Inspiring Wonder in Middle School Students
Unpacking the Past connects Philadelphia’s Title I middle school classrooms studying ancient Egypt, ancient Rome, or ancient Mesopotamia with the world-renowned collections and teaching resources of the Penn Museum. All aspects of Unpacking the Past are FREE to teachers, students, and families. Unpacking the Past enriches “Common Core” curricula in social studies, math and science through vividly presented scenarios in the ancient world. Unpacking the Past was launched by a lead challenge grant from the GRoW Annenberg Foundation and is eligible for support through the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania’s Educational Improvement Tax Credit program. Unpacking the Past engages students and teachers through multiple encounters: In-school presentations by mobile educators who offer an introduction to archaeology and select objects from the Museum’s collections A class visit to the Museum for a guided tour of the Museum’s spectacular Egypt, Rome, or brand new Middle East galleries, followed by a STEM-rich workshop that asks students to make observations and inferences to draw conclusions about the past A FREE Family Membership for all participating students Teacher professional development events offering ACT 48 credit Customized workshops and tours for special needs classrooms, offered throughout the full extended school year including summer months. Unpacking the Past is offered entirely free of charge, with bus transportation provided, to every seventh-grade classroom in the School District of Philadelphia, as well as classrooms from select local charter schools. Unpacking the Past is a partnership between the Penn Museum, the School District of Philadelphia, and our family of supporters. Become a Partner of Unpacking the Past
Penn Museum Teaching & Research
Academic Engagement for Penn Students Harnessing the power of original artifacts, object-based learning is a student-centered approach shown in data to be a more effective method of learning than a lecture or talk. The Penn Museum’s Academic Engagement Program offers unique opportunities for students to engage closely with the more than one million objects and resources of the largest university museum in the world. From class visits to carrying out intensive research projects on individual artifacts to conducting archaeological field research across the globe, from curating special exhibitions to volunteering as docents, Penn students have the chance to work in the Museum’s collections, laboratories, galleries, and field sites through many programs. Class visits are supported by Museum collections staff and dedicated collections study rooms. More than 100 faculty—from departments across Penn schools and departments—bring classes to study objects each year. An 8-week Summer Internship Program welcomes college-age students from the region into every section of the Museum and features Intro to Museum Practice workshops each week. Penn sophomores and juniors can participate in a year-long Academic Year Internship Program that introduces them to museum research and culminates in a final project. Penn juniors and seniors can conduct a more intensive year-long advanced research project as Penn Museum Fellows, with access to the Museum’s collections, labs, and archival materials. Undergraduates have the unique opportunity to plan, design, and install an exhibition—working closely with faculty and Museum staff—through Student Exhibition Internships. Curatorial seminars provide students with extensive museological experience through the year-long research for and planning of a special exhibition. Student Fieldwork Funds support undergraduate and graduate archaeological research in the field—a requirement for certain degrees that would be impossible for many students to accomplish without funding, and a unique opportunity many of them would not get elsewhere. The Museum engages undergraduates through a broad range of programming, from evening social events to our Clio Society of undergraduate volunteers. Support Object-Based Learning for Penn Students Advancing New Discoveries The Penn Museum was established in 1887 with a groundbreaking act of archaeological field research—the first American expedition to ancient Babylonia to excavate the site of Nippur (now in modern-day Iraq). Since then, the Museum has undertaken over 300 research projects and continues an ambitious program of ongoing fieldwork and research. Fieldwork is at the heart of the Penn Museum’s mission to transform understanding of the human experience. A majority of Penn Museum curators, teaching specialists, research project managers, and consulting scholars are involved in active fieldwork projects, and in 2017, the Penn Museum supported, in total, field work at 43 projects in 21 countries, while other projects were in post-excavation seasons. Recent discoveries exemplify the way Penn Museum field work continues to change our understanding of history. In 2014 in Abydos, Egypt a Penn Museum team led by Josef Wegner working in close cooperation with Egypt’s Supreme Council of Antiquities unearthed the tomb of a previously unknown pharaoh: Woseribre Senebkay, and the first material proof of a forgotten Abydos Dynasty, ca. 1650–1600 BCE. King Senebkay’s tomb was close to a larger royal tomb, recently identified as belonging to a king Sobekhotep, (probably Sobekhotep I, ca. 1780 BCE) of the 13th Dynasty. More discoveries continue to follow each year. Help Advance New Discovery Ready to make transformation possible? For information on creating a named fund to endow or provide multi-year support of these programs or the key positions that advance them: Contact Penn Museum Major Gifts Office This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. document.getElementById('cloakad2415a43b16caff5c823d4463f0e445').innerHTML = ''; var prefix = 'ma' + 'il' + 'to'; var path = 'hr' + 'ef' + '='; var addyad2415a43b16caff5c823d4463f0e445 = 'amandamb' + '@'; addyad2415a43b16caff5c823d4463f0e445 = addyad2415a43b16caff5c823d4463f0e445 + 'pennmuseum' + '.' + 'org'; var addy_textad2415a43b16caff5c823d4463f0e445 = 'amandamb' + '@' + 'pennmuseum' + '.' + 'org';document.getElementById('cloakad2415a43b16caff5c823d4463f0e445').innerHTML += ''+addy_textad2415a43b16caff5c823d4463f0e445+''; 215.898.4031
