I have seen the King Tut Exhibition in July 2008 while visiting London. I found it to be a marvelous exhibition and I was longing to see it again. Lucky me, it stopped in San Francisco at deYoung Museum and I visited it again with my oldest daughter Olivia and her 6th grade core class. Olivia did not come with me to London so it was a first for her.
Unfortunately, many pieces are missing from the London exhibition, I felt disappointed and my daughter, even though she liked the exhibition, felt the exhibition was too short. And to be honest, if you have toured the British Museum in London, the Louvre in Paris and other major museums that have good Egyptian exhibitions, no need to rush to that particular one. If you have been to Egypt, lucky you, you know the answer.
However if your children have never seen any major Egyptian museum or if you need to see anything Egyptian related (like me), this may be for you. But check out at the end of the blog how you can get less expensive tickets (full price is $27.50 per adult and $16.50 per child).
Mirror Case
Before you go, make sure that you tell your children
- Who was King Tuthankamun and the story of its life. He became King at the age of 9 and passed away at 19. The exhibition will not teach you anything, it is about appreciation so make sure that your children have some history background before they go. I rented a DVD and we watched it together before going. You can also browse the Tut Exhibition website, it is very resourceful.
- The story of the discovery of its tomb. It is fascinating and that helped Tutankhamun be a mainstream name compared to other Pharaohs. When you are going to enter the gallery showing King Tut’s belongings, you will see a sculpture of the bust of the young Pharaoh. This particular piece is gorgeous.
- The Death Mask and the mummy will not be showcased even though the Mask is on every advertisement or poster about the exhibition. I found that to be very misleading. The Mask will not leave Egypt anymore as the government found it too fragile to travel. Your chance to see it will be to travel to Cairo (Egypt).
You need to know:
- Crowd control: it was long to get in so calling them beforehand to check what the less crowded times are is your best bet.
- The galleries are dark so if you go with young children, make sure that they will not be impressed. But I would not advise to go with toddlers, a place like the Rosicrucian Museum in San Jose will be more appropriate. As I said before, you have to be mature enough to appreciate what’s in front of you to really enjoy that exhibition.
- Make sure that you do not rush, you can not return to previous galleries so let your child enjoy the pieces. What I liked the most was very different from Olivia’s favorite piece. She was fascinated by the little coffins holding the fetuses from what we assume are King Tut’s children.
- Do NOT take the audio tour, I did in London and I was disappointed. It was not informative at all.
- It is a timed entry exhibition, they advise that buy your tickets in advance. In my case, in London, I just showed up and got tickets right away, it was July but the exhibition had been going for a while so the rush was gone. But you can never know, especially towards the end of March.
How to get less expensive tickets
- FriscoKids has the best tip: through January 29, 2010, buy one adult admission ticket, get one free! Tickets are valid through March 15, 2010. Use promo code: TUTBOGO
- Your deYoung membership will give you access to a reduced price,
- Friday evening reservations are less expensive
- Borders cards holder: if you buy your tickets at www.ticketmaster.com/kingtut and are a Borders Rewards Member, you will save 20% with code TUTBB. IF you are not a member, you can still save 10% with the code TUTBOOKS.
- Costco sells some tickets in their stores.
- Peet's coffee customers get a 20% discount on adult admission tickets. Offer and tickets valid through March 15, 2010. Use promo code: TUTPEETS (thanks FriscoKids)
Information:
DeYoung Museum
50 Hagiwara Tea Garden Drive
Golden Gate Park
San Francisco
T: 415.750.3600
Tutankhamun and the golden age of the Pharaohs
Till March 28,2010
Tuesday through Sunday, 9 a.m.–6:30 p.m. daily (last ticket at 5 p.m.);
Fridays until 8:45 p.m. (last ticket at 7:30 pm).
Mondays reserved for school group visits, 9 am–2 pm,
Related Posts
Egyptian exhibitions in the San Francisco and the Bay Area
