Mummies Will Travel to MOSI in April

When you hear the word “mummy,” what do you think of?

Egyptian tombs? Crafty Halloween costumes?

“Most people think mummies come from Egypt and are wrapped, but mummies come from all over the world,” said Marc Corwin, president of American Exhibitions Inc., a company that produces touring exhibitions for science centers and museums and will be bringing a special mummy exhibit to the this spring.

Mummies of the World will open at MOSI on April 27. It’s the largest exhibition of mummies and related artifacts ever assembled and the first of its kind at MOSI.

“Featuring an astounding collection of real human and animal mummies and artifacts from South America, Europe, Asia, Oceania and Ancient Egypt, the exhibition shows that mummies come from all over the globe and is changing centuries-old perceptions about what the general public thinks about mummies,” said Adrienne Drew, MOSI’s media relations specialist.

Mummies of the World showcases 150 specimens and objects, including:

• the Detmold Child, a 6,420-year-old child mummy from Peru, dating 3,000 years before King Tut;
• the Vac Mummies, a mummified family from Hungary believed to have died from tuberculosis;
• the Baron von Holz, a German nobleman found tucked away in the family crypt of a 14th century castle wearing his best leather boots;
• an ancient Peruvian woman naturally mummified in the warm desert air, with mysterious tattoos on her face and chest, and long black hair intact; and
• a howler monkey from Argentina, with its fierce expression and adorned with a feather skirt and headdress.

The concept for the exhibition began with the rediscovery of 21 specimens within the Reiss-Engelhorn Museums of Mannheim, Germany in 2004. A group of mummy researchers, known as the German Mummy Project, used scientific practices to learn more about the specimens.

Mummies of the World premiered at the California Science Center in Los Angeles in July 2010. It then traveled to the Milwaukee Public Museum in Milwaukee, WI, in December 2010; The Franklin Institute in Philadelphia in Philadelphia, PA, in June 2011; and Discovery Place in Charlotte, NC, in November 2011.

MOSI is the exhibition’s fifth stop on its seven-city tour. After it opens, it will be on display through Sept. 3.

“Mummies of the World will change visitors’ understanding of what mummies are and what can be learned from them,” said Wit Ostrenko, MOSI’s president and chief executive officer. “The mummies in this exhibition have been studied using cutting edge, non-destructive technology to provide insights into lives and cultures of long ago. Modern science truly can shed new lights on very old ideas and MOSI is honored to offer such a perception-changing and thought-provoking collection to the region.”

Tickets are now on sale and reservations are highly recommended, Drew said. Mummies of the World is a timed-entry exhibition, so before making a purchase, visitors will be asked to select the date and time of their visit. MOSI will be offering special packages that include regular admission plus Mummies of the World, as well as a Mummies of the World only ticket. Call 813-987-6000 for pricing and/or reservations.