Building Transformation Campaign
Through the Power of Penn, Penn Museum is building transformation: Campaign gifts have supported an entirely renovated and reinstalled Main Level and reimagined galleries of the Middle East, Africa, and Mexico and Central America; launched the groundbreaking Center for the Analysis of Archaeological Materials (CAAM), and ignited young minds through deep and engaging K–12 programs. Still to Come Your support of the Building Transformation Campaign will enable us to: Dramatically reimagine our Egypt and Nubia Galleries bringing the beliefs and cultures of a magnificent, ancient civilization to life through the imposing installation of the only pharaonic palace outside of Egypt. Learn More Ensure the future of our teaching and research by endowing curatorial positions and hands-on opportunities for Penn students to work with our ancient artifacts. Learn More Support the public school programs that already engage almost every 7th-grader in Philadelphia. Learn More Contact Penn Museum Major Gifts Office This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. document.getElementById('cloak86a27248fc90d4f557f2f85a8bcaf5ec').innerHTML = ''; var prefix = 'ma' + 'il' + 'to'; var path = 'hr' + 'ef' + '='; var addy86a27248fc90d4f557f2f85a8bcaf5ec = 'amandamb' + '@'; addy86a27248fc90d4f557f2f85a8bcaf5ec = addy86a27248fc90d4f557f2f85a8bcaf5ec + 'pennmuseum' + '.' + 'org'; var addy_text86a27248fc90d4f557f2f85a8bcaf5ec = 'amandamb' + '@' + 'pennmuseum' + '.' + 'org';document.getElementById('cloak86a27248fc90d4f557f2f85a8bcaf5ec').innerHTML += ''+addy_text86a27248fc90d4f557f2f85a8bcaf5ec+''; 215.898.4031
Egypt & Nubia Galleries
Ancient Egypt and Nubia come to life at the Penn Museum. Acquired mainly through Penn’s own archaeological research over the last century, the collection illuminates 5,000 years of magnificent, ancient civilizations. It is renowned for monumental architecture from the only pharaonic palace outside of Egypt and mummies both human and animal. In the new Egypt and Nubia Galleries, visitors will come face to face with life and death in the ancient world as never before. Opened in 1926, the Museum’s Egyptian Galleries have inspired wonder in tens of thousands of visitors. But without the architectural integrity to sustain the weight of the colossal palace elements, the galleries have yet to fulfill their potential to awe visitors with the majesty and ingenuity of ancient Egyptian engineering. Now, through the Building Transformation Campaign, the Penn Museum will achieve new heights: the installation of the columns and portal from the 13th-century-BCE palace of the pharaoh Merenptah. Installed at full height for the first time since its excavation, the palace will spark new understanding about the ancient world and provide an unparalleled centerpiece that will draw new audiences to all the Museum has to share. Iconic gallery spaces will become light-filled, stimulating environments that inspire learning and showcase the creativity and prowess of ancient Egyptian cultures. Important pieces will be spotlighted and put in rich new context, drawing on the Museum’s ongoing expansion of knowledge through active fieldwork. Visitors will journey to the realm of Osiris through the large Mummies and the Afterlife Gallery at the heart of the lower floor, then walk into the intact tomb chapel of Kaipure and marvel at its rich decorations, still colorful after 4,300 years. They will explore ancient Egyptians’ contributions to the developments of writing, literature, law, architecture, urban planning, mathematics, and other sciences through artifacts including a remarkable collection of papyri displayed for the first time. On the upper floor, visitors will marvel at the soaring 23-foot columns and portal of the majestic palace of Merenptah in a new Kingship in Ancient Egypt Gallery, then encounter the great kingdom of Nubia through two new galleries showcasing one of the largest collections of Nubian artifacts in the United States. Newly dynamic educational and public programs will energize the galleries and encourage curiosity in visitors of all ages. To support the creation of inspiring new Egypt and Nubia Galleries, the Museum seeks partners in transformation for their design, construction, and reinstallation. Funds will also support conservation, new technology in the galleries, compact storage, a new research and study center, and visitor amenities. Ready to make transformation possible? Give Now OR For More Information Contact Penn Museum Major Gifts Office This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. document.getElementById('cloak4fd81aa034dbef7158a25758f9eed705').innerHTML = ''; var prefix = 'ma' + 'il' + 'to'; var path = 'hr' + 'ef' + '='; var addy4fd81aa034dbef7158a25758f9eed705 = 'amandamb' + '@'; addy4fd81aa034dbef7158a25758f9eed705 = addy4fd81aa034dbef7158a25758f9eed705 + 'upenn' + '.' + 'edu'; var addy_text4fd81aa034dbef7158a25758f9eed705 = 'amandamb' + '@' + 'upenn' + '.' + 'edu';document.getElementById('cloak4fd81aa034dbef7158a25758f9eed705').innerHTML += ''+addy_text4fd81aa034dbef7158a25758f9eed705+''; 215.898.4031 Recognition opportunities in the new Egyptian Galleries begin at $25,000. Penn Museum Object Number: E15708 Penn Museum Object Number: E9396 Penn Museum Object Number: E12615A
Annual Fund
The Penn Museum is a place of continual discovery. Each year the Museum hosts an extraordinary range of research and teaching programs, with a wide roster of exhibitions and public and schools programs, in addition to stewarding a collection of over one million objects. Support all of these activities with a gift to the Annual Fund. Your contribution to the Annual Fund helps provide comprehensive programmatic support, letting us serve our neighbors in Philadelphia, visitors and scholars from around the world who seek out our collections, and students who will be the researchers and teachers of the future. Please, help provide a bright future for our past, and give today Give Today