Story of the World: Chapter 4

All Hail the Chicken Mummy!

It's here, it's finally here: the infamous chicken mummy chapter!  Crazy Bug and I have eagerly awaited chapter 4 of The Story of the World, because we've heard so much about the chicken mummy project.  And because we like doing really weird stuff.

Chapter 4 is about the Old Kingdom of Egypt and focuses on mummies and pyramids.  There are a couple projects suggested in the Activity Guide, but the one everyone talks about is mummifying a chicken.  I was wary at first, because I hate handling raw meat and I gag very easily.  The idea of leaving a chicken on my counter for a month didn't sound too tempting.  But many people reassured me, and I'm happy to say they were right.  Our chicken (actually a cornish game hen) is drying nicely in a mixture of baking soda, washing soda, and salt.  No stench!  If you don't have the Story of the World Activity Guide, you can find similar chicken mummy directions here.

I'd recommend this project for anyone studying Ancient Egypt.  Crazy Bug is in that gross six year-old phase and just adores our King Cluckmantutan.  She's really understands what the mummification process is all about now, and I'm sure she'll remember the information for a l-o-n-g time.

Here's what else we did:


Story of the World Lapbook, Chapter 4 component


Books
You Wouldn't Want to Be an Egyptian Mummy! - this book is not for the squeamish!
You Wouldn't Want to Be a Pyramid Builder
Mummies! (Know-It-Alls)

     

Project
Scented Oil
This is a project from the Activity Guide.  We'll use it later on our chicken mummy.  Crazy Bug chose the unusual and highly stinky combination of cinnamon, garlic, onion, curry, and dill seed.