Ancient Egypt for home educators

RAMM is running an Ancient Egypt activity day for home-educated children aged 7 to 11 on Thursday 5 November, from 10:30 to 14:00. It's one of the museum-led sessions they put on for home-educated families, and this one centres on a real mummy they have in the galleries: Shep en-Mut.

Shep en-Mut lies within a beautifully painted cartonnage, and the children get to tour her tomb. The mummification activity is the hands-on part: each child takes a turn mummifying a life-sized doll of Shep en-Mut, and they learn what was placed on the body and in the tomb to help her on her journey to the afterlife. There's also an artefact handling session that brings in the story of Howard Carter and his discovery of Tutankhamun's tomb, alongside the story of the Rosetta Stone, which is widely considered the most important Ancient Egyptian artefact ever found.

It's part of a wider home-education programme at RAMM, where families take an active role in learning about the Egyptians and the Romans in Devon. The museum also runs Musical Moments and Art Club, and free family 'Time Odyssey' visits, where children can explore the galleries using augmented reality on loaned tablets.

The Ancient Egypt session runs from 10:30 to 14:00 on 5 November, and it costs £7 per child.