THROUGH A REPLICA OF CEMETERY GATES, A NEW EXHIBITION OFFERS A GLIMPSE INTO THE LIVES OF PEOPLE WHOSE BODIES WERE ACCIDENTALLY MUMMIFIED IN THE MINING TOWN OF GUANAJUATO, MEXICO, MORE THAN A CENTURY AGO. 36 MUMMIES ON LOAN FROM GUANAJUATO'S MUSEO DA LAS MOMIAS (MUSEUM OF THE MUMMIES) GO ON PUBLIC DISPLAY 10.OCTOBER AT THE DETROIT SCIENCE CENTER AS PART OF THE 'ACCIDENTAL MUMMIES OF GUANAJUATO' TRAVELING EXHIBIT. THE ROUGHLY $2 MILLION PROJECT MARKS THE FIRST TIME THE MUMMIES HAVE BEEN SHOWN IN THE US. USING SCIENTIFIC, HISTORICAL AND CULTURAL RESEARCH, THE EXHIBIT EXPLORES THE LIVES OF MINERS, SOLDIERS, FARMERS AND CHILDREN WHOSE BODIES WERE MUMMIFIED AND STORED IN ABOVE-GROUND CRYPTS.
PAST THE EXHIBIT GATES, REPLICATING THE PORTAL AT THE CEMETERY WHERE THE FIRST GUANAJUATO MUMMY WAS DISCOVERED IN 1865, VISITORS WALK THROUGH A ROOM BORDERED WITH CRYPTS, WHERE THEY LEARN ABOUT MEXICAN TRADITIONS SURROUNDING DEATH. AT ONE END, FIVE MUMMIES ARE DISPLAYED BEHIND GLASS AS THEY MIGHT HAVE LOOKED IN THEIR CRYPTS. VISITORS THEN ENTER THE MAIN EXHIBIT SPACE, WHERE 21 MUMMIES, SOME POSITIONED AS IF STANDING UPRIGHT, ARE SHOWN. EACH MUMMY IS ACCOMPANIED BY TEXT IN ENGLISH AND SPANISH THAT GIVES HIS OR HER NAME, AN ESTIMATE OF THE AGE AT WHICH THE PERSON DIED, AND DETAILS ABOUT THE LIFE. ACCORDING TO LOCAL LEGEND, THE BODIES WERE PRESERVED BECAUSE THE CITY'S WATER IS RICH WITH MINERALS AND SULFUR.
FOR MORE INFORMATION VISIT www.detroitsciencecenter.org
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