From his platform at the heart of the brand-new Sphinx Gallery, the Penn Museum’s 25,000-pound Sphinx of the Pharaoh Ramses II will welcome guests as they meander through the light-filled Main Entrance area, which features abundant seating, two new elevators, and new accessible restroom facilities. Serving as the Penn Museum’s “unofficial mascot” since its arrival in 1913, the Sphinx will make his much-anticipated return to the limelight—as the stunning centerpiece in the new Sphinx Gallery, right next to the new Main Entrance. The Opening Weekend special programs are included with Museum admission. Visitors can buy tickets in advance online at https://www.penn.museum/calendar/eventdetail/2240/opening-weekend-celebration to expedite their entry and save. Free for Museum members, PennCard holders, US active duty/reservist military personnel and veterans. Below: renderings of the new spaces.

On November 16-17, The ‘New’ Penn Museum will debut more than 10,000 square feet of completely reimagined spaces, including its new Sphinx Gallery, a suite of Africa Galleries, Mexico and Central America Gallery, the historic Harrison Auditorium, and its stunning new Main Entrance Hall. Part of the museum’s ongoing multi-million-dollar Building Transformation project (Almanac November 14, 2017), this reopening marks a pivotal moment for the Museum, which has become an internationally recognized cultural destination while staying true to its purpose as a teaching and research institution.

The 4,000-square-foot Africa Galleries showcase nearly 300 artifacts, addressing modern-day issues that surround the display of African art and material culture in the West. By tracing the paths of key objects from their African makers to the Museum, it is launching a critical conversation that will engage communities far and wide. From a dramatic Sowei mask worn exclusively by women in Sierra Leone and western Liberia to a soldier’s uniform from Sudan, remarkable objects mix with newly commissioned contemporary art works, presenting unforgettable stories of Africa and its contributions to the world.

The 2,000-square-foot Mexico and Central America Gallery highlights more than 250 objects that illustrate the artistic traditions of distinct cultures, as well as the Penn Museum’s innovative research throughout the region. Unique to this collection are its breathtaking sculptures, including an ancient statue of a Water Goddess—one of two known to exist in the world—along with four majestic Maya stone monuments, one of which helped researchers crack the code in deciphering Maya writing, and a giant stone conch shell that once stood in the capital of the Aztec Empire. 

The Museum is also expanding its Global Guides program, which hires and trains refugees and immigrants to conduct tours of the Museum’s galleries—bringing artifacts to life through their modern-day stories. Five new Global Guides from Mexico, Central America and Africa will join guides from Iraq and Syria who lead tours of the Middle East Galleries. Included with admission, Global Guides Tours have become one of the Museum’s unique experiences and are available Friday through Sunday.

In addition to its reimagined spaces, the Museum will unveil a fresh visual identity, which consists of a new logo, designed to connote openness. This new look further emphasizes its evolution from a university museum to a museum for everyone, welcoming guests with the message that the world is closer than you think at the new Penn Museum.

Special Programs Opening Weekend: November 16-17

Saturday Higlights include: 

• A special ceremony just before 10 a.m. outside the Main Entrance featuring energetic Aztec and West African dance performances by Ollin Yoliztli Calmecac and the Universal African Dance and Drum Ensemble. 
• Yoruban and Maya spiritual leaders will bless the new Africa Galleries and Mexico and Central America Gallery to mark their ceremonial openings
• Williams Director Julian Siggers will then welcome guests inside to meet the Sphinx and explore!
• Performances and demonstrations by Maya Awal, a multi-generational Guatemalan group that brings Maya traditions to life, including a sawdust carpet, back-weaving demonstrations and the marimba-filled Deer Dance.
• A talk in the Africa Galleries, organized by lead curator Tukufu Zuberi, with the curatorial advisory team to discuss the planning of the Galleries.
• Interactive storytelling with Keepers of the Culture. 
• “Meet the Experts.”
• Drumming performances, dynamic storytelling and artist talks.
• Activities that teach visitors how to write Maya glyphs and Egyptian hieroglyphs
• Daily Digs (15-minute conversations that allow visitors to “dig a little deeper” into one object).

Sunday Highlights include: 

• Performances by Troupe Da Da African Dance, a vibrant multi-generational group from the Philadelphia region.
• Aztec traditional dance and rituals by Philadelphia-based Ollin Yoliztli Calmecac. 
• Interactive storytelling with Keepers of the Culture. 
• Hands-on activities for the whole family, including craft activities and learning to write in ancient glyphs. 
• A talk by lead curator Simon Martin about key themes in the Mexico and Central America Gallery. 
• “Meet the Experts” in the galleries.
• The premier of a documentary on the making of the Africa Galleries by Dr. Zuberi, including interviews in Africa with museum directors and curators. 
• An Insta-Hunt Scavenger Hunt with prizes!