Museum Exhibition UnitMinister's Office

2019

Discover Ancient Egyptwith Ibis

Education in Ancient Egypt

Museum Rally Booklet

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Prepared by Dr. Nevine Nizar

Assistant to the Minister for Museum Exhibition AffairsHead of Museum Exhibition Unit, Minister’s Office

Team work of the Museum Exhibition Unit

Souzan IbrahimAhmed Mostafa

With the assistance of Simon Opel

Designed by

Marwa el Sheemy Graphic Designer - Centeral Departement of Information

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Have you ever wondered what it was like to live in ancient Egypt? This museum rally booklet will take you on a journey to discover the sciences and education of ancient Egyptian people

with Ibis.

Please remember not to touch any of the exhibits or showcases in the galleries.

This can damage or stain them.

Look closely, find the clues and play!

Welcome to the Egyptian Museum

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Hello, I am Ibis. I will guide you today on your journey through ancient Egypt.

Do you want to know my favorite person from ancient Egypt? Find out by answering the 7 clues and

completing the tasks ahead. For each correct answer, I will give you one letter of his name. If you get the name right, a surprise may wait for you at the end! Are you ready? Great, let’s

begin!

Did you know?

The ibis is a species of bird that has been in Egypt for a long time. They are known as the “farmer’s friend” because they live near agricultural lands and feed on specific types of insects. In Ancient Egypt, Ibis was the form of god Thoth who was the scribe of the gods, the inventor of writing, and the master of wisdom.

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Question 1:In ancient Egypt, the ibis was a symbol of a god. Which one?

1) Ra, the sun god (clue letter: S)2) Hapi, the god of the flood (clue letter: N)3) Thoth, the god of wisdom and knowledge (clue letter: I)

Gilded wooden ibis figure

Q1

Try to find this object to

get the clue!

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Try to find this

object to

get the clue!

Hieratic funerary papyrus of Isetemkheb

Did you know?The ancient Egyptians used pictures of human beings, animals, birds, and insects to write words. This writing is known as hieroglyphs. Only one group of people, called scribes, knew how to read and write. Scribes wrote on tablets, walls of building, and a kind of paper called ‘papyrus’, which was made of reeds. Today, we have books and the internet to get our information. In the days of the pharaohs, the scribes recorded everything in life.

Scribes and Writing

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Question 2: Ohh, look! The scribe tried to copy this text, but he made some obvious mistakes. The one above is the original, and the one below is what the scribe wrote. How many mistakes did he make?

1) 2 (clue letter: A)2) 3 (clue letter: M)3) 8 (clue letter: E)

Q2

Papyrus says:“good words are more valuable than precious stones” which means that it is nice to say kind words to others.

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Question 3:The Egyptians believed that the stars showed images of gods and magical beings. These images are called constellations.

Connect the stars with the numbers next to them, starting at 1, to see the constellation they form. What can you see?

1) A hippo (clue letter: A)2) A lion (clue letter: H)3) A crocodile (clue letter: E)

Try to find this

object to get the

clue!

Sundial

Q3Astronomy

Did you know?The ancient Egyptians divided the year into three seasons based on the annual cycle of the Nile flood. These were the Flood, Growing, and Harvest Seasons. Each lasted four months, making the year twelve months long. They used sundials to tell the time and divided the day into 24 hours, 12 for day and, and 12 for night.

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Q3 Connect the dots to see the constellation

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Wooden mason’s level

Architecture

Try to find this

object to get

the clue!

Did you know?The Egyptians were famous for building pyramids, which required great knowledge in engineering and mathematics. They built many pyramids such as the Step Pyramid of Djoser in Saqqara, which is the oldest one. Later they developed the true pyramid. The most famous of them all is the Great Pyramid of Khufu in Giza, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World.

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Question 4:Do you know which Pharaoh was buried in the Great Pyramid in Giza?

