PHILADELPHIA --
"Tutankhamun and the Golden Age of the Pharaohs," at the Franklin
Institute through Sept. 30, has yielded an "unprecedented response"
for the museum and the city, according to Dennis Wint, the
institute's president and CEO.
The exhibition
has outsold all other museum exhibitions in Philadelphia history,
with more than 616,000 tickets sold or reserved since they went on
sale Nov. 8.
The Tut exhibit,
which opened in February, is expected to draw 1 million visitors to
the city before it heads to London, according to the institute. The
four-city U.S. tour marks the first time the exhibition has left
Egypt in 30 years.
A spokeswoman for
the Franklin Institute said an estimated 155 people per half-hour
pass through the exhibition's 11 galleries to view the 50 major
artifacts found during the discovery of Tut's tomb in
1922.
The king's
sarcophagus, death mask and mummy remain in Egypt and are not part
of the U.S. tour.
To meet demand,
new morning time-slots for admission have been added. Tickets are
now available beginning at 8:30 a.m. instead of 9 a.m. on some
days, including weekends. The last tour begins at 8:30 p.m., and
the galleries close at 9 p.m.
Also on display
are more than 70 objects taken from the tombs of the five other
pharaohs who ruled during Egypt's "Golden Age," 1555 B.C. to 1305
B.C., and from the burial places of several royals and nonroyals,
including Queen Nefertiti.
Tickets range
from $17.50 to $32.50 and are timed and dated. Advance ticket
purchase is recommended. Call (877) TUT-TKTS or visit www.kingtut.org. For
group tickets, call (888) 600-KTUT.
The Philadelphia
Tourism Marketing Corp. created "Go Golden" specials, which are
offered at more than 100 businesses, hotels and dining and
nightlife spots.
To plan a trip or
book a stay, visit www.gophila.com/tut.
To contact Managing editor/Supplements Margaret Myre, send
e-mail to [email protected].