To Do Today: Beyond King Tut Exhibition

National Geographic Society’s touring show explores ancient Egypt

Photo of visitors stepping into an immersive gallery of golden treasure at the Beyond King Tut exhibit. Two people shown as shadows walk through a large golden exhibit. Large, golden King Tut head is seen at the entrance.

Visitors step into an immersive gallery of golden treasure at the Beyond King Tut exhibition. Photo courtesy of Beyond King Tut

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To Do Today: Beyond King Tut Exhibition

National Geographic Society’s touring show explores ancient Egypt

July 11, 2022
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What?

National Geographic Society’s Beyond King Tut immersive exhibition.

When?

Now through October 2, 2022; open 10 am to 9 pm Sunday through Thursday, and 10 am to 10 pm Friday and Saturday.

Where?

The iconic and now-defunct SoWa Power Station, 550 Harrison Ave., in Boston’s South End. Take the MBTA Green Line trolley from campus to Arlington station, then switch to the Route 9 bus toward City Point, getting off at Herald St @ Harrison Ave.

How much?

Tickets are timed entry and prices vary according to peak hours. Off-peak adult tickets cost $32.50 and peak tickets are $43.50. VIP tickets, including a virtual reality experience, can be bought for $73.50. Purchase tickets here.

Why should I go?

Everyone knows about the pyramids, the Sphinx statue, and pharaoh tombs. But very few people get the privilege of seeing these icons in real life. The National Geographic Society is bringing the next best thing to Boston with the newly opened Beyond King Tut immersive exhibition.

Like other immersive exhibitions that have popped up in the city over the past few years, the experience uses a combination of projectors, screens, and lights to create the feeling of stepping into a whole new world. Where the Van Gogh and Frida Kahlo exhibitions used that technology to transport visitors to the artists’ painted worlds, Beyond King Tut instead creates the illusion of ancient Egypt, from lavish gold statues to beautiful palaces in the desert. 

The exhibition also promises a strong educational and narrative value. Visitors step through nine galleries that tell the life story of Egypt’s legendary pharaoh, King Tutankhamun, whose tomb started a worldwide fascination with Egypt when it was discovered in 1922. Known as the “Boy King,” he ruled for less than a decade and died at age 19. The galleries even include a stunning re-creation of his burial chamber and a display of his vast wealth. The experience is self-guided and takes approximately one hour to complete, though visitors can stay as long as they want until closing.

VIP visitors get even more from the experience with a guided virtual reality tour of King Tut’s tomb, narrated by Downton Abbey’s Hugh Bonneville.

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There are 2 comments on To Do Today: Beyond King Tut Exhibition

  1. Exhibit for 4 ppl $198.00(plus or minus) plus $30 parking. The exhibit was not guided or given direction. As you walk through, some areas are already playing and you don’t know where it begins or ends. The last area, this one you would like to stay and try to get the entire story, but there are so many people sitting on the “boat” that it makes this impossible. I wanted to support the gift shop and did spend another $100.00 (that was my personal choice). We went through this is about 35 min. and were disappointed. To make this successful, there needs to be guidance and control so you know where to start to hear/see the stories. Just a disappointment for $230.00 for 35 minutes. Just know what you are in for. Believe me, I feel bad giving this review, but it is the truth.

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  2. Perhaps I didn’t research this exhibit enough. I was expecting some actual artifacts to view and thought the information presented was going to be in some sort of film, not hieroglyphics. The price of $43.50/ticket (X2) for a recent Friday morning (10:30AM) was more than I was expecting to pay, and then a $12 service fee was tacked on. There were not that many people (maybe about 18- 24 total) for this time slot. We took our time going through the exhibit, reading everything that appeared throughout the exhibit. The final area with the boat, the exhibit was midway through so we sat and waited then caught it from beginning to end as it is on an endless loop. We looked at our watch and each other when it ended and said “that’s it?” Both of us disappointed with the overall experience…we really took our time and spent just barely an hour at the exhibit. We headed to the gift shop and found that downright outrageous. I bought a book to add the the classroom library, ($8.00/ credit cards only!) Everything in this shop was so overpriced and I refused to purchase anything else after the soaking I took on the tickets for a mediocre experience. After reading further, apparently I bought tickets for ‘high peak’ times! There were barely any cars in the parking lot and the place was in no way crowded or at capacity. It makes me wonder how they classify ‘high peak’. In a nutshell, I’d save the $$ and find something different to do.

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