King Tut Exhibit Prepares for Philadelphia

Drawing more than 2 million visitors from throughout the United States, the renowned Tutankhamun and the Golden Age of the Pharaohs exhibition is preparing for its final stop on the current U.S. tour. The exhibition will be at The Franklin Institute in Philadelphia, its only northeast destination, from Feb. 3, 2007 – Sept. 30, 2007, giving Americans one more chance to experience the world that remains of Egyptian royal life 3,000 years ago, before the exhibit heads to London.

Tutankhamun and the Golden Age of the Pharaohs builds on the legacy of the last King Tut exhibit to visit the United States, which drew record crowds more than 26 years ago. Now this larger and even more intriguing exhibition, featuring approximately 130 artifacts from the tombs of King Tut and his contemporaries, is breaking records of its own. Five months prior to opening in the city of brotherly love, approximately 300,000 tickets have been reserved, and visitors from as far away as California, Oregon and Montana are represented, which speaks to the hold the exhibition has had over the country since it began its four-city tour in June 2005.

This is a last-chance opportunity to see this remarkable exhibition in a unique way, such as:

• Profile piece on exhibition designer and/or national curator (“America’s coolest jobs”)
• Packing Up Tut – what it takes to put these priceless artifacts on the road
  
• Egyptian influence on modern culture
  
• Hotel/restaurant partners in Philadelphia for travel piece
  
• Information/photos/fun facts for calendar listing
  
• Overview/photo retrospective of celebrities who have seen the exhibit since opening (from Owen Wilson to The Bangles)
  

About the Exhibition: Visitors to “Tutankhamun and the Golden Age of the Pharaohs” progress through multiple galleries filled with more than 130 artifacts from the tombs of King Tut, several of his relatives and 18th Dynasty (1555 B.C. to 1305 B.C.) contemporaries. On display are 50 of Tutankhamun’s burial objects including his royal diadem — the gold crown discovered encircling the head of his mummified body that he likely wore as king — and one of the gold and precious stone inlaid canopic coffinettes that contained his mummified internal organs. More than 70 objects from tombs of other 18th Dynasty royals as well as several non-royal individuals are exhibited. These stone, faience and wooden pieces from burials before Tut’s reign give visitors a sense of what the lost burials of other royalty and commoners may have been like. All of the treasures in the exhibit are between 3,300 and 3,500 years old.

A special section of the exhibition explores the mystery of Tutankhamun's death using the marvels of modern CT scanning technology. The scanning of Tut's mummy is part of a landmark, five-year Egyptian research and conservation project, partially funded by National Geographic, that will CT-scan the ancient mummies of Egypt. The portable CT scanner used was donated by Siemens AG and National Geographic.

Tickets: Tickets to the exhibition at The Franklin Institute will go on sale in November. To pre-reserve tickets, and for more information on ticketing updates, please visit www.kingtut.org. Visitors can learn more about Philadelphia and book their stay at www.gophila.com.

Exhibition Organizers: Tutankhamun and the Golden Age of the Pharaohs is organized by National Geographic, Arts and Exhibitions International and AEG Exhibitions in association with the Supreme Council of Antiquities of Egypt. The tour’s Philadelphia sponsor is Mellon Financial Corporation.