Carlos Summer Outreach Programs

The Carlos Museum will offer its popular, interactive outreach programs, Mummy Wrap!, Dig It! and Stories from Old Egypt at several DeKalb County Public Library Branches this summer. "Mummify" a friend or create an Inka khipu as part of these fun and fascinating programs. These programs are free and open to the public. Space is limited. Please contact individual branches to register.

Mummy Wrap!

Make mummies come alive as you explore the history and process of mummification and its importance to the ancient Egyptians through an engaging and interactive slide presentation of objects in the Carlos Museum's collection of ancient Egyptian art. Following the slide presentation, one participant will become the "mummy", as the outreach teacher enlists members of the audience to assist with the "mummification." Participants will then become "artists of the temple" and prepare the portrait mask, broad collar, amulets, and jewelry while the "mummy" is wrapped for "burial." 

Tuesday, June 16
Tucker-Reid H. Cofer Library
11:30 am -12:30 pm

Threads of Life

In ancient Peru, woven textiles were valued above all other art forms. When the Spanish conquistadores arrived, the Inkas presented them with gifts of textiles rather than gold or silver. The natural environment of the Andes provided cotton from the coast, camelid fibers from the highlands, and plant fibers from the jungle, which were all used to create textiles of unsurpassed technical and artistic sophistication, and of the utmost importance for survival in the rugged Andes. In this program, students will explore a variety of textiles produced in the Andes including a footbridge woven from plant fibers, an Inka royal tunic, featherwork, and the intriguing quipu, a system of colored cords and knots used by the Inka to record information such as census data, agricultural stores, and even history and poetry. Students will make their own quipus to record information about their own families.

Tuesday, June 9
Scott Candler Library
3-4 p.m.

Wednesday, June 10
Stone Mountain-Sue Kellogg Library
3-4 p.m. Open to first 20 participants.

Tuesday, June 30
Flat Shoals Library
3-4 p.m. Open to first 28 participants.

Royal Class: Kente, Gold Trade, and the Asante Kingdom

The Asante people of present day Ghana have a long history of artistic and economic leadership in west Africa. In this workshop, students will create a durbar festival, learn the history of the Golden Stool, Asante proverbs, and the role of attendants to the king. Through images and discussion they will learn the history of kente cloth, its introduction in the west with Ghana's first president, Kwame Nkrumah, and how kente has transcended its early use as a cloth of royalty to become a symbol of Africa throughout the world. Students will explore African gold weights, create an amulet pendant, and learn how kente is worn.

Wednesday, June 24
Scott Candler Library
3-4 p.m. First 24 participants