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If you mummified anything besides a chicken...


Amy M
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what and how? Could you please give some directions?

 

I have the SOTW 1 AG and thought it would be fun to mummify something with my son, but I didn't want to buy a whole chicken and all the salt and spend 6 weeks on it. I thought I read about somebody here mummifying an orange, and somebody else an apple--do you follow the same process as the chicken? That might be much more doable for us (even if it does take 6 weeks--it would be cheaper and take up less salt and space).

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We've mummified two Cornish hens. Much smaller.

 

Other tips:

 

1, Use a tupperware container. Not a baggie!

 

2. Egyptians did not use table salt to mummify their dead. That's how people preserved hams. Use this Natron recipe, which at least has a large percentage of the salt used by the Egyptians (aka Natron/washing soda). Buy washing soda in the laundry aisle - Arm & Hammer, same as baking soda, but different chemically. This recipe will dry out much faster and with less changing. We only had to change it once. Between the smaller hen and only changing it once, it was easy peasy. Also, tupperware and quicker drying = way less smell. Everyone I know IRL that tried the salt method gave up and tossed the thing after huge $$$ in salt and huge stinkiness.

 

 

Anyhow:

 

2 Parts Washing Soda

2 Parts Baking Soda

1 Part Salt

 

If you make a "Part" 1 cup, it will work for a Cornish hen. Got this recipe from a Science museum at an Egypt exhibit where they were demonstrating mummification.

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Thank you for the link! I will try an apple then. I bought a Cornish hen here (South Africa) once, and it was more expensive than a chicken and just as big, plus I don't have access to that neat Arm and Hammer stuff. Again, thanks for your time. :)

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We mummified an apple. It is actually still sitting in the cup covered with salt and baking soda :), it is time to check it thanks for the reminder. Here are the instructions that we followed.

 

We've done chickens and cornish hens but the apples were very nice.

We followed these directions the first time. We also took another slice of apple and put it in a cup next to the one were were turning into a mummy. It was nice to compare the two slices. You can add more science content by weighing each slice before and after the process.

 

There are directions somewhere on the net to make a mummy-apple-head doll. That way you can wrap it in cloth, make a sarcophagus and bury it. We've done that too, but I suggest starting with the slices.

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We ran into this around halloween and went to the dollar store and bought little (12 inch) plastic skeletons. (our friends used Barbies from the dollar store) We talked all about what they did to the bodies. Then we made the flour goop, added the spices, and used first aid guaze strips and wrapped them. Then, as they dried, we spraypainted craft boxes gold (1 dollar at Michaels) and wrote all over these golden sarcaphagus the names of the mummies (they googled famouse names such as queen nefertiti, king tut, and cleopatra and such) and decorated them with jewels and metallic paint. Turned out real cool and it only took one day!

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