All of the mummies and artifacts presented in the “Mummies of the World” exhibition have been held in established and well-respected European museum and university collections for a century or more and have a traceable provenance. They were acquired at a time when collection of archaeological objects and human specimens were a common practice.

Our goal in our exhibit presentation is to advance the relevance of anthropology in ancient global cultures, and to provide visitors with an educational and scientific window into the cultures, history and lives of the people who came before us.

We present “Mummies of the World” recognizing that ethical guidelines of global museum partnerships demand that human remains are treated with respect and dignity, taking into account the interests and beliefs of the social, ethical and religious groups from which the human remains originate.

The California Science Center, after a thorough review by their esteemed Ethics Advisory Council, issued the following statements in July of 2009 in support of presenting this extraordinary exhibition:

“The leadership of the California Science Center brings access to our minds of the historic footsteps of humankind as traced through the process of mummification. DNA and other modern specialties allow us to properly determine validity and human ties without desecrating the laws governing respect for human dignity and life. The displays were designed for such times as these and such questions we ponder.”

Re. Cecil L. ‘Chip’ Murray
Center for Religious and Civic Culture
University of Southern California

“This exhibition promises to continue the California Science Center’s leadership in educating the public on the vast possibilities of scientific inquiry. With the opening of “Mummies of the World”, the public will again be drawn into the California Science Center’s gravitational pull as it explores another extraordinary aspect of the human condition. “Mummies of the World” will allow us to reach deep into the human past and deeper still into the mysteries of ourselves as creatures caught between heaven and earth.”

David C. Blake, Ph.D., J.D.
Chief Compliance and Privacy Officer
Cedars-Sinai Medical Center
Los Angeles, California