Review by Jess
It does seem strange, at first glance, to be attending an exhibition with immersive elements about the boy king Tutenkhamun at the NEC in Birmingham, home of, when we attended, the Gardener’s World Show. However, on a horrendously hot day, the cool of the dark exhibition hall was greatly welcome.
The shining crown of the exhibit is the immersive room, with a half an hour long projection and film taking you from the birth of Ancient Egypt up until Howard Carter’s discovery. This prominent feature is very well deserved - it is stunning. Bigger than any of these style films than I have seen before, it was truly immersive, and with many multiple elements, you truly did feel immersed. When scarab beetles crawled across the walls, I genuinely thought for a heartbeat that they were going to crawl on me.
The VR element of the exhibit can also not be understated. I went into this feeling very sceptical about how it would work, when in fact, it is truly phenomenal. You are taken from the point of death as an Ancient Egyptian all the way until the afterlife, with stunning graphics and interesting perspectives. It is 360 degrees, and you feel as though you are there. It was interesting, informative and visually stunning. It is innovative, and at least within my experience, completely unique, and worth going for.
It is interesting that upon arrival, you are greeted by the opportunity to have your photo taken in front of a large cardboard cut out mask, with the option to purchase this at the end of the exhibit. Now, despite attending without any children present, we did do this - though, when asked if we wanted to take a silly one, we politely declined. You are then shepherded into a room with replica artefacts in glass cases and large signs telling you about the history of the discovery of King Tutenkhamun’s tomb in 1912. Now, recognising my own bias, I do know more than the average person about Ancient Egypt. However, even without this additional knowledge, I am not sure that I would have learned anything that is not covered by the Year 3 curriculum at school, or a decent podcast. There was a small case of actual artefacts, on loan from a museum in Spain, but these were far outnumbered by the many replicas, many of which you could obviously tell weren’t real. When paired with the large signs regurgitating information, much of it repeated throughout the exhibit, it becomes less of a learning experience and more a challenge to read large bodies of text without falling asleep where I stood. Unfortunately, it does take away from the stunning visuals of the immersive room, when you are then tasked with large volumes of reading and looking at items that seem as though they are taken from the gift shop.
Overall, it’s an interesting day out. If we had gone with children, they probably would have loved it. The immersive elements were very cool, but this felt less of an interesting, engaging experience and more of a chore to get to the next immersive section.
The VR element of the exhibit can also not be understated. I went into this feeling very sceptical about how it would work, when in fact, it is truly phenomenal. You are taken from the point of death as an Ancient Egyptian all the way until the afterlife, with stunning graphics and interesting perspectives. It is 360 degrees, and you feel as though you are there. It was interesting, informative and visually stunning. It is innovative, and at least within my experience, completely unique, and worth going for.
It is interesting that upon arrival, you are greeted by the opportunity to have your photo taken in front of a large cardboard cut out mask, with the option to purchase this at the end of the exhibit. Now, despite attending without any children present, we did do this - though, when asked if we wanted to take a silly one, we politely declined. You are then shepherded into a room with replica artefacts in glass cases and large signs telling you about the history of the discovery of King Tutenkhamun’s tomb in 1912. Now, recognising my own bias, I do know more than the average person about Ancient Egypt. However, even without this additional knowledge, I am not sure that I would have learned anything that is not covered by the Year 3 curriculum at school, or a decent podcast. There was a small case of actual artefacts, on loan from a museum in Spain, but these were far outnumbered by the many replicas, many of which you could obviously tell weren’t real. When paired with the large signs regurgitating information, much of it repeated throughout the exhibit, it becomes less of a learning experience and more a challenge to read large bodies of text without falling asleep where I stood. Unfortunately, it does take away from the stunning visuals of the immersive room, when you are then tasked with large volumes of reading and looking at items that seem as though they are taken from the gift shop.
Overall, it’s an interesting day out. If we had gone with children, they probably would have loved it. The immersive elements were very cool, but this felt less of an interesting, engaging experience and more of a chore to get to the next immersive section.
⭐️⭐️⭐️
Tutankhamun: The Immersive Exhibition runs at the NEC near Birmingham until 13th September 2026. For tickets and more information visit https://tutankhamunexperience.com/birmingham/
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