Now through 2011, selected artifacts from the tomb of the Egyptian Pharaoh Tutankhamun—More commonly referred to as King Tut—are on tour in the U.S. and Canada. Cities include San Francisco, Denver, New York, and Toronto. These exhibits contain many beautiful objects from King Tut’s tomb, as well as other artifacts from the same period in ancient Egyptian history.

King Tut was one of the last Pharaohs of ancient Egypt’s 18th Dynasty. He ruled during a crucial, turmoil-filled period of Egyptian history and died under mysterious circumstances at the age of 18 or 19, in the ninth year of his reign (1322 BC). The boy king was actually a minor Pharaoh, but the discovery of his tomb and its fabulous wealth has made him one of the most famous.

King Tut’s tomb was discovered in 1922 in the Valley of the Kings by Egyptologist Howard Carter. The tomb remains the only tomb in the Valley of the Kings that has been found intact; other tombs discovered there had been looted and all of the valuables removed, some even in ancient times. Many items found in his tomb are burial and funerary items, but others are objects that belonged to the young king—including exquisite personal items that were used in his daily life. These items have given modern man a wonderful glimpse into what royal life in ancient Egypt was like.

If you can get to the exhibit, then go! All of the treasures in the exhibition are more than 3,000 years old. The exhibit include items from King Tut’s tomb, like the gold sandals that adorned the mummy's feet, gold and precious-stone inlaid jewelry, a finely crafted child’s chair, and inlaid game boards.Four of these game boards were found in the tomb, so this obviously represented an activity that the king enjoyed. Additional ancient artifacts are featured that highlight many of the most significant rulers of ancient Egypt.

For ticket and schedule information for these exhibits, visit www.kingtut.org.