Molly Osborne - Egyptologist, Classicist, Museologist

This is a blog post about my trip to London in September. Play in Our Changing World Conference The Play in Our Changing World Conference was held at Royal Museums Greenwich’s National Maritime Museum. I attended both the day and twilight sessions. Unfortunately, due to the delays on the coach, I missed the first 2 keynote talks, and arrived halfway through the third. To summarise, everyone has a right to play, especially children. Children should have the opportunity to curate their own play and be creative with what is around them, whether that be an empty space, or boundary lines on a museum floor saying, “Please don’t touch!”. It is essential for people of all ages to play. If parents play with their children, not only does it create a bonding experience, but adults can relax and have fun. The breakout sessions included learning about projects done by other institutions, to not only encourage play, but to learn from other cultures, including that of indigenous peoples, and Nomadi...

Hello! This is more of an unusual post, as this is just a quick announcement, about a small advancement of my work. So here it is... I am officially on Etsy! What you will see when you head over to my Etsy! One of Tutankhamun's Senet boards I have a couple of projects in the works that will hopefully, soon, be put on the page. So, this is the first! Available is a printout Senet board. Senet was a game played by everyone in ancient Egypt, whether you were a craftsman or a pharaoh, anyone could play. Even the pharaoh, Tutankhamun, had four boards in his tomb. So what will come when you order one? A printout of the board itself, the rules, coloured counters and  one dice. The printout was designed by me, and the rules have been created by researching the games, and working out the best and easiest way. The exact rules of Senet are unknown, as only fragments of papyri have been found. One of the most awesome scenes depicted of someone playing Senet, is of the Princess Nefertari. Thoug...

This is a blog post about my tours I did on September 15th 2023.  Molly reaching the end of the tour First things first, I would like to say a huge thank you to all of those who were involved with the tours: Jemma, Andrea, Caroline, Mo and Karen). Another thanks to everyone who came! I had loads of fun rewriting my tour (and doing it!) We started at the Atkinson and finished at the Bold Hotel. We also had a fun time playing "Spot the Column", where we briefly discussed Classical architecture that wasn't a part of the tour. My top 3 buildings: 1. The Atkinson I think it has to be said, that the Atkinson is an incredible looking building, especially when it comes to classical features in the architecture. I would like to point out two things that I am a fan of. The first is the reference to Roman history, with a figure of Julius Caesar on the clocktower. The four figures of the clocktower refer to the four eras of history within Britain with King Caracatus (who was a leader...

This is a blog post about the making of my puppets, and the Egyptology activity I did at the Atkinson in August 2023. Howard Carter Puppet Part of my services as an Egyptologist, is doing activities for children. One of the activities I did over the summer holidays was teaching children about how the pharaoh, Tutankhamun, was discovered by archaeologist, Howard Carter.  Colourised image of Carter and Tutankhamun The discovery  Howard Carter was born in 1874. He fell in love with Egyptology when he was a young man, and he went off to Egypt on many archaeological digs. It wasn’t until 1909 when he started his own excavations, which is when he met Lord Carnarvon, who financed the trips. Unfortunately, the First World War stopped the dig for a number of years. When he returned, he had found proof that royals were buried in the area, including Tutankhamun. It was in 1917, when he started looking for his tomb, and no one else believed that it was hidden in th...

This is a blog highlighting some of my favourite pieces in the Atkinson. The Atkinson (Southport) holds a museum, gallery, theatre, library, café and shop. For a small town, and a small museum, the Atkinson has one of the best Egyptological galleries I have seen. It is full of everyday pieces from everyday people. There is so much to see in this gallery, but I am going to be highlighting five of my favourite pieces. The front of the Egyptology gallery on the second floor Little is known of Mrs Goodison, who was born Anne Padley in West Derby, Merseyside, in 1845. She married George Goodison, who is known for laying a sewerage system in the Everton area. You may recognise the name Goodison Park? It is named after him! Mrs Goodison was a self-taught Egyptologist who purchased most of the objects with the advice of clergyman Revd Greville J Chester, who assisted in purchasing Egyptian antiquities for the  British Museum  in London. She displayed them in her home until her death...

This is a blog post about my trip to Bolton Museum (04/08/23) Bolton Museum and Art Gallery has probably one of the most impressive Egyptological collections I have ever seen. They have a decent amount of objects on display, and have one of the coolest rooms ever! (Don't worry, we'll get to that shortly.) Bolton Museum and Art Gallery, with an awesome Egyptology display I was delighted when I walked into the gallery, to be greeted by a small amount of ancient objects. And I mean this in the best way. Around this small space is modern history. A mixture of pop culture and Victorian collecting history. It was refreshing to read about Egyptomania in the 1970s, and so interesting to read about what the Egyptians experienced when the British came to Egypt from their prospective.  As I turned the corner, I saw a display that was just incredible. Information and interactives all on the walls, and glass case tunnels down the corridor. The way the objects have been separated by theme an...