PRESS
RELEASE
September 28, 2009
PRESS CONTACTS: Tabari McCoy, (513) 287-7054, tmccoy@cincymuseum.org;
or Ben Cober, (513) 373-3242, bcober@cincymuseum.org
“Secrets of Egypt” to be revealed
Cincinnati Museum Center
Media invited to preview new exhibit, OMNIMAX featuring
mummies, local archaeology 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 1
CINCINNATI – It’s a land full of mystery and history that
has intrigued mankind for centuries, from ancient times to the modern
world. Now, Cincinnati Museum Center is ready to reveal Egypt’s
secrets with a new exhibition and OMNIMAX combination bound to educate
and fascinate the public at large.
Created and produced by COSI Columbus and built by the Science Museum
of Minnesota, Lost Egypt: Ancient Secrets, Modern Science –
opening Saturday, Oct. 3 at Cincinnati Museum Center – is an immersive
quest for knowledge that reveals how archaeologists use modern science
and technology to uncover and understand the ancient civilization of Egypt.
The exhibit invites visitors to take hands-on challenges, view authentic
artifacts and follow guidance from real archaeologists to unearth the
mysteries of Egypt, its culture and its people.
The exhibit is divided into four content areas, the first of which serves
as the “Orientation Entrance,” a modern Egyptian street scene
transports visitors to Egypt where they learn about some of the archeologists
working in Egypt today. Next, the “Field Site” area offers
visitors an opportunity to explore the tools, techniques, science and
technologies used at the Lost City of the Pyramid Builders on the Giza
Plateau.
“Ancient Egyptian Culture,” the third area in the exhibit,
features a real human mummy, funerary artifacts and exhibits about the
art and language of ancient Egypt. The final area of the exhibit, the
“Laboratory,” features animal mummies, X-rays and CT scans
of human and animal mummies, facial reconstructions and rapid prototypes
of ancient Egyptians revealing daily life and funerary culture in ancient
Egypt. Also featured in the Laboratory section of the exhibit is –
for the first time ever, a life-size rapid prototype of a mummy in a stage
of “unwrapping.”
Staff from COSI Columbus traveled to Cairo and Luxor to work with and
capture interviews from some of the world’s foremost authorities
on Egyptology, who are featured in the exhibition. Visitors will be able
to connect with them through video interviews and photographs from the
field.
CINCINNATI EXCLUSIVES
Unique to Cincinnati Museum Center’s presentation of Lost Egypt
will be two areas showcasing local work being done in the world of archeology.
The first, Lost Cincinnati, will showcase the connections between
work being done at the Hahn Site in Anderson Twp. and that being conducted
abroad in Egypt itself. The Hahn site is a well-known Fort Ancient period
village located in the broad Little Miami River Valley north of the Beechmont
Levy within Clear Creek Park. The Peabody Museum at Harvard conducted
excavations at the site in the late 1800s, where work continues today
led by Cincinnati Museum Center Rieveschl Curator of Archaeology Bob Genheimer.
Genheimer uses multi-disciplinary techniques used abroad to gain insight
into human life in the past. He is assisted in his work excavating the
Hahn site in the summer with community volunteers and amateur archeologists
through Museum Center’s annual archeology field school. The exhibit
will feature information detailing the history of the site, some of the
artifacts discovered there and more as a way of showcasing the relationship
between archeological work being done locally with that being done abroad.
Joining Lost Cincinnati will be Umi: A Young Boy's Journey into the Afterlife,
an area dedicated to the Egyptian mummy donated by the Cincinnati Art
Museum to Cincinnati Museum Center earlier this year. The 38-inch long
mummy, nicknamed “Umi” (pronounced ‘oo-me,’ which
means ‘life’), has undergone extensive research at the University
of Cincinnati College of Medicine/University of Cincinnati Physicians-Radiology
& The 3D Post-Processing Lab, is a young male approximately 3-4 years
in age.
As revealed by Gene Kritsky, Ph.D. a noted Egyptologist who has visited
nearly 100 archeological sites in the land, the process of preparing for
life after death was an important aspect of ancient Egyptian culture,
the entire mummification process – from the symbols placed on the
body to the messages preserved on the wrappings – was and remains
an essential part of Umi’s history. Umi's story will be told in
a series of panels discussing all of the new research as well as a video
showing the scanning process in action at UC.
MUMMIES: THE OMNIMAX EXPERIENCE
Bringing ancient Egypt to life on the big screen will be Mummies:
Secrets of the Pharaohs, a new film in the Robert D, Linder Family
OMNIMAX Theater. Produced by Giant Screen Films and Gravity Pictures in
association with the Franklin Institute, Hugo Productions and the Museum
of Science, Boston, the film follows researchers and explorers in recalling
the discovery of ancient Egyptian mummies. The film also shows how scientists
continue working today to see what ancient mummies can tell us about life
thousands of years ago, human genetics, and more. The film is narrated
by noted actor Christopher Lee.
Lost Egypt: Ancient Secrets, Modern Science is open at Cincinnati
Museum Center Saturday, Oct. 3 through Jan. 3, 2010. Admission to the
exhibit is free to Cincinnati Museum Center members; non-members can visit
the exhibit by purchasing an all-museums pass.
