Akhenaten
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DNA evidence has recently proven that Akhenaten was King Tut's father. A 7-foot colossal statue of Akhenaten that once enhanced the colonnade of the king's temple to the Aten at East Karnak is one of the features of the Tutankhamun: The Golden King and the Great Pharaohs exhibition, which opens on February 18, 2011 at the Science Museum of Minnesota. The exhibition brings artifacts from Tut's tomb and other notable ancient sites to Minnesota for the first time in history.

Credit: Doug McSchooler

Shabti
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This shabti, or funerary figure, of King Tut was found in the antechamber of his tomb. Made of wood and painted gold, it was meant to perform labor in the afterlife so that the king himself could rest. The shabti is one of 100 artifacts from Tut's tomb and other notable ancient sites that will make their way to Minnesota for the very first time when the Tutankhamun: The Golden King and the Great Pharaohs exhibition opens at the Science Museum of Minnesota on February 18, 2011.

Credit: Sandro Vannini

Shabti Carter quote
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Visitors to Tutankhamun: The Golden King and the Great Pharaohs will see legendary artifacts displayed in four galleries according to where they were located in the four rooms of Tutankhamun's tomb—the antechamber, annex, treasury and burial chamber. This shabti was the only such figure found in the tomb's antechamber. Its inscription records the shabti spell from The Book of the Dead, ensuring that the king would do no forced labor in the afterlife. Tutankhamun: The Golden King and the Great Pharaohs opens on February 18, 2011 at the Science Museum of Minnesota.

Credit: Leib Kopman

Golden Sandals
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These golden sandals adorned the feet of Tutankhamun's mummy when his tomb was discovered in 1922. Visitors to the Tutankhamun: The Golden King and the Great Pharaohs exhibition, which opens at the Science Museum of Minnesota on February 18, 2011, will see these and many other treasures from the famous king's tomb, as well as artifacts that span 2,000 years of ancient Egyptian history.

Credit: Sandro Vannini

Finger Covers
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According to Dr. Zahi Hawass, Minister of State for Antiquities Affairs, these golden covers, which were found on the fingers and toes of Tutankhamun's mummy, served a function similar to that of the amulets that protected other parts of the king's body from various magical dangers. Visitors to Tutankhamun: The Golden King and the Great Pharaohs, which opens at the Science Museum of Minnesota on February 18, 2011, will see artifacts like these from the famous king's tomb and other notable ancient sites.

Credit: Sandro Vannini

Coffinette
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Each of the four miniature coffins of Tutankhamun held a different internal organ, and this one, which is featured in the Tutankhamun: The Golden King and the Great Pharaohs exhibition, originally contained the stomach. Guarded by distinct gods, this container had the protection of both Duamutef and the goddess Neith, deities named in the inscription on the front. The goddess also appears on the underside of the lid, along with a spell inscribed inside the coffinette from the Book of the Dead. Traces around the name of Tutankhamun suggest that the king appropriated this exquisitely inlaid golden container. Tutankhamun: The Golden King and the Great Pharaohs opens at the Science Museum of Minnesota on February 18, 2011.

Credit: Sandro Vannini

Psusennes
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Located in a gallery devoted to the golden treasures of the pharaohs of Egypt, this golden funerary mask of Psusennes I once rested over the head, chest, and part of the shoulders of Psusennes' mummy as a layer of protection. This piece, along with dozens of other breathtaking artifacts from some of ancient Egypt's most notable sites, is part of Tutankhamun: The Golden King and the Great Pharaohs exhibition, which opens on Friday, February 18 at the Science Museum of Minnesota.

Credit: Erik S. Lesser

Head of Leopard
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This decoration of gilded wood, rock crystal, and colored glass was found in the antechamber to Tutankhamun's tomb. It once decorated the robe of a sem-priest, who performed an important funerary ritual called the Opening of the Mouth to prepare the mummy for burial. It features a cartouche bearing Tutankhamun's name. This piece is one of the featured artifacts in Tutankhamun: The Golden King and the Great Pharaohs, which opens at the Science Museum of Minnesota on February 18, 2011.

Credit: Erik S. Lesser

Canopic Stopper
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This piece, made of calcite and gold, was a stopper for one of the canopic jars that held the mummified organs of Tutankhamun. The royal name on both the chest and its outer shrine appears original, suggesting that Tutankhamun did not usurp the container from a predecessor. This piece is one of the featured artifacts in Tutankhamun: The Golden King and the Great Pharaohs, which opens at the Science Museum of Minnesota on February 18, 2011.

Credit: Leib Kopman

Mummies film - lab
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In the Mummies: Secrets of the Pharaohs Omnitheater film, viewers will see how genetic analysis of mummies could have huge implications for the study of modern human diseases. Here, Dr. Bob Brier and Dr. Angelique Corthals extract samples for DNA analysis. Mummies will run in the Omnitheater alongside the much-anticipated Tutankhamun: The Golden King and the Great Pharaohs exhibition from February 18 to September 5, 2011 at the Science Museum of Minnesota.

Mummies film - mummification process
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Part historic journey and part forensic adventure, Mummies: Secrets of the Pharaohs follows researchers and explorers as they piece together the archaeological and genetic clues of Egyptian mummies. Here, viewers get a glimpse of the beginning of the mummification process. Mummies will run in the Omnitheater at the Science Museum of Minnesota from February 18 through September 5, 2011.

Mummies film - Rameses the Great
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The Mummies: Secrets of the Pharaohs Omnitheater film tells the story of one of the greatest finds in modern history: the late 19th century discovery of a cache of 40 mummies, among them the legendary Rameses the Great. This photo depicts Rameses' wooden coffin. Mummies: Secrets of the Pharaohs will run from February 18 through September 5, 2011 in the Science Museum of Minnesota's Omnitheater. It will be the perfect complement to the much-anticipated Tutankhamun: The Golden King and the Great Pharaohs exhibition.

Anubis
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A 26-foot statue of the Egyptian god Anubis found a home on downtown St. Paul's Landmark Plaza. The statue heralds the launch of ticket sales for the National Geographic exhibition Tutankhamun: The Golden King and the Great Pharaohs, which opens at the Science Museum of Minnesota on February 18, 2011, bringing treasures from King Tut's tomb to Minnesota for the very first time. For more information, visit www.smm.org/tut.

Credit: Science Museum of Minnesota