All About Mummies

About Dr. Colleen Darnell

A Yale-trained Egyptologist, Dr. Colleen Darnell has traveled the world researching hieroglyphic inscriptions. She led an archaeological expedition in Egypt that discovered a fifteen-hundred year old Roman settlement in the Eastern Desert, and with her husband, Professor John Darnell, published the first complete English translation of the texts in the Valley of the Kings. Dr. Darnell was the first to identify works of historical fiction written by the ancient Egyptians themselves. Colleen and her husband Professor John Darnell have been hard at work on an exciting new biography of Akhenaten and Nefertiti, the parents of King Tut, entitled Egypt's Golden Couple: When Akhenaten and Nefertiti Were Gods on Earth, published November 1, 2022 by St Martin's Press. She shares her passion for Egyptology with “kids” of all ages.

About the class

Mummies have fascinated people for centuries with their mystery and history. Let's join Egyptologist Colleen Darnell to uncover the world of mummies. You’ll learn why and how the ancient Egyptians mummified their leaders, relatives, and even pets. You’ll also see how archaeologists discover and preserve mummies — and what mummies can teach us about the ancient Egyptian world.