A New Take on Teaching Mummification: Ms. Kate Hodge

"A New Take on Teaching Mummification" was presented by Ms. Kate Hodge for #MOEgypt5: New Directions in Teaching Ancient Egypt and Nubia on Saturday, 21 Oct 2023.
Mummification has long been a point of fascination for students. With new best practices for the way people teach and discuss mummified individuals, teaching mummification has become complicated for museum educators. I recently developed a new lesson to teach mummification that widens the scope. Students engage directly with the process, but it does not focus on each individual step or use a replica of a mummified individual. Instead, it highlights the scientific components of the preservation process, the deep religious motivations behind it, and the changes to this dynamic process through time. Using action research methodology and evaluations to collect data, I have found that not only do students learn effectively with this model, but they also enjoy the experience. Recently, we have expanded this lesson to be taught as a regular field trip option, and the piloting data has already yielded interesting results about how students are learning. Many museums have taken mummified individuals off display, are not teaching about the process, or have pivoted to focus on other subjects. This lesson and data contribute a new methodology for teaching about more sensitive and difficult topics in a changing educational environment.
Session Chair= Prof. Stacy Davidson