A new exhibit celebrating the ancient pharaoh King Tut is about to land in several cities with a very modern twist B次元官网网址� taking a digital look at the boy king for the Instagram age.

Not a single golden treasure or artifact from the tomb is on view at Instead, high-resolution digital projections of TutankhamunB次元官网网址檚 world are splashed along high walls and floors as visitors walk through nine galleries that chart his life, death and times.

B次元官网网址淭he culture of ancient Egypt and modern Egypt is one that we know has been endlessly fascinating to our audiences, not just in the United States but around the world. So the question became, how do we tell this story through a 2022 lens?B次元官网网址� says Kathryn Keane, vice president of public experiences for the National Geographic Society, which is helping produce the show.

The exhibit coincides with the 100th anniversary of the tombB次元官网网址檚 discovery, a watershed moment in archeology. B次元官网网址淏eyond King TutB次元官网网址� opens Friday in New York City and is already open in Washington, D.C., with openings in Los Angeles and Vancouver (at the Convention Centre) planned for Nov. 4, and plans for Atlanta, Houston, San Diego and San Francisco.

The New York show is at the massive Pier 36 event space B次元官网网址� once home to 25 basketball courts B次元官网网址� and uses 25,000 square feet (2322.58 square meters) to show TutB次元官网网址檚 burial chamber, explore his family tree, how he was prepared for mummification, the treasures he was buried with and even his impact on popular culture. An introductory film presented in an archeologistB次元官网网址檚 tent starts the process off, and all of it is very social media friendly.

There are a few replicas of the 5,400 items found in TutB次元官网网址檚 tomb, including his modest throne and a sleek Egyptian sailing vessel, whose sail provides a screen for projections. A block of stone becomes his shrine, a place where projections show his various coffins and his magnificent golden burial mask. Visitors can also play a board game that ancient Egyptians enjoyed B次元官网网址� one of five board games found in his tomb B次元官网网址� called senet, a sort of precursor to backgammon.

B次元官网网址淚 always think itB次元官网网址檚 interesting, particularly for kids, to show them that people 3,000 years ago were maybe not all that different than they are,B次元官网网址� says Keane. B次元官网网址淚t helps audiences connect with a time in history that is so long ago that itB次元官网网址檚 almost hard to imagine.B次元官网网址�

The exhibit culminates in a massive room and a swirling, vivid, even trippy animated sequence that traces what ancient Egyptians believed was TutB次元官网网址檚 fraught path to the afterlife. Following the formal immersive experience, guests who elect to pay extra can strap on VR headsets to watch the film B次元官网网址淭utankhamun: Enter the Tomb,B次元官网网址� narrated by Hugh Bonneville of B次元官网网址淒ownton AbbeyB次元官网网址� fame.

Ever since English archaeologist Howard Carter discovered TutB次元官网网址檚 intact tomb in 1922, the pharaoh has captured the publicB次元官网网址檚 imagination. The curious lined up for hours to see the U.S. tour in the 1970s, which drew more than 8 million people and inspired pop culture tributes such as Steve MartinB次元官网网址檚 Tut parody on B次元官网网址淪aturday Night Live.B次元官网网址�

Mark Lach, the creative producer for the new show who has previously toured with artifact-heavy Tut exhibits, says the boy king B次元官网网址減robably would have gotten lost in the pages of history if it wasnB次元官网网址檛 for this incredible discovery 100 years ago.B次元官网网址�

He became king at around 9 and died mysteriously when he was 18 or 19, found in a modest tomb not picked apart by graverobbers. Lach says everything about Tut has B次元官网网址渢he makings of that kind of perfect storm of intrigue.B次元官网网址�

B次元官网网址淏eyond King TutB次元官网网址� is produced by Paquin Entertainment Group and Immersive Experiences. The technology theyB次元官网网址檝e harnessed comes at a key time for Tut artifacts.

Egypt, struggling to revive tourism battered by years of political turmoil, has been eager to gather its archaeological treasures inside the country. A new museum near the pyramids will hold the complete Tutankhamun collection, meaning traveling exhibits are unlikely for many years.

B次元官网网址淚B次元官网网址檓 so happy for Egypt, for the folks that visit Egypt, but the folks that canB次元官网网址檛 go to Egypt, I think this exhibit is the next best thing and brings these artifacts to life in a brand new way,B次元官网网址� says Lach.

Immersive experiences are all the rage these days, with traveling, projection-driven exhibits of Vincent Van Gogh, Gustav Klimt, Frida Kahlo and Claude Monet, just to name a few. There is even a rival Tut exhibit called touring the U.S.

Making this immersive Tut exhibit required a little more thought than the ones that celebrate the painters, said Lach. B次元官网网址淵ou kind of lose yourself in the art, and the art comes alive, if you will,B次元官网网址� he said. B次元官网网址淎s we sat down with this one, we thought, B次元官网网址楾his really needs and deserves more of a storyline, more of a progression B次元官网网址� a beginning, middle and an end.B次元官网网址橞次元官网网址�

Keane agreed, hoping to move the medium forward by adding more educational elements. She says the Tut experiment has whetted the appetite of National Geographic to do more such digital-forward projects.

B次元官网网址淚 think itB次元官网网址檚 our hope that we can lead the way a little bit and that museums will start to adopt some of these techniques in their own storytelling, and make museums more accessible to people because thatB次元官网网址檚 the goal: to bring in bigger, more diverse audiences.B次元官网网址�

B次元官网网址擬ark Kennedy, The Associated Press