Welcome to Egypt!
Phew! That sure was a long trip over many countries and bodies of water. We went all the way from Ireland to Egypt. If you took an airplane to get from Ireland to Egypt it would take about 8 hours to get there. If you took a car, it would take at least 70 hours and a boat that will transport your car across water. If you want to get a head start on learning about Egypt, you can watch “Tale of the Nile” to get a better idea.
Take Some Virtual Tours of Egypt
Egypt has a fascinating history that goes all the way back to ancient times. Egypt is home to the Pyramid of Giza which is one of the seven Natural Wonders of the World.
Check out these virtual tours all around Egypt. Let us know which one you liked the most.
Mosque-Madrassa of Sultan Barquq
Ben Ezra Synagogue in Old Cairo
King Tut in Cairo Museum of Egyptian Antiquities
The Pharaohs of Egypt were often buried in giant pyramids or in secret tombs. They believed that they needed treasure to be buried with them to help them in the afterlife. As a result, archeologists have a lot of well-preserved artifacts and tombs to examine in order to find out how the Ancient Egyptians lived.
Fun Activities
The Staycation travel agents have planned some fun activities for you during your week in Egypt.
Clay Cartouche
Materials
- Air Dry Clay
- Wax Paper
- Toothpick
- Clay tools or plastic cutlery
Instructions
- Cover surface with wax paper.
- Roll out clay until it is flat. If you don’t have a rolling pin, a tin can is good in a pinch.
- Cut clay into shape of cartouche.
- Roll out more clay into a thin long line, then place line around the border of the cartouche.
- Cut out one line and three smaller lines.
- Attach bigger line to the bottom, the flare side, of the cartouche.
- Wrap the three littler lines around middle of the bigger line.
- Using the toothpick sketch out the hieroglyphs you want on the cartouche, you may want to practice sketching them on paper.
- Let dry.
Watch this video on how Egyptians invented writing.
Marshmallow Pyramid
Materials
- Mini Marshmallows
- Toothpicks
Instructions
- Make a pyramid with toothpicks, poke the toothpicks into marshmallows to keep them together.
- See how big you can make your pyramid.
Cuff Bracelets
Materials
- Cardboard roll
- Macaroni noodles
- Gold paint
- Glue
- Gems
Instructions
- Cut lengthwise down one side of toilet paper roll (vertically)
- Cut in halve other direction (horizontally) to make two separate cuffs
- Glue macaroni on in three horizontal lines from one end of cuff to the other
- Paint gold
- Add on gems for decoration
Sand Slime
Materials
- ½ cup Glue
- ¼ cup Liquid Starch
- ½ cup Water
- Sand
Instructions
- Put glue in bowl.
- Add water to glue and mix well.
- Add sand and mix (a couple teaspoons of sand should be enough).
- Add liquid starch and stir.
- Keep stirring until slim pulls away from the bowl, then knead till the desired consistency is reached. (This may take a couple of minutes.)
Sundial
The Ancient Egyptians were scientists and mathematicians. They had numerous inventions including ways to build buildings, medicine and a way to tell time.
Materials
- Paper plate
- Sharpened pencil
- Permanent marker
- Watch
- Tape
Instructions
- Paint bottom of paper plate orange or yellow, let dry.
- Use point of pencil to poke hole in the center of the paper plate, try to keep the hole as small as possible to keep the pencils stable.
- Have the plate upside down with the pencil poking through, sharpened side up, eraser on ground.
- Use tape to keep pencil pointing straight up.
- Place it on a well-lit patch of ground outside.
- Use tape or rocks to keep it from blowing away.
- At the start of each hour go outside and draw a line along the pencil’s shadow on the plate and then mark the time next to the line.
- Repeat step 6 a couple of times.
- If weather permits, leave outside and check accuracy the next day.
Clay Scarab
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Materials:
- Air-dry clay
- Toothpick
- Paint
- String or cording
Instructions
- Make an oval with the clay for the body of the scarab.
- Make a tiny oval for the head of the scarab.
- Attach the head to the body, making sure that they are stuck together.
- Using the toothpick, draw a line starting at where the body meets the head and go down the body, branching off towards the end for wings.
- Make two tiny ovals for the eyes and attach them to the head.
- Poke holes in the wings for design.
- Put a toothpick through the body to make a hole for the string.
- Let dry.
- Paint.
- Remove toothpick and put string through hole.
Making Papyrus
The Egyptians were one of the first civilizations to invent writing. They also used ink to write and paper called papyrus.
Materials
- Paper
- Glue
- Water
- Wax paper
Instructions
- Mix equal parts of your glue and water into a bowl, this will be your paste for the papyrus, so that it sticks.
- Cut or tear your brown paper into about half inch strips.They don’t have to be perfect.
- Soak your brown paper pieces in your glue and water solution until they are fully saturated, or completely wet, then let them drip over the bowl until they aren’t dripping anymore.
- Lay your strips side by side on wax paper so they are slightly overlapping.
- Once you have it as wide as you would like it, start laying your strips in the same fashion across the top but crisscrossed.If you want you could even weave it together, over-under style.
- Smooth it all out with your hand and put it somewhere to dry for about 24 hours.
