Activities
for Egypt
Exploring
Hieroglyphics:
Hieroglyphics is the picture symbol system Ancient Egyptians
used to write with. The system uses over 2000 picture symbols
to represent words, thoughts, ideas, and sounds. But for hundreds
and hundreds of years, hieroglyphics couldn’t be read
by anyone because the knowledge wasn’t passed on. The
Rosetta stone, which contained the same passage in hieroglyphics
and Greek, was discovered in 1799. It took until 1822 before
the code was finally cracked and hieroglyphics could once
again be read and understood.
Try using
this hieroglyphics chart to write out the names of your family
members, or try leaving coded notes to each other this month
using hieroglyphics. If you’re sharing an Egyptian meal
with your family this month (RECIPES),
consider making a hieroglyphic place card for everyone who
will be eating with you, or write out a menu using hieroglyphics.
Consider, also, incorporating the modern language of Egypt
(Arabic) in your menu. (LANGUAGE SECTION)
To see your name in hieroglyphics using a hieroglyphic converter,
click
here.
To learn more about hieroglyphics (both writing and numbers),
and access hieroglyphic downloads (including fonts, e-books
and free worksheets) click
here.
To learn even more about reading hieroglyphics, check out
Reading
Hieroglyphs - The First Steps. It includes 8 lessons to
decipher the basics of the hieroglyphic script.
While hieroglyphics were used in ancient Egypt, today most
Egyptians speak and write in Arabic. Click
here for more information on learning Arabic.
Discovering
the Pyramids
 Perhaps
one of the most well-known features of Egypt is the pyramids.
The pyramids are the world’s oldest and largest stone
structures, and were built as tombs for the pharaohs. There
is debate about when they were built, but it is known that
it was at least 4000 years ago. The largest
pyramid is known the Great Pyramid. It was built for King
Khufu and is one of the Seven Wonders of the World. It is
estimated that it took about 20,000 people 20 years to build.
Take a tour of the Great Pyramid at NOVA.
Build a Scale Model of the Great Pyramid. Click
Here Building
Pyramids:
Try making lego pyramids. Talk about how the Great Pyramid
was built with over 2 million limestone blocks weighing from
2 to 19 tons each. What would your lego pyramid look like
if it was made of 2 million blocks? Can you imagine that transformed
into limestone blocks with the above weights? 
All About
Mummies
 Ancient
Egyptians believed in life after death, and that the soul
needed its body in the afterlife. That is why bodies were
preserved through the process of mummification. It is said
that the goddess Isis weaved the first linen mummy wrappings
for her dead husband, Osiris after he was killed by their
brother, Seth. (Read
about the legend of Isis and Osiris and then do an Egypt crossword
puzzle here). The mummification
process of the ancient Egyptians took about 2 months to complete,
and was so effective that many bodies have survived thousands
of years.
Check out the Clickable
Mummy to learn more about how the bodies were preserved.
Think you know all there is to know about mummies now? Check
out the Mummy
Quiz from National Geographic to test and maybe expand
your knowledge.
More fun activities to do on-line:
Take an on-line
Egyptian safari featuring a Red Sea dive, a Nile journey
& an over-land adventure. Explore
the Royal Ontario Museums Egypt Discovery Case – complete
with Ancient Egypt Quiz, directions for making a mini-mummy,
and discussion cards for more in-depth explorations of ancient
Egypt. Click
Here. Play the
Tomb of the Pharoah’s game at the History Channel. Click
Here Read about
the children of modern Egypt. Click
Here Read Egyptian
stories and do a word search. Click
Here 
Folktales
of Egypt
by Shamy Hasan El (Author), Hasan M. El-Shamy (Editor),
Richard Mercer Dorson (Unknown) Raks
Sharki: Classic Egyptian Dance Music
Mokhtar Al-Said 
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