Author: Tammy Lane • First Posted: Tuesday, September 20, 2011

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Tut is king for a day when seventh-graders combine history and science to investigate a 3,300-year-old mystery.

One day each year, The History Channel overlaps with a crime drama in seventh-grade social studies at Morton Middle School.

That’s the day Ashley Randolph drapes her classroom in black, turns out the lights and focuses on the death of Tutankhamun, one of Egypt’s most famous pharaohs.

“It’s almost like a ‘CSI’ with King Tut. They have to figure out if he died naturally or if someone killed him,” said Randolph, who carries on with the play written by a since-retired teacher.

Students act out various roles – archeologists, murder suspects, detective, medical examiner – while their classmates unwrap a 3,300-year-old mystery.

“Ms. Randolph set it up well so everyone knew the facts,” said Henry Walther, portraying an Englishman who discovered Tut’s tomb in 1922.

In their observer’s field guide, the kids quickly sketched the scene inside Morton’s “tomb,” where they saw jewels, artifacts, a bust of Tut, a death mask and his mummified body.

As the detective questioned the suspects, the students took note of how each framed his or her defense as well as their possible motives. Some thought Tut’s wife was the culprit; others named his military commander or the royal treasurer. Most concluded the boy king’s successor was guilty.

“It takes them back and let’s them think, ‘Oh, this is how he might have gotten away with murder,’” Randolph said.

However, the medical findings did not point to blunt-force trauma after all. DNA tests showed Tut suffered from a rare bone condition and a malaria infection, and his skull likely was damaged during the mummification process.

“I’ve always been interested in Egyptian times, and science is my favorite subject,” said Henry, who thought the skit with costumed characters added depth for fellow students. “They can make connections from the play to the actual history,” he explained.

Twelve-year-old Katherine Fish, who portrayed the medical examiner, agreed the interactive class piqued the kids’ interest.

“It’s almost like going to see a play or movie because you might have heard about it, but you don’t know what will happen,” she said. “It helps you pay more attention and remember it more. If you’re almost experiencing it or recreating it, it’s more real.”

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