Mummies: Secrets of the Pharaohs will be shown in the Robert
D. Lindner Family OMNIMAX Theater through Jan. 3, 2010. Ticket prices
are $7.50 adults, $6.50 seniors (60 or older), $5.50 children (ages 3-12);
discounted rates are available for groups and purchases made the same
day as a museum visit. Lost Egypt: Ancient Secrets, Modern Science are
presented with support from Cincinnati Bell, Frisch's and Local 12 WKRC-TV.
All museums passes are available at a rate of $12 adults, $11 seniors
(60 and older) and $8 children (ages 3-12). The rates for all three museums
plus OMNIMAX are $15.50 adults, $14.50 seniors (60 and older) and $10.50
children (ages 3-12). A $4.50 toddler pass admits a child 1 or 2 years-old
to all attractions and OMNIMAX when sitting on an adult's lap; infants
younger than 1 are free.
For images or more information, call Tabari McCoy at (513) 287-7054
(desk), (513) 373-6592 (mobile) or e-mail tmccoy@cincymuseum.org.
# # #
About Bob Genheimer
The George Rieveschl Curator of Archaeology at Cincinnati Museum Center
since April 2003, he previously served 13 years as the facility’s
archaeological collections manager. An expert in the fields of lithic
technology (stone tools), prehistoric ceramics and historic artifacts,
Genheimer’s interests in historical archeology include the study
of privies and urban and industrial sites – particularly 19th Century
potteries.
Genheimer has also served as the project supervisor of the 4-weeks
Museum-sponsored field school investigating the late prehistoric village
found at the Hahn Field Site in Anderson Twp., Hamilton Co. for the last
2 years. He is a member of the Register of Professional Archaeologists
and holder of a B.A. and M.A. in anthropology from the University of Cincinnati.
About Gene Kritsky, Ph.D.
A former Fulbright scholar to Egypt where he taught at Minya University
and visited nearly 100 archeological sites, Gene Kritsky, Ph.D. is a professor
of biology at The College of Mount St. Joseph. Before coming to the Mount
in 1983, he received his B.A. in biology from Indiana University in 1974,
and his M.S. and Ph.D. in entomology from the University of Illinois in
1976 and 1977 respectively.
Professor Kritsky also serves as Editor of American Entomologist, and
has published five books and more than 100 papers on insect evolution,
beekeeping history, Egyptology, and Charles Darwin. His extensive work
on the study of Egyptian amulets and hieroglyphics includes coursework
at the Smithsonian as well as lecturing on ancient Egypt at several U.S.
institutions of higher learning and London University in England.
His extensive work on the study of Egyptian amulets and hieroglyphics
includes coursework at the Smithsonian as well as lecturing on ancient
Egypt at several U.S. institutions of higher learning and London University
in England; his most recent paper included a Photoshop reconstruction
of the beekeeping.
About “Umi,” the Cincinnati mummy
A recent gift to Cincinnati Museum Center from the Cincinnati Art
Museum, “Umi” (which is a name given to him by Cincinnati
Museum Center; there are no hieroglyphs on the wrappings to indicate his
real name) was originally acquired from New York City resident Edward
L. Bernays in 1950. In a 1949 letter, Bernays – who was named one
of the most influential Americans of the 20th Century by Life Magazine,
indicated he obtained the mummy from “a distinguished student of
the Near East.”
The Egyptian cartonnage of Umi dates back to the Roman period of the first
and second centuries A.D. Measuring slightly over three feet in length,
the mummy was originally identified as a mummy of a little princess of
approximately eight or nine years old. However, radiography undertaken
by the University of Cincinnati Medical Department in 1983 revealed that
the occupant was a small boy of approximately 3 to 4 years in age.
Radiographic images from 1983 also revealed the presence of small amulets
within the mummy’s linen wrappings. The cover bears three painted
registers that feature Egyptian deities, including the jackal-headed god
of embalming, Anubis, and an elaborately painted floral collar around
the face.
About Cincinnati Museum Center
Cincinnati Museum Center at Union Terminal is a nationally recognized
institution dedicated to sparking community dialogue, insight and inspiration.
As one of the top cultural attractions in the Midwest, Cincinnati Museum
Center has served as an educational, research and entertainment resource
to millions of visitors from around the world.
Organizations within Museum Center include the Cincinnati History Museum,
Duke Energy Children's Museum, the Museum of Natural History & Science,
the Robert D. Lindner Family OMNIMAX® Theater, and the Cincinnati
Historical Society Library. These organizations combine to serve more
than 1.3 million visitors annually, reaching out to nearly 400,000 young
people through hands-on exhibits and programs.
Originally built in 1933 as a train station, Union Terminal stands as
one of the last remaining grand-scale Art Deco style railroad terminals.
The building is a National Historic Landmark and was renovated and reopened
as Cincinnati Museum Center in 1990. For information, call 1-800-733-2077
or visit www.cincymuseum.org.
Cincinnati Museum Center gratefully acknowledges operating and capital
support from the Carol Ann and Ralph V. Haile, Jr./U.S. Bank Foundation
and Hamilton County.
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