Egypt Experts Set for Special Events at THE DISCOVERY OF KING TUT This Month

Two of the world's best-known Egyptologists, Dr. Zahi Hawass and Dr. Nicholas Reeves, will visit THE DISCOVERY OF KING TUT, the exhibition which recreates the tomb of King Tut and the treasures found within, for special events open to the public on January 14 and 18.

Dr. Hawass and Dr. Reeves are both renowned for their ongoing research regarding Tutankhamen's tomb, and Dr. Reeves has recently been making headlines for his theory that the mummy of Queen Nefertiti lies behind a wall of that very tomb. THE DISCOVERY OF KING TUT, located at Premier Exhibitions 5th Avenue, 417 5th Ave. (at 37th Street) in New York, recreates the tomb and its contents as they were discovered in by Howard Carter in 1922.

Tickets to THE DISCOVERY OF KING TUT are available at www.TUTNYC.com.

On Thursday, January 14 at 11AM, Dr. Hawass will be present at the exhibition for a signing of his new book about King Tut, The Golden Boy: History for Kids. The new book is currently available for purchase exclusively at THE DISCOVERY OF KING TUT; it will be available for purchase via Amazon and other online retailers beginning February 15. With the purchase of the book visitors will receive a free family package (four complimentary passes), to visit the exhibition until May 1st. That evening, at 7:00PM, Dr. Hawass will deliver a lecture at The New York Society for Ethical Culture (2 West 64th Street, NYC). Tickets for the lecture are available to the public and may be purchased at www.nysec.org/tut-talk-dr-zahi-hawass.

The following Monday, January 18 at 1:00 PM, Dr. Reeves will lead a gallery talk at the exhibition, focusing on the rich history of the tomb and his theory that the mummy of Queen Nefertiti may reside within its walls. The gallery talk is free with the purchase of a ticket to the exhibition. In commemoration of Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, tickets on January 18 will be priced at $15.

Seen by millions of visitors worldwide, THE DISCOVERY OF KING TUT takes visitors back more than 3,000 years to trace the story of the boy king who reigned for a decade and died suddenly at age 19. This thrillingly unique experience explores the legendary tomb and its treasures as they were at the exact moment of their discovery. Visitors can feel the rush of excitement as they step into a moment only ever witnessed by Howard Carter's excavation team, view more than 1000 precisely crafted replicas and reconstructions and discover the story behind one of the most iconic moments in history.

The tomb's magnificent burial goods have been reproduced exactly down to the finest detail by expert Egyptian craftsmen and renowned Egyptologists. These exquisitely crafted replicas and reconstructions, allow visitors to step into the wonder of the discovery as if the original excavation in the Valley of the Kings has been reopened. Crucially, the exhibition also brings together a collection that can only be seen separately elsewhere, even in Egypt: because the king's treasures are kept in the Cairo Museum. In addition, Tutankhamun's beautifully painted tomb in the Valley of the Kings has been stripped of everything but his mummy, the outer coffin and the stone sarcophagus. By contrast, the exhibition experience culminates in exact reconstructions of three chambers from Tutankhamun's tomb, revealing themselves just as the discoverers saw them. A radioplay-like audio tour based on Howard Carter's diaries, video documentaries, extensive texts and object descriptions and unhindered access to the objects together provide an exciting, as well as informative, experience for all the senses. THE DISCOVERY OF KING TUT is scheduled to run through May 1, 2016. Tickets are on sale now at www.TUTNYC.com.

Dr. Nicholas Reeves is Director of the Amarna Royal Tombs Project, and Senior Egyptologist with the University of Arizona Egyptian Expedition. A renowned expert on the Valley of the Kings and the Amarna Period, Dr. Reeves has lectured widely to both academic and popular audiences and has published extensively on a range of subjects; his books include, The Complete Tutankhamun (Thames and Hudson, 1990), andAkhenaten, Egypt's False Prophet (Thames and Hudson, 2001). Dr. Reeves' research into hidden chambers within the tomb of Tutankhamun recently received worldwide media attention, as did his investigation into the original owner of Tutankhamun's golden death mask.

