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Sunday, July 29, 2012

Just for Fun: Cleopatra the Exhibition


Last Thursday, July 26th, I went to the Cleopatra Exhibit over at the California Science Center in Los Angeles. This exhibit features the largest Cleopatra-era artifacts from Egypt. Many of these artifacts were found under water in Alexandria. It was an amazing exhibit.

The California Science Center is free for the public. Only special exhibits like Cleopatra are charged.

I was super excited when I first heard about the exhibit, so I was really looking forward to my visit.

At the entrance of the exhibit, you are met by two museum employees and the eye of an Egyptian woman (seen above). One takes your ticket and directs you where to go. The other hands you free audio guides to make your experience more memorable.

You are then seated at a small theatre that plays a short clip that introduces the exhibit. the video describes who Cleopatra was and why she is important to the world. When the video finishes, you hear "Cleopatra" overhead in the speakers with dramatic music, "Welcome, to Cleopatra: The Exhibition." The screen raises up to the ceiling and this is in its place:

I was in complete awe. I thought it was a great way to excite the crowd to the showcase and this statue of Cleopatra was a great example on how important she was.

There were many other great artifacts and examples on how these artifacts were excavated. At the left you see two huge pharaoh statues, a sphinx, and a statue of a priest.
There were also great jewelry pieces. I got to see necklaces, earrings, bracelets, along with mirrors, make up jars, and hair decoration items.





Real Gold was also found underwater as well as coins. The picture on the right are stone fragments covered in gold. It's pretty amazing when you see it in person.







Overall, I loved the exhibit. I plan to go again before it ends in December. I greatly enjoy going to artifact and art museums and this one is one of my favorites.

I ended my trip with some souvenirs: a book on the exhibit (of course), three sarcophagus bookmarks, and hieroglyphs postcards to give out to friends at Shelfari. I was one happy girl :D

2 comments:

  1. Very cool, I'm completely envious! I went through a period of absolute obsession with ancient Egyptian history and mythology.

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  2. I am dragging my mom to this as soon as she and my dad get back from their vacation. I got a flyer on it at the Festival of Books and couldn't wait.

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