When curator of Egyptian archaeology Nir Or Lev began his role at the Israel Museum, Jerusalem, he wasn’t just focused on the glorious past - he was thinking about the future. His vision: was to get children interested in ancient Egypt. Two years later, his idea has taken shape in the form of Pharaoh’s Animal Kingdom, a colorful, interactive, and lively exhibition designed especially for young visitors.
“I wanted to make the Egyptian world accessible to children,” says Or Lev. “For me, it all started when I was 10 years old, trying to write my name in hieroglyphs and getting hooked on archaeology through Indiana Jones.” He emphasizes the importance of creating a sensory, hands-on experience. “Today’s children grow up surrounded by screens. It was important for me to offer a different kind of experience -- slower, sensory, and physical, where they can actually touch things.” To enhance this approach, the exhibition includes a soundtrack of actual noises produced by the animals featured in the exhibition.
But the exhibition doesn’t just aim to explain the Egyptian world - it invites children to step right into it. “Museums in general need to think about the next generation, too,” says Or Lev. “I wanted the children to feel that the exhibition speaks to them. When children walk in, they don’t have to strain to see the objects. Everything here is presented at their eye level -- both literally and figuratively.”
The space is designed to allow for individual exploration and choice. Children can experience the exhibition in one of three ways: on their own without a fixed path; by using the activity booklets to follow the trail of the falcon, scarab beetle, cat, or jackal; or they can follow the explanatory texts beside the displays. Young visitors are encouraged to choose their own adventure.
The texts were crafted especially for a young audience. “The explanations are written in accessible, respectful language that’s attuned to children’s attention spans -- never condescending,” Or Lev explains. “But even if a child doesn’t read a single word, he or she can still understand everything through his or her eyes and hands.”
The objects on view were selected from the Israel Museum’s permanent collection, and many are being displayed for the first time. “It was important to us to highlight the collection itself. We wanted to use what we already have but present it in a new way -- not just rows of showcases with objects inside,” Or Lev explains.
The exhibition is structured in chapters, each introduced with a question: How do we know which animals lived back then? How were they used? Why did they become religious symbols? Or Lev elaborates: “The first answer is representation in art, so we included reliefs, tools decorated with animals, and objects shaped like animals. And there’s the hieroglyphic script, of course, which is made up of 700 pictorial symbols. Of them, 176 hieroglyphs, nearly a quarter, represent animals or parts of animals.”
The exhibition unfolds in three thematic sections: animals in everyday life (for food, transport, farming, and as pets); mummified animals; and animals in the ancient Egyptian religious world (as amulets and manifestations of gods and goddesses). “We began with life itself, not with religion. First, the children encounter how cattle or fish were used; only then do they meet a god with a falcon’s head. That reversal is crucial. It breaks expectations and opens the mind.”
For instance, the section on pets includes small statues of dogs and cats. “Everyone thinks Egyptians only loved cats,” says Or Lev. “And yes, there are cat mummies, and there’s a cat goddess. But there are also dog mummies. In fact, there’s a site where eight million dog mummies were found. It’s an amazing story, and not many people know it.”
In the final section, children meet the scarab beetle -- the dung beetle that represented the sun god Ra. “This beetle rolls a ball 1,000 times its weight. The Egyptians saw that and said, ‘This must be divine,’” Or Lev explains. To bring that idea to life, children are invited to push a large ball themselves, to experience how difficult it is. “We tried to include as many physical activities as possible, to translate the scientific information they’re learning into something they can feel with their bodies.”
The exhibition also features an animated video based entirely on Egyptian artistic representations depicting various interactions between humans and animals, all based on historical sources.
Perhaps more than anything, the exhibition is built on a foundation of respect for its audience. “I wanted every child to feel that this was made for him or her, not that someone ‘dumbed down’ the exhibition,” Or Lev says. He also considers the adults. “An adult might look down at the displays and feel that the objects have been cut off. But from a child’s perspective, it’s perfect. Even if the parents sit on a bench, scrolling on their phone, the children can engage with the exhibition completely on their own.”
Among the treasures on display are animal mummies, jewelry adorned with animal figures, household objects shaped like fish or sheep, and tiny amulets in the forms of a hippopotamus, falcon, vulture, and cat. “Each amulet was meant to give the child who wore it strength, protection, or a special quality. We tried to convey this through simple activities: to see, to touch, and to search.”
For Or Lev, this is more than an exhibition -- it’s a mission. “I want this to create continuity. That today’s children will grow up and want to return. Maybe they’ll even go on to study Egyptology. If we don’t reach them now, museums won’t have a future. It’s not just about knowledge -- it’s about curiosity.”
Pharaoh’s Animal Kingdom is an exhibition created for children, but it doesn’t simplify or compromise. It speaks a different language: one of story, play, and empathy. It succeeds not only in teaching but also in listening to the most genuine audience of all: children. And perhaps most importantly, it asks a timeless question, one that reaches far beyond ancient Egypt: How do we tell an ancient story so it speaks to the future?
This article was written in cooperation with the Israel Museum.