Go back to PART ONE.
When we last left off in PART ONE, the kids were enjoying their search for the hieroglyph.
After they decoded the hieroglyph, which was RAINBOW, they were able to move on to the next chamber. Of course, first they had to take a picture with the Egyptian Queen docent in the queen's chamber. (They really are having fun; they are just a serious group of teenagers and preteens.)
The second room was the treasure chamber, where they learned about the great pyramids and how they were built. They found and decoded their second hieroglyph, FAMINE. Here they also received a scarab to wear around their necks.
The last room was the king's chamber, where I told them about sarcophaguses, canopic jars, and King Tut. Then they had time to find and decode the final hieroglyph, which was DREAM.
After the first group left, they went to the living room to figure out what the three clues had in common, while the second group of kids entered the pyramid and started the cycle all over again.
They received their torches, searched for the hieroglyph, and decoded it.
Then they moved to the next chamber, heard about pyramids, received their scarab necklace, looked for the hieroglyph, and took a picture.
In the king's chamber, it was the same: tell them the story, look for the hieroglyph, find the t-shirt, and take a picture with the sarcophagus. Each group was different because they were younger and younger. They thought about the hieroglyphs differently and took longer to find the t-shirts.
One of my favorite pictures is this one:
Here are the little ones who waited patiently for the older groups to go through first, and finally they have the opportunity to see what is behind the door. They have their keys and are ready to go in...
We had to shorten our scripts for them, but it was just right. We helped them find the hieroglyphs and decode them.
Here they are searching:
But they used their keys and matched the pictures with those on the wall.
And with each entry into a new chamber, there was anticipation and excitement. What is behind the next wall?
It is always fun to receive something to take home, too. Here is a closer look at the scarab necklace:
One of the most exciting things for the younger ones was this cat in the treasure chamber.
They wanted to take a picture with it.
Then they arrived in the king's chamber, and I did not want to scare them with stories of dead kings, organs in jars, and mummies, but I had to tell them the truth. I did my best to make it simple on their level.
When it came time to tell them that there was something in the room for them, to take with them, and that they had to find it, I knew I may have to provide a hint. So I reminded them about where the mummy was placed...and they knew they had to open the sarcophagus. But they hesitated. When I asked who was brave enough to open the sarcophagus, one little girl raised her hand, and she opened the lid to find the remainder of the t-shirts with their names on them.
This was the last group to walk through the pyramid, and after an hour of sweating in a hot garage, listening to Egyptian meditation music, and inhaling frankincense, we were released from our duties as pyramid docents. But there was more fun to come because the first day of school is not over. You must come back to see what happened next.
TO BE CONTINUED
Go to PART THREE