Langzeitpraktikum an deutschem Museum für ägyptische Studentin

Chery Alaaeldine Naguib Saleh nimmt drei Monate an einem Praktikum in der Ägyptenabteilung der Reiss-Engelhorn-Museen Mannheim unter der Leitung von Frau Dr. Gabriele Pieke teil, finanziert durch den DAAD.  Nach den ersten Kennenlerntagen in Würzburg reiste sie am 11. März 2019 nach Mannheim.

Ihre ersten Erfahrungen fasst sie in einem Bericht für uns zusammen:

"I am very excited to start my internship at Rem (Reiss-Engelborn –Museen) in Mannheim which has multiple types of collection and a lot of temporary exhibitions. 

At the beginning, Mrs Pieke made a tour at the Egyptian collection to explain what a thematic display is. It is a subject that I have studied theoretically but, seeing it applied in an exhibition is totally different: I was pretty amazed to see how a coherent context can be created for a group of different objects not necessarily coming from the same excavation area and not belonging to the same period. Every single detail is very well put into consideration to serve the context: the projected pictures on the walls were very carefully chosen to serve the theme, complete the missing parts and give the visitor a better understanding of the collection. The picture of the green cultivated area on both sides of the Nile and the desert behind helps the visitor to understand the geographic nature of Egypt, to guess what kind of activities have been practiced there. It is, in my personal point of view, a key picture to represent the Egyptian civilization; an image that generated a lot of thoughts in the consciousness of ancient Egyptians for millennia and let them think about the idea of life and death.

The transition of the walls’ color is also meaningful and related to the theme: from the blue color related to the daily life followed by the yellow color representing the sand where the ancient Egyptians were buried, the visitor is kind of ‘’alerted’’ that there is a change of ideas as well; the grave is that kind of transition or the bridge between life and death. 

In addition to that, I also attended the ‘’kids club’’ with two different group age of children. The activities were related to the temporary exhibition’’ Marigana’’ bronze age, an exhibition about Turkmenistan. During an educational guided tour adapted to their age, children were well engaged, asking questions and guessing answers. After the tour, children were very open to discover the bread, food, spices, green tea with butter of Turkmenistan. It was a multiple sensory experience inviting the children to see, smell, taste, touch and discover. It is a kind of cross-cultural experience inviting them to dare to try what is different to their own culture, it is also, in my opinion, a step towards others. I touched how much the staff was keen to find the best ingredients for this experience and to try them before introducing them to the children who attended a kind of tea ceremony with a story telling from the Turkmenistan folklore.
Thank you for making me a part of that!"