The Putnam Museum's newest traveling exhibit shows off the glittering riches of King Tut's tomb.
"The Discovery of King Tut" opens to the public on Saturday, March 5, 2016, and offers visitors a chance to discover ancient Egypt through the eyes of Howard Carter.
"In 1922, when he kind of poked through the wall and someone said, 'Can you see anything?' He said, 'Yes, wonderful things.' Well, the wonderful things are recreated in this exhibition," said Mark Lach, creative director of the King Tut Exhibition.
More than 1,000 artifacts from King Tut's tomb have been recreated for the exhibition, including a glittering chariot and golden throne.
"Tut exhibitions that travel from Egypt, the actual artifacts, only a few pieces can travel and they're usually quite small. But with recreations, you can bring it all -- these incredible shrines, the gold coffins, the gold masks," said Lach.
This is the biggest exhibit the Putnam has ever secured, and it is expected to draw tens of thousands of visitors.
Although the exhibition travels worldwide, there are local ties, as well. The Palmer family, who founded Palmer College of Chiropractic, was traveling in Egypt shortly after Howard Carter discovered the tomb. The mummies, already on permanent display at the Putnam, were donated by the Palmers, as well.
"They are some of the very few people in the world who at the time, or ever, saw the tomb intact in Egypt, and now we've brought that discovery here to the Quad Cities," said Kim Findlay, president of The Putnam Museum and Science Center.
The exhibition will run through September 5, 2016.
General admission tickets are $19 for adults; $17 for seniors, military and college students with ID; and $15 for youth ages 3-18.