Metal Sculpture
The oldest metal sculpture pieces are made from copper alloys and bronze. It is thought that metal casting as an ancient art dates back 6000 years with the first works made from gold and copper. Ancient civilizations such as the Egyptians carved deities and leaders in gold and other precious metals.
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Instructions
- Using your pipe cleaners, create sculptures.
- Wrap each sculpture in the aluminum foil.
- If you have made people, you can glue them to a piece of cardboard to make a scene if you like.
- Try to make animals like a camel or llama and maybe a pyramid.
- Send pictures of your art to Heather!
Cat Mummies
Egyptians believed cats were magical creatures, capable of bringing good luck to the people who housed them. To honor these treasured pets, wealthy families dressed them in jewels and fed them treats fit for royalty. When the cats died, they were mummified.
Materials
- Cardboard tube
- Gold paint
- Black marker
- Masking tape
Instructions
- Push end of tube down so it looks like ears.
- Cover the tube in masking tape if you have it. If not, just use regular tape or glue to hold the ears down.
- Paint the tube with gold paint and use the permanent marker to draw the cat face and any additional designs.
Camels
Patience is one of its most observable features and camels are generally useful animal. It appears in Egypt in the archaeological sites as it related to the tourism tours. Historically, Camels were a dependable source of not only transport but also food and milk. Arabs were proud of the number of camels they possessed.
Materials
- Cardboard egg carton
- Scissors
- Brown paint
- Paintbrush
- 4 Pipe cleaners
- Brown construction paper
- Scissors
- Black marker
- Glue
Directions
- Paint your egg carton brown and set aside to dry.
- Then cut a 2-inch strip of brown construction paper twice as wide as you want your tail to be and fold in half lengthwise. Cut small slits into the end to form frill for the tail.
- Now cut a head and neck shape from the brown construction paper for the camel’s head. Use the marker to draw shapes for the eye, mouth and a crease in the ear area.
- Next, you’ll need to wind your pipe cleaner around the width of your 2 fingers to form a spring-like shape. At the end you’ll attach to the egg carton, bend at a 45-degree angle, then at the other end, form a 2-loop camel toe shape and bend flat to give your camel feet to stand on. Repeat with all 4 pipe cleaners.
- Use your scissors to cut a slit at the front of your camel to insert the neck and a slit at the back to insert the tail. Add a dab of glue to your slits and insert your construction paper head and tail.
- Once dry, turn your camel upside down so you can glue the pipe cleaner legs just inside the egg carton’s edges and with glue. Give them a second to dry to ensure they don’t move when you place your camel craft upright again and your animal craft is desert-ready!
Egyptian Collar Necklace
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There are a number of ways you can make an Egyptian collar. There are some examples above.
Materials
- Paper plates
- Scissors
- Paint
- Jewels
- String
Instructions
- Cut a circle out of your plate. You can cut the whole center or just a smaller piece. You can use another object to trace a circle onto the plate.
- Once you have the shape you like, paint the whole thing gold.
- After the paint has dried, you can add your details using paint or jewels or both. Get creative, use your imagination and come up with your own design.
Drawing a Pyramid
Baking Egyptian Sweet Cookies
Ingredients
- 4 cups flour
- 2 ½ sticks unsalted butter
- ½ cup powder sugar
- ¾ teaspoon baking powder
- 1 pinch salt
- ¼ teaspoon vanilla extract
- ¼ teaspoon cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon nutmeg
- ½ cup milk (room temp)
Directions
- Preheat oven to 350°F and line 2-3 baking sheets with parchment paper.
- In a large bowl or mixer, mix together all the dry ingredients: flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg.
- Using a mixer set to low speed, slowly add vanilla followed by melted butter and continue mixing – pausing just before the dough fully forms.
- Pour in milk and mix until all ingredients are fully incorporated.
- Scoop a rounded tablespoonful of dough and roll into a ball. Place on a cookie sheet. Make a cross hatch on the top using a fork, pressing down slightly.
- Bake each batch for 12-15 minutes, or until bottom edges are slightly browned. Cool completely before dusting generously with powdered sugar.
Making Mummy Bananas
Ingredients
- 2-3 bananas
- 2 blocks of white almond bark, or Wilton melts
- Wilton Eyes (you can also get creative and make your own eyes from ingredients you have in your house)
- Large Ziplock bag
- Scissors
- Large glass bowl with hot water
Directions
- Fill a glass bowl with hot water.
- Put the almond bark inside a large Ziplock bag, seal and submerge into the water. Let sit for 1-2 minutes, then your chocolate should be soft enough to manipulate with your hands. Squeeze until smooth.
- Merge the almond bark to the corner of the Ziplock bag, then cut a hole in the corner of the bag with your scissors.
- Slice bananas in half, and place on a plate and squeeze the melted almond bark over your bananas creating a mummy design.
- While the almond bark is still warm, put on the mummy’s eyes.
- Wait until cool and enjoy!!
Making Date Balls
More Egypt Information & Fun Activities
Click on the link below, print the document and have fun!
Ancient Egypt Family Life and Farming
A Timeline of the Ancient Egyptians
All About Ancient Egypt Word Search
Ancient Egypt Word Search Puzzle
Ancient Egypt Board Game Rules
We hope you enjoyed visiting Egypt. Next week we will head to exciting Italy!