The Boonshoft Museum of Discovery presents an exciting look at one of history’s most dynamic ancient cultures in a new exhibit opening Saturday, February 22, 2020, entitled Ancient Egypt.
Visit this new exhibit that commemorates the rich history of dynastic Egypt and teaches guests about Ohio’s close connection with Egyptian antiquity.
In 1922, Dayton native J. Morton Howell became the first “Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary” to Egypt. Upon his retirement from this ambassadorial position, he was gifted many artifacts from the Egyptian government, which he in turn entrusted to the DSNH.
Nesiur Comes Alive Again
The centerpiece of this exhibition is Nesiur, Dayton’s Mummy, who lived around 700 B.C. Visitors will experience Nesiur as never before and digitally “unwrap” her story through an interactive mummy table.
Our imaginations naturally connect mummies with ancient Egypt. The ancient Egyptians practiced mummification for thousands of years and it was believed to be an important step in a person’s journey to the afterlife.
Experience History
Explore the geography, culture, and history of one of the world’s earliest and longest-lasting civilizations.
Visitors will experience the vibrant everyday life of a society that intrigues experts as well as armchair archaeologists.
Ancient Egypt includes hands-on learning experiences for all ages, such as an interactive timeline of Ancient Egypt, pyramid building blocks, write your own hieroglyphics, and public programs.
A Fascinating Ancient Egypt Lecture Presentation
On Saturday, February 22 at 10:00 a.m., as a part of the Boonshoft Museum of Discovery’s new Ancient Egypt exhibit opening, Dr. Andrew Nelson from the University of Western Ontario who will present a FREE lecture in the Museum’s Caryl Philips Space Theater. The title of the Planetarium talk will be Paleoimaging and Mummy Studies in 2020: The non-destructive imaging of Nesiur and friends.
Dr. Nelson has been an important advisor to the Ancient Egypt exhibit from the beginning of the project’s planning. Nelson is a specialist in the use of paleo-radiology and virtual imaging in the analysis and presentation of Egyptian mummies.
A large-scale, multi-institutional, collaborative research project known as the Internet Mummy Picture Archiving and Communication Technology (IMPACT), a radiological and context database, was created by Dr. Nelson. This database is a large-scale, multi-institutional, collaborative research project devoted to the digital preservation and scientific study of mummified remains. It references the mummification traditions that produced them, using non-destructive medical imaging technologies.
Dayton’s Mummy, Nesiur, is now part of this database and Dr. Nelson cites the partnership with DSNH as one of the important things to emerge from the project!
The Paleoimaging lecture presentation is FREE!
Located at 2600 DeWeese Parkway, the Boonshoft Museum is open to the public 9:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. Monday-Saturday, and 12 noon-5:00 p.m. on Sunday. Admission is $14.50 for adults, $12.50 for seniors (60+), and $11.50 for children (3-17). Children under 3 and members are free. (937) 275-7431. BoonshoftMuseum.org