Surprised by Amenhotep

The kids and I have hit the Museum of Natural History several times in the last few weeks, and each time we go we discover something new - either a room we didn't know existed, an exhibit we've never seen before, or the fact that the cookies they sell in the cafeteria are splendid but the fries are nothing to write home about.

A few weeks ago we went on a rainy Friday morning for a change of scenery. I love being a member of the museums because we can go for just an hour or two and not feel that we're wasting the trip. I generally find that after about ninety minutes, my three little boys are climbing into the dinosaur exhibit or trying to open the sarcophagus ready to go home.

We've been learning all about the ancient Egyptians in history this year, and I wanted the kids to get their eyes and hands on some of the things we've been reading about. Now I know this is going to shock some of you, but I've always been a bit of closeted nerd. As I've grown into adulthood I've been able to accept that, and even occasionally admit it. But I surprised even my own nerdy self when I practically did a happy dance in the middle of the marble-laiden fourth floor after discovering a statue of the Egyptian pharaoh Amenhotep III. I'd never heard of the man until we studied him this year. We spent particular time on his son Amenhotep IV, who created and enforced monotheism for the first time in ancient Egypt.



It was so cool! We'd read about him and studied him and there he was in front of us! It was a statue - he's dead, you know - but still, so cool! We stood in front of him and tried to remember all the things we knew about him. Then we looked at mummies, artifacts from the pyramids, and of course, visited Sam's beloved wooly mammoths.



 I'll leave you with a few pictures and one last interesting fact. Guess who Amenhotep IV's son was?

If you guessed the famous King Tut, you're right :-).