STUDENTS ASSUME THE ROLE OF A JOURNALIST, TAKE HOME $500 FOR WINNING ARTICLES
South Florida Science Center gives out $1,500 to elementary, middle and high school students
From L to R: Lew Crampton, Kayla Dorpfeld, Graham Dempsey, Carla Duhaney, Samantha Hannon, and Kate Arrizza(West Palm Beach, Fla.) In an effort to fulfill its mission to “open every mind to science,” leadership at the South Florida Science Center and Aquarium put its money where its mission is – offering up $1,500 to Palm Beach County School District students. On Thursday, three winners – one elementary, one middle and one high school student – gathered at the Science Center, each to collect a check for $500 for their winning essays. The contest asked students to assume the role of a news journalist during the time ancient Egyptian burial practices were discovered, reporting on the findings. The essay topic relates to the Science Center’s current traveling exhibit, Afterlife: Tombs & Treasures of Ancient Egypt.
“We received hundreds of impressive entries for the Afterlife essay contest,” said Lew Crampton, Science Center CEO. “And the winners reflect the very best submissions in their school groups. ‘Opening every mind to science’ is something we strive to accomplish on a daily basis, and this project surely met that goal. In writing their winning news articles, the students needed to research ancient Egyptian customs and practices, which ties in nicely to our current traveling exhibit, Afterlife. We look forward to continuing this creative tradition to engage and motivate students all over Palm Beach County.”
The winners were:
| Student
Grade |
School
City |
| Graham Dempsey
5th |
South Olive Elementary, West Palm Beach |
| Samantha Hannon
6th |
Independence Middle, Jupiter |
| Kayla Dorpfeld
11th |
Park Vista High, Lake Worth |
On tour for more than 10 years, and seen by more than 4.5 million people worldwide, Afterlife features more than 200 authentic Egyptian artifacts, all of which are making their North American debut. Visitors to the exhibition begin their voyage to the afterlife by discovering how sophisticated and rich ancient Egyptians’ lives were through displays relating to life in ancient Egypt, featuring many rare objects which illustrate their culture as well as their mastery of beautiful design. They are then introduced to the mysterious preparations the Egyptians made for death and burial which they believed would allow them to live forever. Visitors encounter ancient animal mummies, an extraordinary number of human mummies, exquisite golden mummy masks and coffins, and strange magical figures from ancient tombs. The exhibition culminates in making the journey to the Valley of the Kings by entering an exact facsimile of the tomb chamber of Thutmose III and discovering the Ramesside male mummy – one of the best preserved mummies in existence. In true Science Center style, the highly anticipated blockbuster makes it feel like guests have taken a trip to Egypt to explore ancient artifacts and tombs.
According to the Palm Beach County student essay winners, many things were notable about ancient Egyptian burial practices.
“First, many people think a mummy as a monster that appears in movies, but they had a huge part in the ancient Egyptian religion. The ancient Egyptians believed that your Ka (body double, part of the soul) kept you in the afterlife and your Ka needed a place to live. A persons Ka lived in the body and if the body decomposed you would leave the afterlife. The reason for mummification so the body would not decompose and a person’s soul or Ka could exist in the afterlife,” wrote Graham Dempsey, 5th grade essay winner from South Olive Elementary.
“Egyptian burial practices first began around 4000 B.C. and started off somewhat simple: just an underground grave with a few possessions to carry on to the afterlife. Most of the time the dry desert sand preserved the body and dehydrated it. Then, Egyptian nobles wanted something greater, so they got small above-ground tombs, yet event that did not satisfy them and over time a pharaoh designated Imhotep to build something even bigger and so he did… he build the……. STEP PYRAMID!” – reported Samantha Hannon, 6th grade essay winter from Independence Middle School.
“Preparing the body for burial is very important in the ancient Egyptian belief because they rely on the preparation for living in the afterlife. Preparation includes embalming, which is the putting of oils and minerals on the deceased to delay the body from decaying. More information like this will likely be discovered and more deeply explained in translating the documents and records from the chamber Curtis found,” wrote Kayla Dorpfeld, 11th grade essay winner from Park Vista High School.
The South Florida Science Center and Aquarium, recently named the Chamber of Commerce of the Palm Beaches’ nonprofit of the year, features more than 50 hands-on educational exhibits, an 8,000 gallon fresh and salt water aquarium- featuring both local and exotic marine life, a digital planetarium, conservation research station, Florida exhibit hall and an interactive Everglades exhibit. Afterlife: Tombs & Treasures of Ancient Egypt, the Science Center’s newest traveling exhibit, is on display through Saturday, April 18, 2015. All other permanent exhibits are on display during Afterlife’s special showing.
During Afterlife: Tomb & Treasures of Ancient Egypt, admission to the Science Center is $16.95 for adults, $12.95 for children ages 3 to 12, and $14.95 for seniors over the age of 60. Science Center members are free.
The South Florida Science Center and Aquarium is located at 4801 Dreher Trail North, West Palm Beach and is open Monday – Friday from 9am-5pm, and on Saturday and Sunday from 10am-6pm. For more information, call 561-832-1988 or visit . Like the South Florida Science Center and Aquarium on Facebook and follow them on Twitter @SFScienceCenter.