for immediate release a city lost for centuries is … opening press release.pdf · experience the...

OMSI Media Contact John Farmer | jfarmer@omsi.edu | 503.797.4517

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

A CITY LOST FOR CENTURIES IS COMING TO OMSI Experience the city of Pompeii, frozen in time, by the catastrophic eruption of Mount Vesuvius

PORTLAND, Ore. (May 30, 2017) – Opening June 24 at the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry (OMSI), POMPEII: THE EXHIBITION examines life in Pompeii both before and after the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 A.D. that not only destroyed the Roman city, but also preserved it for more than 1,700 years. “We wanted to bring this most historical event back to life and allow visitors to relive it vividly,” said John Norman, president of Exhibitions International and producer of POMPEII: THE EXHIBITION. “The new exhibition allows you to explore treasures and experience life in the bustling city of Pompeii before time essentially stopped.” The exhibition features nearly 200 precious artifacts on loan from the unparalleled collection of the Naples National Archaeological Museum in Italy including a first century, bronze gladiator helmet; a Citharist bronze statue of Apollo, dating to 50 A.D.; and several remarkable fresco paintings, including one of Dionysus and Silenus, dating between 50-79 A.D. “This exhibition offers our guests the opportunity to study and understand history through the scientific lens of archaeology and volcanology. It is one of the most fascinating exhibitions of ancient archaeology featuring artifacts that rarely leave Italy,” said Nancy Stueber, president and CEO of OMSI. “Volcanoes are a part of our life here in the Pacific Northwest, and this exhibition allows our visitors to explore earth and volcano science, regionally and worldwide.” Pompeii was hidden from view and forgotten for centuries until its rediscovery more than 250 years ago. Over time, archaeologists have uncovered a unique record of its daily life—roads, buildings, municipal services, paintings, mosaics, artifacts, and preserved bodies. Ongoing excavations at the site provide an ever-evolving picture of everyday life at the height of the Roman Empire. The Exhibition experience includes:

• Introductory theatre where the scene is set in a video with dramatic reconstructions that describes Pompeii and the nearby volcano.

• Visitors are then transported back in time to 79 A.D. and find themselves in a reproduced atrium from a Roman villa, where they will embark on a journey through the ancient city.

• Through the use of projections, audio, video, photographic murals, and graphic reproductions of frescoes and mosaics, visitors will experience different locations that existed in the city, including a market, a temple, theater, and baths.

• Nearly 200 authentic artifacts will help bring the story of Pompeii to life. These remarkable objects include: mosaics and frescoes, gladiator helmets, armor, and weapons, a ship’s anchor, lamps, jugs, cups, plates, pots and pans and other household objects and furniture, jewelry, medical instruments, and tools.

• A 4D theater will allow visitors to experience the impact Mount Vesuvius had on this ancient city. • The culminating experience of the exhibit is a room with body casts of human forms forever frozen in

time.

POMPEII: THE EXHIBITION runs from June 24, 2017 to October 22, 2017. Tickets to this exhibit, which include general museum admission, are $26.00 for adults, $17.00 for youth (ages 3-13), and $22.00 for seniors (ages 63+). Prices for OMSI Members are $16.00 for adults, $10.00 for youth, and $12.00 for seniors. About Exhibitions International Founded by John Norman in 2003, Exhibitions International is the world’s preeminent museum exhibition producer. Under Norman’s direction, the company was entrusted with the most valuable treasures from earth and sea, including objects from the tomb of Tutankhamun, relics from Cleopatra’s Royal Palace, Princess Diana’s Royal Wedding Gown, and the only authenticated pirate treasure in the world. These riches are the heart and soul of breathtaking museum experiences created by Exhibitions International. Each unforgettable experience has mesmerized audiences at the finest art, science and history museums worldwide – totaling more than 30 million visitors. About Naples National Archaeological Museum A world-class museum located in the heart of the city, the National Archaeological Museum of Naples (MANN) houses one of the most important collections of classical archaeology in the world. Set in the massive 16th century palace Palazzo degli Studi, the museum was founded by Ferdinand IV in 1777. Formed from the discoveries from the Vesuvian Excavations which were at the time exhibited in Museo Herculanese in the Royal Palace at Portici and his family’s extensive collection of art and Roman antiquities, the Farnese collection, today the museum holds over three million objects of archaeological and historic importance. MANN is certainly the essence of Pompeii and its important and vast collection of Vesuvian antiquities shows it. It is the museum of the capital of the kingdom of the Bourbons, the place where all the attention to western values of classical culture begins. The Museum includes an incredible patrimony: the world’s most important collection of classical sculpture, brought to Naples by the Farnese family and representing the evolution of western sculpture; furthermore MANN is the gate of the Italian culture and of Ancient Greece thanks to the discoveries made in the Kingdom of Two Sicilies; it has the second largest Egyptian section - after the one in Turin - with the peculiarity of having a lot of objects that appeared in Italy before the Napoleonic expedition, where you can discover the taste of the pre-Napoleon's Egyptian culture and owns a collection of nearly 2500 documents written in Latin, Greek, and dialects of the Italic peoples. MANN boasts the richest and most valuable collection of artworks and artifacts of archaeological interest in Italy and is considered one of the most important archaeological museums in the world, if not the most important concerning Pompeii’s history. About OMSI Founded in 1944, the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry (OMSI) is one of the nation’s leading science museums, a world-class tourist attraction, and an award-winning educational resource for the kid in each of us. OMSI operates the largest museum-based outdoor science education program in the country and provides traveling and community outreach programs that bring science learning opportunities to schools and community organizations in nearly every county in Oregon. OMSI is located at 1945 SE Water Avenue, Portland, OR 97214. For general information, call 503.797.4000 or visit omsi.edu.

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