Bowers Museum Mummies Tour Is A Captivating Experience for Students

Bowers Museum's spectacular Mummies exhibition from the world-famous
British Museum features an entertaining and enlightening tour designed
specifically for children.

Hundreds of school children march through the Mummies exhibition every day and experience up close the fascinating history, art and culture of ancient Egypt as well as the mummification process.

The exhibition features 140 ancient, exquisite and rare 3,000-year-old
treasures -- including 14 mummies and sarcophagus. One of the primary
highlights of the exhibition for the children is seeing a mummy prepared
for the afterlife through the use of a doll by one of the Bowers'
animated and entertaining docents. The idea of the mummy doll was
created by Bowers docent Helen Moran, a former nurse who entertained
children with dolls at the hospital for which she worked.

"This is an interesting feature of the tour because it was designed
specifically for the children," she says. "They can see the steps of
mummification and bring it down to their level. It's a light and
entertaining way to teach."

The mummy doll is stored in a colorful coffin box that is opened by the
docent to the "oohs and aahs" of the children. The docent describes the
process of mummification. The amulets, or good luck charms, are put into
the box and then the operation on the mummy doll begins. The brain is
pulled out through the nose -- just as the ancient Egyptians did -- and
the fake organs are put in canopic jars.

The docent then takes out linen to wrap the mummy doll, explaining that
400 yards are needed to wrap a real mummy. As the children's eyes get
bigger and bigger with each step, the docent places the final piece --
the death mask - on the doll, marking the end of the mummification
process.

The mummy doll is not the only interactive aspects of this tour the
children love; they also enjoy spelling their name using hieroglyphics.

One recent day, sixth graders from Mendez School in Santa Ana
experienced the tour. The children's reaction as they weaved their way
through the exhibition was pure astonishment. They wondered: "Are these
mummies real?" As the docent talks about the individual mummies, the
children become highly intrigued with the life that the mummies led and
the ancient customs that are so foreign to today's children.

"This is one of the most interesting experiences I've ever had," said
one of the sixth graders. "I want to come back again -- and bring my
parents and brothers and sisters too."
 

To set up a school or group tour, please call Bowers School-Group Tour
department at 714-567-3680 or email grouptours@bowers.org. Individual
tickets to Mummies can be purchased at the Bowers Box Office 10 a.m. to
4 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday. The museum is closed on Mondays. For more
on Mummies or on Bowers, visit www.bowers.org.

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