Take a step back in time at the King Tut exhibit in Detroit! Today on the blog, I’m sharing photos and our experience visiting The KING TUTANKHAMUN: “Wonderful Things” from the Pharaoh’s Tomb exhibition at the Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History.
If you’re an art and history lover, then you may enjoy visiting the KING TUTANKHAMUN: “Wonderful Things” from the Pharaoh’s Tomb exhibition at the Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History (The Wright).
A few weeks ago, Zhen and I attended the opening of the King Tut exhibit in Detroit. We enjoyed learning more about the young pharaoh’s life and viewing replicas of Ancient Egyptian artifacts from the 18th Dynasty.
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WHAT TO EXPECT WHEN YOU VISIT THE KING TUT EXHIBIT IN DETROIT
The Wonderful Things exhibit features over 120 replicas of King Tutankhamun’s personal and sacred possessions.
From the pharaoh’s ceremonial Golden Throne (Zhen’s favorite piece) to a beautiful sculpture of Queen Nefertiti and the famous Golden Funerary Mask of Tutankhamun (my favorite), there are many remarkable points of interest to view at the King Tut exhibit in Detroit.
The exhibit is divided into five sections:
- An introduction to Ancient Egypt
- The Archeological Discovery
- The Private Pharaoh
- The Public Pharaoh
- The Royal Burial
Our favorite section of the exhibit was “The Royal Burial” because it featured replicas of sarcophagi! Zhen said she thought it was amazing and cool to see a replication of a sarcophagus in person.
“It was amazing and cool,” she said, “and it had lots of details to look like the real thing! I think other kids should see it because it’s the coolest thing ever!”
The model of the Royal Mummy of Pharaoh Tutankhamun was also fascinating to see in person.
READ: “MY FAVORITE ART PIECES FROM CCH POUNDER’S QUEEN ART COLLECTION”
WHO WAS KING TUTANKHAMUN?
King Tutankhamun was an Egyptian pharaoh who ruled during the New Kingdom era from 1333 BCE to 1323 BCE. He became king at the young age of nine years old after his father King Akhenaten died.
On November 26, 1922, British archeologist Howard Carter discovered King Tut’s tomb. Quite remarkably, despite being sealed for 3,200 years, the young pharaoh’s tomb was still in good condition.
This year marks the 100th anniversary of Howard Carter’s discovery of King Tutankhamun’s tomb. In fact, the Grand Egyptian Museum (GEM) in Egypt has plans to inaugurate a new state-of-the-art museum that will feature artifacts and treasures from King Tutankhamun’s tomb.
The new exhibit at GEM is expected to feature 5,000 artifacts belonging to King Tut. You can read more about it here if you like.
THE KING TUT EXHIBIT IN DETROIT IS AN ENRICHING LEARNING EXPERIENCE FOR EVERYONE
During our visit to the exhibit, I connected with Jennifer Scott, Senior Vice President of Exhibitions and Programs at The Wright.
She believes the King Tutankhamun exhibit is an educational and enriching learning experience for children and their families.
“I think a lot of people, whether you’re an adult or school age, don’t know a lot about Egypt and even the continent of Africa, especially ancient civilizations,” she said.
“Sometimes it seems like it’s too far away for people to reach or gather their head around. So this exhibition has so many great objects to learn about what life was like at that time [and] what people cared about.”
Ms. Scott also believes the exhibit will be a perfect learning opportunity for families to reflect and discuss past and present cultural rituals, as well as make connections to African American History.
Africa is the second-largest continent in the world with fifty-four independent countries. Yet, many people often confuse the continent to be a country. Some people also don’t realize that Egypt is an African country.
“A lot of people still don’t see that Egypt is a part of the continent of Africa.” Ms. Scott explained. “They [may] think it’s more part of the Middle East. But I think it’s part of our inheritance. It’s part of our heritage– anything that comes from the continent.
I don’t think in the past that people have necessarily associated any sort of organized societies with people of African descent. And this shows that’s not the case– that’s a mythology.”
The King Tut exhibit in Detroit is a wonderful opportunity for families and friends to learn more about King Tutankhamun.
Visitors will leave with a greater appreciation of Ancient Egyptian culture, and it’s a teachable moment to begin conversations about embracing cultural diversity.
Before leaving the exhibition, I asked Ms. Scott what she hopes young people will take away from their visit to the King Tut exhibit.
“I hope they are able to learn as much as they can about the history. I hope it inspires them to visit [Egypt] one day,” she said.
“I hope it inspires them to be artists and creators and artisans because a lot of the Egyptian practices of papermaking, jewelry making, and fragrance making– even writing systems. They invented so many things so I hope it inspires them to be an innovator in this 21st century.”
MORE PHOTOS FROM THE KING TUTANKHAMUN EXHIBITION
The KING TUTANKHAMUN: “Wonderful Things” from the Pharaoh’s Tomb exhibition is open until August 22, 2022, at The Wright. Click here to learn more about the museum opening days/hours and to register for your visit to the exhibit.
Special thanks to the Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History for inviting Good Life Detroit to the opening of the exhibit!
All photographs were taken by Jennifer Hamra for Good Life Detroit.
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