Pharaohs and Tutankhamun

You can make your own golden mask, just like the famous mask of King Tutankhamun! First, find a plain plastic mask that covers your whole face. Its mouth should be closed and its surface should be smooth. Cover the mask with gold paint, or glue on gold foil or gold paper. Now add the stripes. Tutankhamun's mask has blue and gold stripes on the top. Paint or glue paper stripes across the forehead. Use blue for the eyebrows and the lines around the eyes. Look at a picture of the real mask to copy the colors. Let everything dry. Then hold your mask up and look in a mirror. You are wearing the face of a boy king! King Tut became pharaoh when he was only nine years old. His golden mask stayed hidden in his tomb for over three thousand years, until people found it in 1922. Now you have your own shiny mask to show your family.

Tutankhamun became king of Egypt when he was only nine years old. That is about your age. He ruled Egypt a very long time ago. Almost everyone forgot about him after he died. Then, in 1922, a man named Howard Carter made an amazing discovery. He found Tutankhamun's tomb in a place called the Valley of the Kings. Inside the tomb there were golden treasures everywhere. The king's body rested inside coffins stacked one inside another. The innermost coffin was made of solid gold. On the king's face was a beautiful golden mask. The mask showed the young king's face, calm and proud. Because the tomb was found nearly intact, we can still see these treasures today. They teach us what a powerful and rich ruler a pharaoh was.

Long ago in ancient Egypt, pharaohs were the most important people in the land. When a pharaoh died, people treated the body with great care to get it ready for the afterlife. They wrapped the body in long strips of cloth. You can try this as a craft. First, find a small doll or make a person shape out of foil. This is your pharaoh. Next, tear an old sheet or use strips of white cloth or paper. Wrap the strips around your pharaoh, one layer at a time. Cover the arms, legs, and head, but leave the face peeking out if you like. Tuck in the ends so the wrapping stays on. Now your mummy is ready. Real Egyptian mummies were placed in decorated coffins inside tombs, just like the tomb of Tutankhamun. His golden coffins kept his mummy safe for thousands of years.

Ancient Egypt was a land next to a great river called the Nile. The river gave the people water and rich soil for farming. Long ago, the people of Egypt came together under rulers called pharaohs. A pharaoh was like a king or queen, and was the most powerful person in Egypt. The pharaoh made the laws and big decisions for everyone. Under strong pharaohs, Egypt grew rich and built amazing things, like huge pyramids and grand temples. People believed the pharaoh was chosen by the gods. So when you hear about Tutankhamun, remember he was one of these mighty pharaohs, ruling a whole country beside the Nile.

Some old objects are so precious that they are kept safe forever. One of them is the golden mask of Tutankhamun. It was allowed to travel so people around the world could see it. Another treasure is the Palette of King Narmer. It is so valuable that it has never been allowed to leave Egypt. The palette shows King Narmer, who ruled Egypt a very long time ago, around 3100 B.C.E. It pictures him as a strong ruler uniting the land. Narmer was a pharaoh, just like Tutankhamun, but he lived much earlier.