HOW TO GET DOWN WITH THE KING (TUT)

My eyes dilating from the sunshine as I stepped out of King Tut’s “tomb”, my ears also grew wide upon hearing a nearby conversation in which a few people were voicing their disappointment with the same exhibit. “I wanted to see more stuff, “said one lady.  “Yeah, I thought there’d be more of those Pharaoh heads you see in the advertising,” her friend concurred.   Sadly, this eavesdropping left me feeling a little deflated and doubtful.  What was missing?   Why wasn’t I feeling completely exhilarated after having seen such rare treasures?  There was no chance for me to immediately address those questions or feelings because, being at the Pacific Science Center, my children were, unsurprisingly, done with the dead and ready for the butterfly house.  Weeks later, chatting with a friend who’d also taken her children, she admitted to the same feeling of being neither over nor under, but as I call it, “whelmed” by her visit. 

Finally, I got to sit down in silence with my inner-child and chat with her.  The child who found ancient Egyptians ABSOLUTELY AWESOME!  She wanted to know what was wrong with me.   “Did you see the size of some of those earrings they wore?!”, she screamed at me.  “And, you know, that Imhotep statue was there JUST for you!”.   Dancing and twirling now, she continued her commentary, “How did they carve so many things?  What about the board games that were buried with King Tut?  So cool, right? Some of those queen statues were beautiful but others looked like aliens, I swear….” Once little Annie got it all out of her system she and I composed a list of ways to maximize enjoyment of the King Tut exhibit at the Pacific Science Center in Seattle.

1. Read the informative signs. “I didn’t really learn anything about King Tut,” a shrugging neighbor girl concluded about her visit to the King Tut exhibit.  I did.  I read the signs plastered on every wall and every item description that I could.  I learned that King Tut was the second of two pharaohs that tried to convert Egyptians from polytheism to monotheism.  Because of his monotheistic lean, he was essentially wiped from the annals of ancient Egyptian history.  His predecessor converted back to the Old Religion and anyone believing otherwise was also believed non-existent.  None of us would’ve known much, if anything, of King Tut had his tomb been left undiscovered.  Judging from the lost and dreamy looks of those who purchased the audio tour, a visitor should seriously consider that option as well.
2. Drop your theme park and social network mentalities.   You have to do a little brainwork to really appreciate what is in front of you at this exhibit.  Instead of instantly hitting a “Like” or “thumbs up/down” button, you are forced to stop and ponder: These aren’t Photoshopped memes produced by the hundreds on a daily basis.  These objects were carved by hand, over a period of months or years, and are almost 5,000 years old!  Far too regal for such triviality, they really don’t care if you “Like” them or not.  Little Annie wasn’t raised on touch screens, blaring multimedia and countless (endless?) educational videos.  She happily gawked at the items, appreciated the handiwork and pondered the ages and miles they’ve survived.  What are humans creating today that is still going to be beautiful in 5,000 years?  Annie was a little disappointed to find only coffee table books of pyramids in the gift store.  She wanted to read more about the ancient people’s religion! What this exhibit is not: instant, adrenaline rush entertainment begging for your input.  However, that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t add your input. My third suggestion:
3. Use your imagination.   It was the little description by the display of fans that first caught my fancy.  Those long fans on the end of broomsticks and held by a servant whose sole duty is to keep royalty cool?  It turns out those aren’t servants waving their lives away.  The fan-holders, being closest to Pharaoh, were some of the highest paid citizens of Egypt.  THAT got my imagination going as I pictured Secret Service men huddling similarly around our President.   Maybe, just maybe, those fan wavers had secret Ninja-like skills and were also so close to their leader so that they could protect him.  It should be noted that there are “Coneheads” at this exhibit!  There is a family line, which, in all sculpture and art is depicted with long, conical shaped heads.  The running theory is that this oddity wasn’t artistic license but a well-known family trait.  Anyone else thinking “Aliens!” right now?  (Or is Fox Mulder embedded that deeply in my psyche?) Nothing in the exhibit outside of the items themselves led me to these whimsical conclusions.  But that’s my point, whimsy—created by me—with a little help from some ancient treasures.  What modern theme park offers that experience?

My belated, deeper appreciation of the King Tut exhibit received further amplification when I later read an article in a recent National Geographic about the state of affairs in modern Egypt.  Tourism has all but dried up there due to the political unrest.  The Great Temple of Ramses used to host 3,000 visitors a day.  Now, 150 may trickle in.  Little Annie used to dream of visiting the places and things she discovered in her history textbooks.  Grown-up Annie is considerably more doubtful that can happen.  Is the marketing true that these treasures will never be presented in North America again?  I don’t know.  But my inner-child and I are now very happy that we didn’t leave it to chance. 

Paths to Enlightenment:

The Pacific Science Center

http://www.pacificsciencecenter.org/

Little Annie (your inner child)

National Geographic