Discovery Place & Mummies of the World

We had been promising this trip to Evan for many months since we heard that the Mummies of the World exhibit was coming to Discovery Place in Charlotte.  This was a once in a lifetime opportunity to see the largest exhibition of mummies ever assembled.  Evan loves watching shows about mummies (both real and fiction) on television.  I'm not kidding.  One of his favorite movies is "The Mummy" which he and Mommy both love (and not for its less than stellar acting either).  We had heard so many people say how awesome this exhibit was and were so excited.  Evan had only been to this museum once when he was less than a year old, and he and Mommy saw the Norman Rockwell exhibit.  This exhibit far surpassed our expectations, and we had a wonderful time.  

The Mummies

This particular exhibit began in 2004 when 20 human mummies were found in a vault at a museum in Germany. The mummy collection that had been purchased by the museum in 1917 from a private collector was thought to have been lost during World War II.  The most interesting and touching part of the exhibit was a little 10 month old baby that was found in Peru.  It is over 6,000 years old, more than 3,000 years older than King Tut.  It is an example of a "natural" mummy.  The most amazing part of seeing this little mummified baby was how closely he resembled my own little 10 month old.  Most of the other mummies were dried out and looked like skin stretched over bone, but this little one still had his sweet baby chub on his little face, hands, and feet.  His sweet little chubby hands were clenched into fists, and you could see his little toenails and his head full of hair.  Even 6,000 years ago, I can imagine the devastation his parents must have felt to have lost this precious child.  Through the various technologies of today, scientists were able to determine the little child probably died of a heart defect.  

Another heartfelt exhibit was of a mother, father, and little one-year old boy who were found in a crypt in Hungary.  Through MRI, CT scanning, and even DNA testing, the scientists were able to determine that the family like many in their town died of the horrible Tuberculosis disease.  

Enjoying the Museum


Evan had to have some ice cream before going in, and of course, Grandma obliged. 



Evan conducts an experiment and watches these balls "float." 



He loved shooting his ball high into the air. 



He made Mommy lie on a bed of nails!  



Grandma enjoyed a fun weekend with her boys.



Evan loved this little rain forest!



And walking on this rope bridge. 



Evan loved the aquariums. 



And Brody loved the pretty fishies!





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Tap Tap..."Hi, fishies!"



"Wake up, fishies!"  



"Hi!"



Saying hello to his bear friends. 



Evan loves his planet!