Opening the Children’s Exhibit at the Cairo Museum

Originally published February 12, 2010 | Zahi Hawass' Blog | by Dr. Hawass | The recent opening of the Children's Exhibit at the Egyptian Museum in Cairo has resulted in many great things, according to Zahi Hawass. He is very pleased that children of Egypt and around the world have an ancient Egyptian exhibit they can relate to, one that features famous Egyptian icons in LEGO form. There is also a workshop for children that teaches them about the Egyptian heritage and has graduated a thousand students. Read his blog post for a more detailed look at Dr. Hawass' reactions to this permanent exhibit.

Remaking History’s Shelves: SCA's Plan for New Museums

Accessed February 14, 2010 | Egypt Today | by Michael Kaput | This article is an overview of the SCA's ongoing and future plans to develop and restore museums to create better areas for housing the nation's antiquities, which have been in dire need of an appropriate and safe environment to be showcased. Here is an excerpt:

The building that houses the office in charge of the nation’s museums at the Supreme Council of Antiquities (SCA) downtown is grand but half-finished. With some work, it could be truly magnificent. Whether that work gets done anytime soon is anyone’s guess. The same could be said about the SCA’s colossal undertaking to give the country’s staggering collection of artifacts a new showcase.

Flush with ticket revenue from international exhibitions and local tourist sites, the SCA is in the midst of a project that will see 20 new museums covering every governorate, and long-closed favorites re-opening to the public over the next five years. More than just cash cows feeding on tourist dollars, however, the new museums are also hope to reconnect Egyptians with their own heritage, in their own neighborhoods.

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Part of the SCA’s plan is to air out the museum, transferring more than 20 percent of the objects, including the famed royal mummies, to the National Museum of Egyptian Civilization (NMEC) in El Fustat, due to open in two years. King Tutankhamun’s treasures will be moved to the new Grand Egyptian Museum (GEM) being built at the Giza Plateau, which the Museum Sector head confirms is on schedule to open in five years.

Cultural Exchange with the USA

Originally published September 15, 2009 | Zahi Hawass' Blog | by Dr. Hawass

The following is an excerpt from Zahi Hawass' Blog; click on the above link to read his blog post in its entirety:

I think these study trips are very important for the young people of Egypt. It is important for them to travel abroad and befriend diverse people; it opens their minds to have international friends and increases their knowledge of the outside world. I can see how much Rania has changed; she has applied what she learned on the study tour to her work here, and I can see that she will have a very bright future. Helen and I talked about how we will send more young Egyptians for training in the future, and it is my hope that we will continue to work with the American people to promote cultural exchange through these study trips.

Dr. Hawass also talks about his meeting with President Obama and the pictures taken during that time and his hopes that he will inspire people to donate to the Childrens Museum in Cairo so that it will thrive.