Over 30 mummies from South America, Europe, and ancient Egypt are back in Los Angeles after a 16-year trip around the world. “Mummies of the World: The Exhibition” is an interactive, family-friendly display at the California Science Center, 700 Exposition Park Dr., showing until Mon., Sept. 7. Los Angeles is its final stop before each section is returned to its lending museum of origin. New items and information have been added since its 2010 debut in the City of Angels.
SUMMER BECKER holds a 3D print of a portion of an ancient Egyptian’s spine.
MORE THAN 2,000-YEAR-old priest from Egypt.
The exhibit gives visitors insight into the lives of ancient people spanning hundreds and thousands of years. Mummies new to the exhibit include two Egyptian priests, remains of 18th-century townspeople found in a long-forgotten church in Hungary, and a 17th-century German nobleman buried in his military boots.
For this final stop, the Center teamed up with Keck Medicine of USC to examine the two Egyptian mummies under a CT scan, the gold standard for viewing mummies. Using CT scans enables doctors to see inside the specimens, just like a patient.
Summer Decker, Ph.D., 3-D imaging lead for Keck Medicine of USC, said about one of the Egyptian mummies, “There are holes in the vertebrae that look man-made. This could be surgical intervention for a bad back—the same injuries humans are experiencing 2,000 years later.”
The exhibit is a timed and ticketed event. Tickets are $23.95 for adults; $15.95 for children. There is also a documentary IMAX movie, “Mummies 3D,” that accompanies the exhibit for an additional $11 for adults; $9 for kids. More information is at californiasciencecenter.org.
Category: Entertainment