The Bottom Line
In addition, the admission price of $32.50 (weekends) and $27.50 weekdays is very steep when compared to the prior and larger Titanic and Body Worlds exhibitions which were also held at the Franklin Institute.
- Professional and artistic presentation of 130 artifacts
- Only a few of these artifacts were included in the 1977 exhibition
- Excellent walking tour narrated by Omar Sharif
- Timed ticket provides no wait entry and uncrowded viewing of artifacts
- Major artifacts missing from exhibition
- Admission cost is somewhat high
- Omnipresent security personnel somewhat diminishes experience
Description
- The Franklin Institute Science Museum
222 North 20th Street
Philadelphia, PA 19103-1194
215-448-1200 - Purchase Tickets at 1-877-TUT-TKTS
or online at www.fi.edu/tuttix - Individual tickets range from $17.50 to $32.50.
- Tickets are timed and dated, and admission is 9:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. daily.
- Allow one to two hours to view the exhibition.
- Exhibition will run from February 3 to September 30, 2007.
- More than 2.5 million people have seen the exhibit at its first three stops in Los Angeles, Fort Lauderdale and Chicago.
- More than 410,000 advance tickets already sold as of February 4, 2007 for Philadelphia.
- Exhibition will leave the U.S. for London after it closes in Philadelphia.
- Revenue generated from the tour will go toward preserving Egypt's treasures and building of the new Grand Museum in Cairo.
Guide Review - Tutankhamun and the Golden Age of the Pharaohs in Philadelphia, PA
Philadelphia was not a host city in the 1970's. We can thank Dr. Zahi Hawass, secretary general of the Egyptian Supreme Council of Antiquities, for insisting that Philadelphia be included as a host city this time around. Dr. Hawass has long had a fondness for Philadelphia. In 1980 he came to the United States on a Fulbright scholarship and earned his PhD. in Egyptology from the University of Pennsylvania in 1987.
I was disappointed, however, when I learned that some of the major items from Tutankhamun's tomb would not be in the exhibition, namely the aforementioned golden death mask and any of the three coffins contained within his stone sarcophagus. These items are, apparently, too fragile to be removed from Egypt.
It was with that knowledge that I approached Tutankhamun and the Golden Age of the Pharaohs which is running at the Franklin Institute through September 30, 2007.
The exhibition itself is wonderfully presented with plenty of room to view each object from all sides. The set design and mood accurately recreates the feel of Egypt. The lighting for each object is perfect.
I highly recommend the audio tour narrated by Omar Sharif. At specific objects you enter a number onto a control pad for more details of the object being viewed. All objects have detailed written descriptions.
For specific details of the exhibition read our Profile of Tutankhamun and the Golden Age of the Pharaohs.