The land of Ancient Egypt has always fascinated me. It features prominently in the Bible, especially in the Old Testament, and the Great Pyramid of Gaza remains as the only one of the seven ancient wonders of the world that is still standing. And then of course, there are the mummies. There is just something irresistible and yet creepy about them, isn't there? It is truly amazing to me that so many thousands of years ago, they were able to devise a method of preserving bodies that would allow them to survive largely intact through the centuries.
Noey and I were recently invited on a guided tour of the Mummy: Secrets of the Tomb exhibition that is currently on at the ArtScience Museum and boy, was it a treat. Ironically, we were just at the British Museum during our London holiday in May/June this year, but completely didn't make it to see the mummies there. DD and I had fallen ill during that leg of our holiday and we holed up in our hotel room to rest a good deal more than we'd planned, leaving us very little time to explore some of the London attractions like the British Museum. So I was very glad to have the opportunity to view the mummies and the artefacts from the British Museum right here in Singapore.
The Mummy: Secrets of the Tomb exhibition focuses on the 3,000 year old mummy of an ancient Egyptian priest, Nesperennub. This mummy is unique in that the original cartonnage coffin has never been opened. Its secrets have laid hidden within for those thousands of years since, until recently, the only way to extract information from the human remains would be to unwrap the mummies, a process which would be irreversible.
But with the advent of modern non-invasive imaging techniques like x-rays and CT scans, it became possible to look inside the mummy without disturbing the wrappings in any way. And now with the latest computer-generated images, it has become possible to virtually "unwrap" the mummy and visualise each feature in great detail. That is what they have done with the mummy of Nesperenub.
The exhibition starts with a 20 minute 3D film experience that sets the stage for the exhibition. Using data gleaned from the study of the Nesperenub's mummy, including highly sophisticated scanning techniques and imaging, they were able to piece together the story of Nesperenub -- how he lived, what he did, how he died, and possibly even what he looked like -- as well as shed more insight into the complex mysterious process of mummification. It was a very enlightening video and definitely not something you should miss if you are visiting this exhibition without a guide.
After the film, you are led into the exhibition proper, where you will find over 100 artefacts belonging to the British Museum's extensive Egyptian collection. Here, we found the input from our museum docent, Ms Anita, mostly useful in shedding light on significance of the artefacts, thereby allowing us to gain and deeper understanding of Egyptian history and culture. I was really glad that Noey was able to focus and follow along despite the matters being discussed being beyond his understanding at certain points. I believe having just visited the British Museum and having seen some of the artefacts there, like the Rosetta Stone, helped him relate better to the exhibition, but credit should also be given to Ms Anita for her engaging commentary.
As part of the exhibition, there is a Secrets of Embalming workshop that is open to all Mummy-exhibition ticket holders. This is only conducted in the weekends between 5pm-6pm. It seemed interesting so I brought the kids down to have a go at it on a separate day.
While open to adults and kids alike, I dare say the kids would enjoy this better as there are plenty of opportunities for audience participation as we are brought through the embalming process step-by-step.
Another thing that might be of interest to parents who might be thinking of bringing kids to the exhibition: there is an Activity Quest specially designed for kids. This is available free-of-charge, though you are required to surrender your ID to check out a bag. Inside, you can find hands-on activities relating to the artefacts on display that will help kids better enjoy the exhibition. We checked out a bag for pre-schoolers aged 3-6 years of age, and there were five activities, which included a puzzle and a dress-up kit.
Having already visited the exhibition and taken the guided tour previously, Noey wasn't as interested in doing the activities, but I could see how they would be appealing to a first-time visitor. Even though she is underage, Meips turned out to be the one who enjoyed the activities, patiently working through them with me. They do have activity quests for different age-groups: 3-6 years, 7-12 years and 13-16 years, so it shouldn't be too difficult to choose one appropriate for your child, and I dare say that it would enhance his/her experience at the exhibition.
While the exhibition isn't large, we certainly found it interesting and educational. Thank you, ArtScience Museum, for hosting us!
*The Mummy: Secrets of the Tomb exhibition is on at the ArtScience Museum till 4 November 2013. Do visit their website for ticketing details. You can also visit the activities page to find out more about the workshops and guided tours that are available at no additional charge to ticket-holders.
*This review is written based on our experience during an invited media session. Do note that no photography is allowed inside the exhibition.
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