PHILADELPHIA, May 11, 2011 /PRNewswire/ — Tickets are now on sale for the highly-anticipatedMummies of the World exhibition, making its East Coast  debut at The Franklin Institute onSaturday, June 18, 2011.  This astonishing collection of mummies and related artifacts includes a 6,420-year-old child mummy from Peru, one of the oldest child mummies ever discovered (and almost twice as old as King Tut).  The Franklin Institute, the most visited museum inPennsylvania, has hosted some of the most highly-acclaimed science exhibitions in the world in recent years, including Body Worlds, King Tut and Cleopatra, to name a few.  Mummies of the World is the first exhibition of its kind to be showcased at The Franklin Institute, portraying both naturally and intentionally preserved mummies from around the world.
Mummies of the World is the largest exhibition of real mummies and related artifacts ever assembled, featuring an astounding collection of 150 artifacts and real human and animal specimens from South America, Europe, Asia, Oceania and Egypt. Through modern science and engaging interactive and multi-media exhibits, the exhibition reveals how the scientific study of mummies provides a window into the lives of ancient people from every region of the world, offering unprecedented insights into past cultures and civilizations. It also demonstrates that mummification – both through natural processes and intentional practices – has taken place all over the globe, from the hot desert sands of South America to remote European moors and bogs.
In addition to the Detmold Child, the treasures presented in Mummies of the World include the Vac Mummies, a mummified family from Budapest; the Baron and Baroness, discovered in a 14th century castle in Sommersdorf; and Egyptian animal mummies, intentionally preserved to accompany royals for eternity.
The exhibition premiered to sell out crowds in Los Angeles at the California Science Center in July 2010. It quickly became a major attraction and one of the most successful exhibits in the Science Center’s 13-year history. Since its debut at the Milwaukee Public Museum on December 17, the popular traveling exhibition of real mummies has drawn visitors from nearly all 50 states to Milwaukee and helped the Museum achieve a one-day record attendance in December 2010, with nearly 11,000 visitors.
The Mummies of the World exhibition was developed by Mummies of the World Touring Company, LLC in association with the Reiss-Engelhorn Museums (REM). More information about the exhibition is available online: www.mummiesoftheworld.com /www.fi.edu/mummies.
