Science in Ancient Egypt

And the wonders don’t stop there; within the pyramids are passage systems leading to chambers and grottoes that house the mummified remains of royalty, as well as priceless treasures and art.

But, you don’t have to set off on an expedition to look into the pyramids.

Take a guided trip through the twisting passageways of the Great Pyramid of Giza right from the comfort of your own home in this 360-degree video by the BBC. Click and drag the video around to check out every nook and cranny of the pyramid!

Before a body could be laid to rest in these magnificent pyramids, they needed to be mummified. To do so, embalmers in Ancient Egypt used basic scientific principles of osmosis to preserve the bodies.

After removing the internal organs and setting them aside in jars, the body was packed with natron, a salt found in dried riverbeds (Source: How STEM Built the Egyptian Empire by Xina M. Uhl). It disinfected and dried out the corpse, keeping it from decaying.

You can watch this process by conducting a similar experiment with an apple. Follow this step-by-step tutorial by Da Vinci TV to make your very own Apple Mummy.

Ancient Egyptians also engineered irrigation canals to help grow a variety of plants like barley, onions, garlic, lettuce, and sesame (Source: How STEM Built the Egyptian Empire by Xina M. Uhl)

However, the most prized plant was the papyrus plant, whose fibres were used to create a type of paper. The stalk was peeled into long strips, and then pressed and dried into sheets.

While you may not have easy access to the papyrus plant today, you can create something similar with any clean brown paper bag you might have at home, then use it in a variety of crafts.