Photos by Joe Contreras, Latin Life Denver Media

What do you really know about Egypt? That question was posed to a group of us at the opening night of “Egypt: The Time of Pharaohs,” at the Denver Museum of Nature & Science. Now through September 5, 2022

We had some general answers in regards to the great pyramids, the Nile River, some of its cities and pharaohs such as Ramses II, also known as Ramesses the Great . The follow up questions of “how long has Egypt existed?” also threw us for a loop as we guessed 800, 1,000 no 2,000 years. All incorrect answers. “What did they eat, how and where did they live. What was there everyday life like?”

We quickly realized we really didn’t know much about this fabled land.

That’s were this exhibition comes in. We were anxious to discover the answers to those and many other questions that had been awakened.

“Egypt: The Time of Pharaohs,” transports you to the distant past to explore ancient Egyptian culture and the land of pharaohs.

Over 5,000 years ago, Egypt became a state that unified many cities and towns along the Nile River. Since then, ancient Egypt’s powerful pharaohs, phenomenal pyramids and extraordinary art have captivated people’s imagination all over the world.

Experience everyday life in one of the most storied cultures in human history—the private, public and secret spaces—through hundreds of artifacts, stunning artwork and engaging interactives for insights into ancient Egyptian people and their impact on our own culture.

“Ancient Egyptian culture is captivating for so many reasons: religious beliefs and practices, architecture and human capacity for engineering and construction, and the landscapes that support such rich and layered ways of life,” Senior Curator of Archaeology Stephen E. Nash said. “We hope guests will enjoy this exhibition and come away with an appreciation for this period of human history.”

In the exhibition, you will experience ancient Egyptian culture and see how it flourished along the banks of the Nile through themes, including:

• Landscape and Climate: Explore how the Nile Valley’s reliable seasons and fertile landscape played into the rapid success and long-term prosperity of the Egyptian empire through time lapse videos, hands-on displays and a film about the region’s animals and plant life.
  
• Religion and Gods: Discover the role religion plays in everyday life, the power of the gods and their relationships to each other and the people.
  
• Script and the Emergence of State: Learn how the written word, in this case the invention of hieroglyphic writing, made mass communication, record keeping and the organization of a state possible.
  
• The Pharaohs: Traverse through ancient Egypt’s history to examine the power and responsibilities of the pharaohs.
  
• Sacred Spaces: Enter into the earthly houses of the gods – temples that resembled villages and bustled with activity to sustain gods with wine, bread, prayer and sacrifices, with everything from priest training and administrative offices to bakeries and vineyards.
  
• Private Spaces: Step into the living quarters of ancient Egyptians from different social strata and get a sense for how people of different ranks lived and worked together.
  
• Personal Adornment: Examine makeup vessels, jewelry and fine textiles to get a sense for how much ancient Egyptians value and appreciate beauty and the ways in which grooming, clothing and accessories signal one’s station and role in society.
  
• Secret Spaces: Explore the secret spaces of ancient Egypt through ancient texts, elaborately decorated coffins and tombs, and embalming practices and mummification rituals.

Plus, Museum volunteers will help you explore the mummification process, decipher hieroglyphics, guide you through a bird’s-eye tour of Aten Temple model and help answer questions the experience brings to the surface.

The exhibition has been produced as a joint venture between Lokschuppen Rosenheim, the University of Aberdeen Museums, the Roemer-und-Pelizaeus Museums Hildesheim and MuseumsPartner Austria, and is presented in Denver by Chevron.

To learn more about the exhibition and purchase tickets, visit dmns.org/egypt.