlement in the Land of Israel.
The Ethnography and Folklore Pavilion shows Judaica from across the globe.
There is also a Planetarium which has presentations at selected times in Hebrew. See the schedule on the museum’s website.
A building with olive presses shows olive presses throughout the ages.
To my mind, what sets this museum apart from many others are the beautiful gardens, many of which contain interesting sites, such as a pool, wine press and mill. The gardens are set around the Tel Qasile excavation site. This was first settled in the 12th century BCE by the Philistines. The excavation site is not currently open to visitors and has not been so for over a year.
It is pointed out in the brochure that most of the pavilions are to the left of the entrance. Other pavilions are to the center of the museum grounds. One can then go onwards to the pavilions at the far end of the grounds.
My own advice is to choose in advance which pavilions are of interest to you, and how, looking at the map, you will get from one pavilion to the other. Remember, the grounds are quite extensive. Also, read the brochure to find out what each pavilion is trying to show, since this is not immediately obvious just by walking through the pavilion door. It would be nice if each pavilion had a movie explaining this - but it doesn't.
The pond is supplied by run-off water that is channeled into an underground reservoir with a natural purification basin.
A typical four-room house in the Israelite period shown in the Ceramics Pavilion.
The olive press consisted of a long wooden beam to which weights were attached.
The beginning of coinage in the Greek period shown in the Kadman Numismatic Pavilion.