Pacific Beach Middle School social science teacher Courtnee Donohoe’s sixth-grade students recently took a tour of the Beyond King Tut exhibit at Del Mar Fairgrounds, and everyone came away with a greater knowledge of all things ancient Egypt.
“We were approached by a student’s parent, Scott Yoffe, a promoter, and he wanted to know if we wanted to go to the Beyond King Tut immersive experience by National Geographic, and students here were excited,” said Donohoe, noting it was an opportune time given her students just happened to be continuing their studies of ancient cultures and are presently covering Egypt.
Three of Donohoe’s students were impressed by the King Tut exhibit and all it had to offer.
“I enjoyed the experience, it was really fun and I learned a bunch of new stuff,” said Andrew Bischoff, who added the exhibit was different than what he had anticipated. “I expected it to be one room with a bunch of stuff,” he said. “It was completely different: We walked through this whole area.”
“It was really inclusive,” said Damian Urias. “They presented it very well and it really showed you the life of King Tut. It was easy to understand and was explained smoothly. They had a lot of items, more than I expected, like canes and tools.”
“I thought it was really cool,” said Delaney Booth, noting she was surprised by what she experienced. “You walked through curtains and there were big screens all around you,” she pointed out.
Donohoe said the tour complemented her teaching plan. “I thought it was a great extension to what we had learned,” she noted. “They learned a lot about what life was like for the ancient Egyptians by actually seeing a lot of these different artifacts that were found in King Tut’s Tomb.”
Of their study of ancient cultures, Donohoe said: “It’s important to understand the background of different cultures around the world in order to understand what the world is like today since we live in a global society. It opens up the world to them and makes them understand how the world works and why people behave in different ways. They’re going deeper in their understanding (realizing) it is not just about the United States.”
All three students discussed what most impresses them about ancient Egyptian history.
“That they were very advanced for their time, built giant pyramids and sculptures and they had so many different tools – it was crazy,” said Bischoff.
“It’s crazy how they had this deep understanding of so many things, even way back when,” said Urias.
“It was crazy how they built these big pyramids, and how the rooms underneath the tombs were so complex that people couldn’t get in,” agreed Booth adding, “How did people so far back even think about booby traps and mazes and stuff?”
“When [archaeologists] found King Tut’s Tomb it was nice to find something intact and to learn so much about their civilization,” said Donohoe, noting it isn’t often her students get to go on a field trip. “It was a great opportunity for them to see something outside of the classroom,” she concluded.
For the remainder of the run (through May 7), Beyond King Tut is welcoming sixth-grade students in San Diego to the exhibition free of charge when visiting with an adult with paid admission. Details are available here: Beyond King Tut 6th grade free ticket offer. Already this year, the San Diego County Office of Education made it possible for more than 1,400 sixth-grade students to attend Beyond King Tut.
