Let’s get this out of the way right off the top. This Father’s Day weekend, think of your Mummy.
Mummies of the World opens at Union Station on Saturday.
The exhibit, which has been visited by 1.6 million people nationwide, takes visitors through 4,500 years of history.
Of course, when most of us think of mummies and mummification, we probably think of Egypt. And that part of the story is certainly here.
But, there is so much more, including a family from Hungary preserved by environmental elements in their crypt.
Or, a “modern” mummy from 1994 when a donated cadaver was used to replicate the Egyptian methods.
There is also a Kansas City connection.
Many years ago, a KC man came into possession of what is called a “bundled mummy.” He donated it to the Kansas City Museum where it sat in a vault for some 70 years.
Today, it is not only on display, but it will also be studied throughout the exhibit period via CT scans and DNA analysis.
James Schanandore, a professor from the University of Jamestown in North Dakota and mummy expert, said the study of mummies helps in understanding the history of our world and in finding new answers to disease.
He also reminds us that these were real people with real stories and are treated with the respect of loved ones, dearly departed.
