King Tutankhamun Exhibition At Franklin Museum

Since premiering in June 2005, "Tutankhamun and the Golden Age of the Pharaohs" has drawn more than 3.5 million visitors, setting local records in each city including Los Angeles, Fort Lauderdale and Chicago. The Philadelphia exhibit is on target to eclipse attendance numbers for all previous cities, making the Philadelphia engagement the most attended traveling museum exhibition in U.S. history.

"The King Tut exhibition has brought crowds from all over the world to our institution," said Dennis Wint, president & CEO of The Franklin Institute. "The success of this exhibition has solidified its place in Philadelphia, and U.S. history, and proves the enormous and growing power of Philadelphia tourism."

Visiting Philadelphia in the final weeks of the exhibition’s run, Zahi Hawass, secretary general of Egypt’s Supreme Council of Antiquities, will hold a special engagement lecture on Sept. 6 to detail some of his recent finds and talk about the success of the exhibition. Titled "Recent Discoveries at the Pyramids and the Valley of the Kings," the lecture will be held at the Irvine Auditorium at the University of Pennsylvania on Thursday at 7 p.m. Tickets are $15.

The exhibition is organized by National Geographic, Arts and Exhibitions International and AEG Exhibitions, with cooperation from the Egyptian Supreme Council of Antiquities. Mellon Financial Corporation is the presenting sponsor and PECO is the associate sponsor in Philadelphia. The exhibition is supported by the Greater Philadelphia Tourism and Marketing Corporation. -- www2.fi.edu