(WBBM NEWSRADIO) — You may think you know the story of King Tutankhamun, but a new exhibit tells the story of the young Egyptian pharaoh in a whole new way.
"This is like nothing we've presented here before," said Richard Ouzounian, creative consultant for LightHouse Immersive.
King Tut has a special connection to Chicago. Back in 1977, the city was one of the few places in the U.S to display his treasures at the Field Museum. One million people visited that unique exhibit.
"Depending on how old you are, there were two other giant Tut exhibitions that came to North America. There was one in 2000 and one in the late 70's. That's the one that is what spawned Steve Martin's song, ‘King Tut,’” Ouzounian said, laughing.
Now, The Lighthouse ArtSpace is hosting "Immersive King Tut,” a new exhibit that combines storytelling, music, animation and a 360-degree experience. It opened Friday.
"The exhibits of the past were about bringing the things here. Let's look at the coffins, the masks and all the jewels. The world has changed. The Egyptian Government woke up one day and said, ‘No, this is our religion, this is our culture. We're not going to put it out like a carnival.’”
Ouzounian says the new experience coincides with a significant milestone.
"We decided to celebrate the discovery of the tomb, which is November 4, 1922,” he said.
The 45-minute program delves into a "journey through the Egyptian afterlife.”
"The story is about his tomb. Once this tomb is sealed, 12 hours must pass. And in that 12 hours and in that time, the person in the tomb needs to fight all the forces of evil in the underworld and get through to the sun and survive into the afterlife.
“This is so cool to educate people. What motivated this religion? Why did they put everything in the tomb? It's immersive because we are in the tomb, the tomb surrounds us, the tomb becomes the snake battling you, the waves, everything is there. It has a great drama to it.”
Unlike in the recent "Immersive Van Gogh,” there is a narrator for the Tut experience.
"In Van Gogh, you have to create your own story and some people love that because it's intense,” he said, “but in this situation, there's someone guiding you, which makes it so different.”
The tomb of King Tutankhamun is considered the greatest archaeological discoveries of all time.
"You're getting insight into a culture, into a religion, into a way of thinking, but you're also getting a sensual experience with all the lights and sounds and everything,” Ouzounian said.
"Immersive King Tut" debuted in Denver and previously traveled to Toronto.
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