PRESS ROOM

January 16, 2009

CSUSB ART MUSEUM HOSTS ARCHAEOLOGY NIGHT

SAN BERNARDINO, Calif. - Inspired by William Mathew Flinders Petrie, best known as the father of modern archaeology, the Robert V. Fullerton Art Museum at Cal State San Bernardino will host an archaeology night Jan. 23 to accompany its current exhibition, "Excavating Egypt: Great Discoveries from the Petrie Museum of Archaeology."

Scheduled for 6:30-9 p.m., admission for "Archaeology Night at the Museum" is free to the public.

Guests will have the opportunity to participate in a mock archaeological dig, dramatic night tours of the current exhibition, lectures for all ages and a museum scavenger hunt.

"Excavating Egypt " is the first major exhibit to arrive at the RVF Art Museum since its accreditation in March 2008. Of the more than 17,500 museums in the United States , the American Association of Museums has accredited only 4 percent.

More than 220 objects are on display from the Petrie Museum of Egyptian Archaeology at the University College London. The only opportunity to view this exhibit on the west coast is at the Robert V. Fullerton Art Museum at Cal State San Bernardino.

Among the treasures included in the exhibit are the world's earliest surviving dress (cir. 2800 B.C.), a book of the dead, a coffin with a mummy, and royal art from King Akhenaten's palace city of Amarna.

Through Feb. 15, -when the "Excavating Egypt" exhibit ends - the RVF Art Museum will charge a $5 admission fee for all shows. Senior citizens and students are $3 and all CSUSB students, faculty and staff and children under the age of 6 are free. Parking is $5 per vehicle.

Museum hours: Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Thursday from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m., closed Sunday and Monday.

For more information on the exhibit or the RVF Art Museum , call (909) 537-7373.

For more information on Cal State San Bernardino, contact the university's Office of Public Affairs at (909) 537-5007.