Making Mummies with Mommy

We are currently reading Story of the World Volume 1 and learning all about Egypt. So, today we made mummies. In preparation for making mummies, we ran to the Dollar Store and got some cheap dolls. Regrettably, there were no male dolls. In fact, all we could find were some fairies. No worries, we got to work removing their wings and shaving the "boy" doll's hair. We did leave him with the traditional side ponytail that the children in Egypt used to wear.

The kids took pens and drew some traditional Egyptian make-up on our dolls and then got to work tearing the 50 cent scrap of muslin I had purchased from the clearance bin at Walmart.

We took a bit of craft foam and used it to make amulets. These symbols the Egyptians thought brought good luck to the dead. We also used the foam too make some internal organs.

 The priests who prepared the dead for burial washed their bodies, buried them in salts for 40 days, washed them again, removed their organs then oiled and spiced them. After we had our spices and oil in place, we washed, oiled and spiced our mummies in preparation for their journey to the underworld. We took out their liver, lungs, stomach and intestines as well and their brain. In Egypt the priest thought the brain was useless, so they threw it away. They thought the heart was where man thought and felt. It is the only organ they left in the body.

 We took a moment to draw a heart on our dolls to represent the heart being left in the body.

 After our bodies were prepped, it was time to wrap our mummies. We used a 50/50 tacky glue and water mixtures to dip our muslin strips in.

Once they were wrapped, we added our amulets and some gems to finish them off.  We then left them to dry for a day and a half.

And voila! Ready for the underworld where their hearts will be weighed against a feather to judge their deeds while in their bodies. 

I am sure this project is one that the kids will remember for a long time. It was fun and not hard to make! I recommend, whether you are using SOTW or not, that you take some time to read a book or two about mummies and life in Egypt. We enjoyed Secrets of the Mummies and Ms. Frizzle's Adventures - Ancient Egypt. Happy Mummy Making! :)