INDIANAPOLIS - More than 130 treasures from the tomb of the "Boy King" and other important rulers from 2,000 years of ancient Egyptian history will be on exhibit at The Children's Museum beginning tomorrow, June 27, 2009.

The exhibit, which runs through Oct. 25, 2009, will feature striking objects from some of the most important rulers throughout 2,000 years of ancient Egyptian history, from the 4th Dynasty into the Late Period (about 2600 B.C. - 660 B.C.). Many of the article to be displayed have never before visited the United States.

Four galleries devoted to King Tut will correspond to the four rooms of his nearly intact tomb where the treasures were discovered by British explorer Howard Carter in 1922. Legendary artifacts from the antechamber, the annex, the treasury and the burial chamber will include Tutankhamun's golden sandals, jewelry, furniture, weaponry and statuary.
The blockbuster exhibit will also feature the largest image of King Tut ever found - a 10-foot statue that may have originally stood at his mortuary temple and which retains much of its original paint - as well as one of four gold and precious-stone-inlaid canopic jars, and CT scans of Tut's mummy.

Tutankhamun: The Golden King and the Great Pharaohs will focus on the splendor of the Egyptian pharaohs, their function in the earthly and divine worlds, and what kingship meant to the Egyptian people.

Other artifacts are from some of the most powerful rulers of Egypt, such as Khefren, whose great pyramid is the only remaining structure of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World; Hatshepsut, the queen who became king; and Psusennes I, whose magnificent golden death mask will be on display.

Tutankhamun was one of the last kings of Egypt's 18th Dynasty, and ruled during a crucial, turmoil-filled period in Egyptian history. The Boy King died under mysterious circumstances around age 18 or 19, in the ninth year of his reign (1323 B.C.). National Geographic Books will publish a companion book to the exhibition, written by Egyptologist Zahi Hawass.

The exhibition runs through Oct. 25, 2009. For exhibit hours and additional information about the museum, log on to www.childrensmuseum.org.