Hello International Students!

On Friday, July 6^th, a group of GRCC students went up to the Pacific Science Center in Seattle to view the King Tut exhibit and watch an IMAX documentary about mummies.  As we wandered through the exquisite statues, funeral dresses, and sarcophagi, ancient Egypt truly came alive!  The discovery of King Tut’s tomb in 1922 was perhaps the most important archaeological find ever to occur, and we couldn’t help but get caught up in the excitement of it all!  Looking at the dates on the various artifacts, we were amazed by the notion that they were handcrafted (up to) 5,000 years ago.  The Egyptian reign lasted more than 3,000 years; having just celebrated the 4^th of July, this put the United States’ history in perspective!

The IMAX film we watched documented the mysterious process through which Egyptians mummified human bodies; modern science has only recently been able to replicate their ancient mummification process.  As a matter of fact, ancient Egyptian mummies may be able to tell us a great deal about diseases which still plague much of Africa, such as malaria. 

One of the most interesting artifacts in the display was a jar which had held King Tutankhamen’s stomach and was placed in the burial chamber along with the Boy King’s mummified body.  Called a canopic jar, this item was intended to preserve King Tut’s internal organs, since it was believed he would need them in the Afterlife.  The actual mummy of King Tut himself is never permitted to leave Egypt, but we were able to see a perfectly recreated cast of his body amidst many of the items from his burial chamber.  It all came together in a scene of science, religion, and history, and we all felt grateful for the opportunity to step back in time through this exhibit!