A specialist in ancient Egyptian history and material culture, in 1984 Dr. Reeves received his PhD from Durham University for the thesis, Studies in the Archaeology of the Valley of the Kings, with Particular Reference to Tomb Robbery and the Caching of the Royal Mummies. He was elected a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries of London in 1994, and an Honorary Fellow of the Oriental Museum, Durham University, in 1996.

As an archaeologist, Dr. Nicholas Reeves is best known for his excavations in Egypt's Valley of the Kings, where in the winter of 2000, a ground-penetrating radar survey carried out by his Amarna Royal Tombs Project (which he founded in 1998) first encountered the undisturbed funerary chamber KV 63 (subsequently cleared by the University of Memphis and Otto Schaden). In 1993, Dr. Reeves also co-directed the Tutankhamun Burial Equipment X-Ray Project.

Since 1984, Dr. Reeves has been active in various museum and heritage roles. In particular, from 1988-1998, he was Curator to the Seventh Earl of Carnarvon at Highclere Castle, where he organized three in-house exhibitions and curated the collection of George Herbert, the Fifth Earl of Carnarvon, who financed the search for the tomb of Tutankhamun. More recently, from 2010-2014, Dr. Reeves worked at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, first as the Sylvan C Coleman and Pamela Coleman Memorial Fellow in the Department of Egyptian Art (2010-2011) and then as the Lila Acheson Wallace Associate Curator (2011-2014). Over the years, he has also arranged a number of highly acclaimed conferences and exhibitions in London, New York, Tokyo and elsewhere.

Dr. Zahi Hawass is the former Minister of Antiquities and Director of Excavations at Giza, Saqqara, Bahariya Oasis, and the Valley of the Kings. Dr. Hawass received his PhD in 1987 from the University of Pennsylvania, where he studied as a Fulbright Fellow. He has written numerous scholarly articles and books, including Silent Images - Women in Pharaonic Egypt; Hidden Treasures of Ancient Egypt; Secrets from the Sand; Tutankhamun and the Golden Age of the Pharaohs; Tutankhamun - The Treasures of the Tomb; Royal Tombs of Egypt - The Art of Thebes Revealed. Dr. Hawass has made a number of major discoveries over the course of his career, including the Tombs of the Pyramid Builders at Giza and the Valley of the Golden Mummies at Bahariya Oasis.

Premier Exhibitions, Inc. located in Atlanta, Georgia, is a foremost presenter of museum quality exhibitions throughout the world. Premier is a recognized leader in developing and displaying unique exhibitions for education and entertainment, including Titanic: The Artifact Exhibition, BODIES...The Exhibition, Tutankhamun: The Golden King and the Great Pharaohs, Pompeii The Exhibition, Dinosaurs Unearthed, Dinosaurs Alive!, Extreme Dinosaurs and Real Pirates in partnership with National Geographic, as well as Saturday Night Live: The Exhibition. The success of Premier Exhibitions, Inc. lies in its ability to produce, manage, and market exhibitions. Additional information about Premier Exhibitions, Inc. is available at the Company's website www.PremierExhibitions.com.

Premier Exhibitions presents THE DISCOVERY OF KING TUT in partnership with SC Exhibitions, a division of Semmel Concerts Entertainment, a leading European live entertainment producer. THE DISCOVERY OF KING TUT is a project by SC Exhibitions, conceived and curated by a team of leading European museum specialists. The scientific circle consulting the exhibition and its international programming consists of Wolfgang Wettengel, Wilfried Seipel, Jaromir Malek and Zahi Hawass. The exhibition supports several projects in Egypt, and contributed to the renovation of the Tutankhamun galleries in the Egyptian Museum in Cairo. THE DISCOVERY OF KING TUT is the official replica exhibition endorsed by the Egyptian Ministry of Antiquities.

PREMIER EXHIBITIONS 5th AVENUE is a state-of-the-art exhibition and special events center located at 417 5th Avenue between 37th & 38th Streets. With a goal of bringing the love of learning to life, Premier Exhibitions 5th Avenue offers exciting, informative and behind-the-scenes experiences through a diverse range of museum quality exhibitions. In Spring 2015, the center created and debuted SNL: The Exhibition. This unprecedented opportunity allows visitors to lift the curtain on "Saturday Night Live" for a first-hand journey through the characters, stories, cast and writers that have entertained and amused generations for the last four decades. For more information, visit www.snltheexhibition.com.