Grand Egyptian Museum Opens, Revealing King Tut's Full Tomb

After over two decades of construction, the Grand Egyptian Museum (GEM) has finally opened, giving visitors access to thousands of artifacts and the entirety of King Tut's legendary tomb.

Reports state that the building cost around $1 to $1.2 billion, and has been under construction since 2002– delays like the Gaza war, coronavirus pandemic, and a lack of funding had hindered progress. The museum's structure was completed in early 2024 and encompasses over 5.4 million square feet, making it the largest archaeological museum on Earth. Following its completion, the GEM partially opened, allowing visitors to come see many artifacts, but a large portion of the museum had not been finished yet– including the exhibit of the legendary King Tutankhamun.

The GEM then closed to the public in June 2025, allowing them to prepare for its grand opening, which took place several days ago. In total, the museum contains over 100,000 artifacts from one of the oldest civilizations on Earth– a culture that has been around since 3100 BC when Menes united Upper and Lower Egypt, beginning the Early Dynastic period.

However, their collection contains even more than that. In fact, the GEM even contains artifacts from Egypt's pre-dynastic times, which stretched back to 6000 BC when the first Nile communities emerged.

One of the most revered exhibits within the new museum is the section dedicated to King Tutankhamun and his renowned tomb. In 1922, Tutankhamun rose to fame after his tomb was discovered almost completely intact, making it the only royal Egyptian tomb to have ever been discovered untouched. Other burial sites had been looted by tomb robbers or impacted by the shifting of geographical features, but King Tut's provided archaeologists with a look into the mummification process, the Egyptian life and afterlife, and more.

Now, for the first time, visitors can see the artifacts found in King Tut's tomb for themselves, including his sarcophagus, mask, throne, jewelry, weapons, and chariots, all of which are made of solid gold. Museum curators are trying to display as many pieces as possible to get an authentic feel of the tomb, and around 1,800 of the original 5,500 pieces found in his tomb are being shown.

However, the museum contains various other wonders, including the Grand Staircase lined with ancient statues, King Khufu's 4,500-year-old funerary solar boats, a 3,200-year-old, 52-foot-long hanging obelisk, and a 36-foot-tall statue of King Ramesses II.

In total, the GEM is expected to draw around 5-7 million visitors each year, boosting Egypt's stalling tourism industry and providing visitors with a look inside true Egyptian life and ancient Egyptian culture.

Fact of the Day (The Fact Site): The Mona Lisa was stolen from the Louvre in 1911, which drew more visitors to see the empty space than actual painting had ever attracted. In fact, that's how the painting rose to fame in the first place– not many people knew about da Vinci's masterpiece until the extensive media coverage popularized it after the theft.

Quote of the Day (Gracious Quotes): Passion is energy. Feel the power that comes from focusing on what excites you. (Oprah Winfrey)

Word of the Day (Merriam-Webster): Arbitrary (adj, AHR-buh-trair-ee) - Arbitrary describes something that is not planned or chosen for a particular reason, is not based on reason or evidence, or is done without concern for what is fair or right.

In a Sentence: Because the committee wasn’t transparent about the selection process, the results of the process appeared to be wholly arbitrary.

Image credit to GEM