The Arizona Science Center takes viewers back in time to 79 A.D. as Pompeii: The Exhibition opens Saturday to showcase over 150 authentic artifacts that capture life before and after the volcanic disaster in Pompeii, Italy.
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Initially, the exhibition visited the Arizona Science Center nearly eight years ago. But now, it’s come back with some different artifacts and new digital experiences for guests to learn further about the city’s history. The exhibition is open from Nov. 15 to April 12.
“It’s the story of how a volcanic eruption, not only destroyed a city, but really preserved it,” Sari Custer, the Chief of Science & Curiosity of the Arizona Science Center, says. “So from a science perspective, it’s this time capsule of an opportunity to look back into a life 2000 years ago.”
Pompeii was originally a Roman city in Italy situated at the base of Mount Vesuvius, a volcano. However in August 79 A.D., the volcano erupted and buried the city under ash, killing nearly 2,000 residents. Preserved under ash, the remains were later unearthed in the 1700s.
Visitors are first introduced to Pompeii: The Exhibition through a video, which gives a quick overview of the beginning and end of the city before doors open into a room filled with different facts, items and statues.
“The exhibition has a variety of paintings, even, that have lasted in ways that had they not been preserved through being covered, they likely would have deteriorated over that time,” Custer explains.
Throughout the beginning of the walk through, everyday instruments are displayed, such as kitchen tools, lamps shaped in animals and vases used for holding different types of liquids.
Another area showcased gladiators and two larger-than-life statues. A newer digital experience was added among the many displayed helmets and weapons due to guests’ curiosity about gladiators in Pompeii.
A 4-D theater room is used as a transition between the life and the death of the city. With a video explaining the people’s lack of knowledge of volcanoes and the science behind the ash, special effects of fog, wind and loud noises are added for an interactive experience.
Other sections include full-body casts of the people who died from the eruption. Though the volcanic ash preserved real bodies, the Arizona Science Center displays plasters created out of the remains.
“These are casts of people’s last moments, such as their resting place, the position that they were in, in some cases and the facial expressions that they had in their very last moments,” Custer explains. “That is humbling and something that needs to be respected, and the situation itself can be learned from and how important it is to have scientists that are looking at measures today.”
Custer said the exhibition is an “emotional story” about culture and life from 2,000 years ago told through artifacts and through a scientific perspective.
“It’s a once in a lifetime chance,” Custer says. “I guess, here it’s a twice in a lifetime chance, since we’re bringing it back to the Arizona Science Center, but to have this glimpse back into life in Pompeii. We hope everybody gets a chance to see it.”
