Plaster Casts from Pompeii Are Featured in Touring Boston, Cincinnati, Denver Pompeii Exhibit

A perfect guide to prepare children and adults for a Pompeii exhibit as well as to reinforce what they saw

Bodies From the Ash: Life and Death in Ancient Pompeii

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by James M. Deem

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Selected as one of the Best Books for Young Adults 2006, a 2006 Notable Children's Trade Book in the Field of Social Studies, and an Outstanding Science Trade Book for Students K-12 for 2006.

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A plaster cast from Pompeii

From the exhibit "A Day in Pompeii." Photo credit: Copyright Ministero per i Beni e le Attivita Culturali-Soprintendenza archeologica de Pompei

From the exhibit "Tales from an Eruption." Photo Credit: Ethan Lebovics.

Photograph of the cast of a group of people found on the staircase of the House of Fabius Rufus at Pompeii. From the exhibit "Tales from an Eruption."

A Day in Pompeii
is coming back to the United States. The exhibit opened at Boston's Museum of Science on October 2, 2011, and will tour at least two other cities during its two-year run. Here is the schedule announced so far:

VENUE	DATES
Boston's Museum of Science exhibit info	Oct. 2, 1011-Feb. 12, 2012
Cincinnati Museum Center	March 2, 2012- August 12, 2012
Denver Museum of Nature and Science	TBA (most likely September 2012 through January 2013)


The last time the exhibit toured the United States, eight plaster casts were displayed. This time, the number has apparently gone up to sixteen. Here is a list of the casts featured in the exhibit:

Man on Stairs Man covering his mouth Child from garden of fugitives Man reaching out to woman Shackled Man Guard Dog Family of Four from House of the Golden Bracelet Pig Two Young Women from the house of Cryptoporticus Youth lying on his side Crouching man Man on elbows

Previous exhibits
(no longer on tour in the United States)

Tales from an Eruption which included 12 plaster and resin body casts ended its U.S. tour in Houston on June 22, 2008.

Pompeii the Exhibit: Life and Death in the Shadow of Vesuvius

was at the New York Discovery Times Square Exposition (226 W. 44th Street) and featured over 250 artifacts, some apparently never shown in the United States before. The exhibit was said to include the largest collection of Pompeii body casts ever displayed.

Visitors to the exhibit watched a short film ("an immersive movie experience") which recreated the events of the eruption, the floor vibrated, and doors opened to reveal a darkened gallery with 20 plaster cast replicas. Also included were 32 skeletons from the Herculaneum boat sheds (the arcades along the sea front) where almost 300 individuals sought shelter in the early morning hours of the eruption.

The exhibit was arranged by the company responsible for the recent King Tut exhibit. This suggested that the exhibit might have a multi-city tour, though no announcement has yet been made. It seemed likely that such a large exhibit would tour the country before its return to Pompeii. Stay tuned for further information.

A Day in Pompeii which featured eight body casts ended its U.S. tour in Charlotte, NC on January 4, 2009. After the exhibit closed, it was shipped back to Italy for refurbishment before going on the road again to (among other places) Australia and England.

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Bodies from the Ash

the award-winning book about the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius, the destruction and rediscovery of Pompeii, and the creation of the plaster casts

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