King Tut Exhibit extended, exceeds expectations

Brandon Fagen, Writer

As the dark hallway turns a corner it opens up to a large brightly lit area full of magnificent and strange artifacts. Included is a golden chariot, sarcophagus and many other items related to ancient Egypt.

What is described above is the main exhibit of Union Station’s King Tut exhibit. This room showcases all kinds of things from King Tutankhamun’s (King Tut) rein as Pharaoh. All of these are amazing, but to preserve the original artifacts, they have been replaced with replicas. The exhibition has been extended to Sept. 14.

The main section of this exhibit is just one of many in this extensive showcase. The first part of the exhibit does not even require tickets. It is about Egyptian culture and how it has influenced other countries. After that you get your tickets stamped and receive your audio devices. These devices are used to narrate and provide information for you throughout the exhibit. The next part is the introduction, which discusses the discovery of Tutankhamun’s tomb.

Guests then enter a large movie room to watch an introductory video setting the scene for the main exhibit. Once you enter this part you will go through many rooms that are pretty much replicas of what the original tomb looked like. The grand finale is the artifact room, after that you will exit to the gift shop.

The exhibit was very well put forth. The way it was set up made it seem like you were actually in the tomb, although one of the rooms in the tomb had two exhibit rooms dedicated to it, which was a little confusing. The lighting in theses tomb rooms was dark and mysterious, but then in the artifact room it was bright and exciting, demonstrating how it must have felt to enter the tomb for the first time.

The audio guide did help a lot in the tour. It provided a lot of interesting information, and made the exhibit easier to understand. And because the audio tours all came with headphones, the guests who choose to just walk around and read about king Tut without the audio enjoy a quiet and peaceful setting.

Overall, the exhibit was very well done and informative. Even if you are not very interested in King Tut the exhibit is still entertaining in other ways. In fact, this exhibit has gotten so many positive reviews that it was extended, but even with the extra time it will be closing soon. It is definitely worth checking out.

To find more information on the exhibit or purchase tickets online, follow this link.