“Anthropologists in the Making” Summer Camp Returns to the Penn Museum, Offering Weekly Themes June 27–August 19

Registration Now Open

PHILADELPHIA, PA—Online registration for the Penn Museum’s popular “Anthropologists in the Making” summer camp is now open. This unique summer camp offers children ages 7 through 13 an engaging experience that ventures through time and across continents, all without leaving the Penn campus.

“Anthropologists in the Making" runs eight themed one-week sessions from June 27–August 19, 2016. Each week takes campers through the museum’s international galleries, behind the scenes to meet conservators and archivists, and before interactive World Wonders performances. The week culminates in a Friday showcase of learning, encouraging campers to demonstrate all they’ve discovered through creative displays and presentations. Details about and registration for the popular camp can be found online: www.penn.museum/camp.

Children may attend one or more of this year’s weekly-themed programs:

Week 1: June 27–July 1 Game On!

With or without a board, games have been a major form of entertainment through time and across continents. Search for game pieces and sporting equipment in the Museum’s galleries. At the Showcase of Learning, design and build a game for family and friends.

Week 2: July 5–July 8 Mysterious Civilizations no camp on Monday, July 4

Uncover long, forgotten cultures that have vanished with time. Explore monumental structures and architecture whose function and construction continue to stump archaeologists and engineers today. Work with new friends to invent a civilization.

Week 3: July 11–July 15 Digging Greece and Rome

What does it take to be an archaeologist? Sift for artifacts of the Mediterranean world and piece together the stories of the dig finds. Tour the galleries to learn more about the burial rituals of the ancient Greeks and Romans. Create a grave marker and construct a mini sarcophagus.

Week 4: July 18–July 22 Furry Friends and Savage Beasts

Calling all animal lovers! Animals have been loyal companions throughout time. Travel the world to learn about some creatures that went beyond the title of family pet. Discover cryptozoology and hear some trickster tales.

Week 5: July 25–July 29 Herstory

Woman’s history is everyone’s history. Discover women who have contributed to the fields of archaeology and anthropology. Tour the galleries to discover women’s roles and divisions of labor in ancient societies. Meet mythological goddesses, scary witches, and larger-than-life heroines.

Week 6: August 1–August 5 Myths and Mysteries of Egypt

Are ancient Egyptian tomb curses real? Did Cleopatra really live up to her reputation? Ponder these questions and more during interactive gallery talks. Discover the role of mystical items while touring the Museum’s galleries. Recreate tales featuring Isis and Osiris, Seth and Horus, and more.

Week 7: August 8–August 12 Magic in the Ancient World

Before modern medicine and science, the ancients relied on magic for the healing and prevention of illnesses. Meet magicians, shamans, and oracles. Learn how magic was used for personal gain and to foretell the future in the ancient world.

Week 8: August 15–August 19 Culinary Expeditions

What people eat and drink can reveal many things about their environment and culture. Search the museum’s galleries to find tools used to acquire, prepare, and eat food. Discover sustenance cultures and what other countries may have for breakfast. Design an after-life feast, sculpt a libation bowl, and prepare hummus from scratch.

Camp hours are 9:00 am to 3:00 pm, with optional pre-camp (8:00–9:00 am) and post-camp (3:00–5:00 pm) care. For more information or to request a need-based, partial scholarship application form, call 215.898.4016, or email summercamp@pennmuseum.org, and visit the website at www.penn.museum/camp.

The Penn Museum (the University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology) is dedicated to the study and understanding of human history and diversity. Founded in 1887, the Museum has sent more than 300 archaeological and anthropological expeditions to all the inhabited continents of the world. With an active exhibition schedule and educational programming for children and adults, the Museum offers the public an opportunity to share in the ongoing discovery of humankind's collective heritage.

The Penn Museum is located at 3260 South Street, Philadelphia, PA 19104 (on Penn's campus, across from Franklin Field). Public transportation to the Museum is available via SEPTA's Regional Rail Line at University City Station; the Market-Frankford Subway Line at 34th Street Station; trolley routes 11, 13, 34, and 36; and bus routes 21, 30, 40, and 42. Museum hours are Tuesday through Sunday, 10:00 am to 5:00 pm, and first Wednesdays of each month until 8:00 pm, with P.M. @ PENN MUSEUM evening programs offered. Closed Mondays and holidays. Admission donation is $15 for adults; $13 for senior citizens (65 and above); free for U.S. Military; $10 for children and full-time students with ID; free to Members, PennCard holders, and children 5 and younger. For the special exhibition The Golden Age of King Midas opening February 13, there is an additional $5/person charge (Free for Penn Museum Members, PennCard holders and children under 6).

Hot and cold meals and light refreshments are offered to visitors with or without Museum admission in The Pepper Mill Café; the Museum Shop offers a wide selection of gifts, books, games, clothing and jewelry. Penn Museum can be found on the web at www.penn.museum. For general information call 215.898.4000. For group tour information call 215.746.8183.

Image captions (top to bottom): Camper displays an artifact she unearthed during a simulated archaeological dig (Photo: Penn Museum). Campers demonstrate their newfound knowledge about tattoos as adornment at a Friday Showcase of Learning (Photo: Penn Museum). Asian Section Keeper Stephen Lang gives a camper a close look at an artifact (Photo: Penn Museum).