1) Khufu / Cheops (clue letter: O)2) Khafre / Chephren (clue letter: N)3) Menkaure / Mykerinos (clue letter: F)

Q4

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In ancient Egypt, farmers had to give parts of their products to the king as taxes. These taxes were collected by scribes because they were good at mathematics.

Meketre’s painted wooden model of a cattle census

Numbers and Mathematics

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A scribe called Seshu is in trouble. He has been

counting animals for taxes, but he got very lazy, and

didn’t keep his records well. Now he needs mathemat-

ics to solve a problem.

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Question 5:Seshu has collected 5 cows, 15 goats, and 25 ducks. But Seshu has just remembered that they came from 5 different farmers, and that every farmer brought the same number of each animal. Can you tell how many animals were brought by each farmer?1) 1 cow, 3 goats, 5 ducks (clue letter: T)2) 3 cows, 1 goat, 5 ducks (clue letter: H)3) 5 cows, 3 goats, 1 duck (clue letter: K)

Q5

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Question 6:Can you read this hieroglyphic number? Use the chart on this page to help you figure out the number:1) 59 375 (clue letter: K)2) 26 841 (clue letter: R)3) 2025 (clue letter: E)

The ancient Egyptians wrote their numbers in symbols, or hieroglyphs. Here you can see the different hieroglyphic symbols for various numbers. Read them from left to write. Larger numbers were always written first. For example: the stands for 10; and the stands for the number 5; So, + = 15.

Q6

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Even in ancient times, the Egyptians were famous for their great achievements and their deep knowledge. A lot of scientists and philosophers came from ancient world to learn from the Egyptians. Many of the achievements in architecture, mathematics, and astronomy were only possible because they had studied all in Egypt.

When the successors of Alexander the Great ruled Egypt, they built the Great Library of Alexandria and Egypt became the place to store all the wisdom and knowledge of the ancient world.

Imaginary picture for the Great Library of Alexandria

Egypt and the World

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Question 7: Thea, an owl from Greece, wants to visit her friend Ibis in Egypt, but she has lost her way. There are three options, but only one way can lead her safely to Egypt. Can you show her the right way?1) Number 1 (clue letter: T)2) Number 2 (clue letter: P)3) Number 3 (clue letter: A)

Q7

To find the answer, look at the next page.

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Help

Thea

the o

wl tr

avel

to Eg

ypt s

afely

thro

ugh t

his m

aze p

uzzle

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Q. Number Clue Letter1 S N I2 A M E3 n h F4 o a E5 t R k6 k H e7 T P A

Did you know?

....................... whose name means “He Who Comes in Peace”, was the designer of the step pyramid of Djoser in Saqqara. He was vizier and high-priest during his reign. He used the stone in building instead of mudbricks. He was also a talented doctor, and therefore was in charge of the good health of the pharaoh.

step pyramid of Djoser

Fill in your answers

to get the right clue…..

Write your answer here!

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M Owl

N Water

P Stool

Q Hill-slope

R Mouth

S Folded Cloth

T Loaf

W Quail wick

Y

Two reed-flowers

Z bolt

A Egyptian Vulture

B Foot

D Hand

F Horned Viper

G Stand for Jar

H Reed shelter in fields

I Flowering reed

J Snake

K Basket with handle

L Lion

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Now ...

try to write your name

in hieroglyphs!

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Thank you for visiting the Egyptian MuseumWe look forward to seeing you again.

Read On! You can use these resources, if you want to learn more about Ancient Egypt.

www.egymonuments.gov.eg• The Ministry of Antiquities’ website is a great resource to learn about Ancient Egypt.• Bunson, M. The Encyclopedia of Ancient Egypt. (Gramercy Books, 2012).• David, R. Handbook to Life in Ancient Egypt. (Oxford University Press, 2007).• Dodson, A. The Hieroglyphs of Ancient Egypt. ( London, 2001).• Hawass, Z. The Builders of the Pyramids. (Nahdet Misr Press, 2001).• Stouhal, E., Life of the Ancient Egyptians. (University of Oklahoma Press, 1993).