PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — For the last eight years, the Penn Museum has been conducting a massive building transformation project and renovating all of its signature galleries. The next phase starts in November with its ancient Egypt and Nubia galleries.
Dr. Christopher Woods, Williams Director at the Penn Museum, promises the new galleries will feature “monumental architecture” that people wouldn’t “be able to see anywhere outside of Egypt.”
“We just completed the Eastern Mediterranean gallery last fall, and now the absolute cherry on the cake will be our ancient Egypt and Nubia galleries,” he enthused.
The museum’s current Egypt gallery, which first opened in 1926, will close to the public on Nov. 6 so construction can get underway.
The renovated galleries will stretch between two floors, spanning about 15,000 square feet.
“The lower gallery, which will be devoted to funerary practices and the afterlife in ancient Egypt, will include a tomb chapel from the Old Kingdom, so it’s about from about 2400 BCE,” said Woods. “The upper gallery will have architectural elements of a New Kingdom palace.”
Part of the renovation project will include retrofitting the building to support the weight of the 3,000-year-old palace’s massive 30-foot pillars — the first time they will be on display at their full height since Penn archeologists excavated them more than 100 years ago.
The galleries will be completed in two phases. The lower gallery is expected to open at the end of 2026. The upper gallery is slated for the end of 2028.