For release: February 26, 2013
For press information, contact Curt Guenther, 901-678-2843

Travel back in time for a day and explore the wonders of ancient Egypt right here in Memphis, (Tennessee, not Egypt). Write your name in hieroglyphs, color a mask while learning about ancient Egyptian gods, make your own copy of an ancient Egyptian amulet, participate in a “scavenger” hunt, and more.

These are just a few of the many activities families can experience during IEAA Family Day on Saturday, March 2, at the Art Museum of The University of Memphis. The event will run from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Visitors may come at any time during the event. Admission is free, but reservations for groups would be appreciated; call 901-678-2649.

Family Day will also include special tours of the Egyptian Exhibition at the Art Museum, making and decorating a crown and scepters, and learning how to measure just like the ancient Egyptians did. Bring your own camera and “picture yourself as a mummy.”

The popular "School for Scribes" will be available again this year. In an intensive one-hour session, older children and adults will learn about the ancient Egyptian language, including the Rosetta Stone and how the ancient Egyptian language was rediscovered. Scribes must be 10 years of age or older. Enrollment is limited; call 901-678-2649 to reserve a place in the “School for Scribes.”

Free parking is available in the Central Avenue lot. Paid parking is available for $2 per hour in the

Fogelman Executive Center garage on Innovation Drive, just south of Central Ave. The Art Museum is located on the first floor of the Communication and Fine Arts Building, Room 142.

Designed to introduce children to the art and culture of ancient Egypt in a fun and creative environment, the event is sponsored by the University's Institute of Egyptian Art and Archaeology (IEAA), a Tennessee Center of Excellence. The IEAA and the Art Museum maintain the largest public collection of ancient Egyptian artifacts in the Mid-South. More than 200 objects are on display representing 4,000 years of Egyptian history. Exhibits include mummies, statuary, jewelry, tomb furnishings, and items from everyday life.

Additional sponsors of IEAA Family Day are the University of Memphis, the College of Communication and Fine Arts and the Department of Art.

More information is available online at http://www.memphis.edu/egypt or by phone from Dr. Patricia Podzorski, IEAA curator of Egyptian art, at 901-678-2649.