Discover the Rosicrucian Egyptian Museum in San Jose
Did you know that San Jose, California is home to one of the largest collections of Egyptian artifacts in North America? It’s true. In the middle of Silicon Valley, we discovered the Rosicrucian Egyptian Museum. The San Jose museum was one of the highlights of our trip to the city.
One of the most unexpected things to do in San Jose is step into ancient Egypt.. Join us as we discover the Rosicrucian Egyptian Museum in San Jose.
About the Rosicrucian Egyptian Museum
The Rosicrucian Egyptian Museum has more than 4000 artifacts, making it one of the largest displays of Egyptian artifacts in North America.
The museum opened in the 1960s. It is divided into four rooms, highlighting different aspects of the Egyptian culture.
The museum grounds include an outdoor garden with many additional artifacts, a planetarium, and a rose garden.
Since it is only open of Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, you do need to plan a visit carefully. We visited on Friday, which meant we arrived at the same time as a few classes of sixth-grade students. The children running throughout the exhibits with pre-teen excitement did detract from our visit a little. From our perspective, a Saturday or Sunday visit when school in not in session would be preferable.
Rosicrucian Egyptian Museum tickets are $15 for adults, $12 for students and seniors 65 and older, $10 for children ages 7-17, and free for children six and younger.
We purchased tickets online before visiting and found a seamless entry to the museum.
Discover Egyptian Mummies and Animal Mummies
After we entered the museum, we headed to the first gallery to see an unusual display of mummified things.
Yes, there were the expected human mummies, including one of a upper class man which was fascinating to me.
However, we also found several mummified animals, both real and fake.
The baboon mummy was the most surprising. It turns out, however, that the baboon was not a real animal. X-ray imaging show that the baboon was formed around a ceramic jar.
The Apis bull mummy is real and imaging showed that the bull was without teeth, revealing that it was old. The bull, was believed to be the living representative of the god Ptah. Therefore, a bull, once discovered would be well cared for, like this one apparently was.
Near the bull, we also discovered mummies of crocodiles, cats, and a gazelle.
Pro Tip: Download the free Rosicrucian Egyptian Museum’s app from your app store for a guided audio tour of the museum.
Explore a Recreated Egyptian Tomb
In this first Gallery, we also saw what appeared to be an entrance to a burial chamber.
I took a picture of it and then we moved on.
Thankfully, those sixth grade students visited the museum while we were there.
We were surprised to see them step into the entrance and disappear. We could hear them loudly making their way through the burial chamber.
So, we chose the most obvious option. After waiting for their voices to be out of range, we entered the burial chamber. It led us through a recreated tomb. You can watch our journey thought the tomb in the video below.
Explore Ancient Egyptian Science and Alchemy
One of Egypt’s great contributions to the world is in medicine and science. Not only did the ancient Egyptians fantastically preserve things through mummification, but they also made tremendous headways in medicine.
That involved advancements in medicinal herbs. But, it also included medicinal concoctions created by the alchemists of the age.
One of the Rosicrucian Egyptian Museum’s galleries illustrates the medicinal advancements of the culture.
While explore the room, we were introduced to the Emerald Tablet, a bas relief gemstone tablet written in the Phoenician alphabet. It was written by an Egyptian scientist who was associated with Thoth, the Egyptian god of science.
I even had the opportunity to ask Thoth about mummification. You can listen to his response in the video below.
We also learned of some of the herbs used for medicinal purposes and saw many examples of ancient scientific instruments used to mix and procure the elixirs.
A recreated apothecary workshop showed us a glimpse of the advances the Egyptian made in the world of medicine and science.
Explore Ancient Egyptian Art and Culture
One of the things we most appreciated seeing during our visit were the numerous examples of Egyptian art and culture.
From the preserved bas relief etchings to pottery both sophisticated and mundane.
One of the museum’s four galleries highlights the amazing art and craftsmanship of the ancient Egyptian people.
Ancient Egyptian Religion and Beliefs
Of course, today we know a lot of the religious beliefs of the ancient Egyptians. For example, mummification arose from the belief in the afterlife. It was a way for the royal family member’s to enter the next life with everything they would need for that transitional journey.
We also know the Egyptian’s had a polytheistic religion. And there was a great devotion to many animals, since they represented some of the gods in earthly form.
Throughout the galleries, we learned how the role of religion affected every aspect of life. It really made the wheels of society turn. Everything from politics, to culture, to labor and the economy revolved around religion.
I found it interesting to see how offerings made to the gods filtered back into the economy of the society.
Everyday Egyptian Life
While we may be fascinated by the pharaohs, priests, and other Egyptian upper class members, there is no denying that the everyday Egyptian resident helped to keep the kingdom and culture afloat.
As such, we appreciated getting to see some of these everyday experiences at the museum.
We saw fishing nets, farming equipment, and tools used by everyday laborers.
It was refreshing to see the culture on full display at the museum.
Stroll through the Garden
After spending time inside the museum, we took a little time to stroll throughout the garden and grounds surrounding the museum.
It was a delightful, and free journey to see some of the sculptures and artwork outside. If you are unable to go inside the museum, we would recommend at the very least, meandering through the Egyptian garden and nearby rose garden.
Is the Rosicrucian Egyptian Museum Worth Visiting?
In short, yes. I left feeling that it was one of the best museums in San Jose for families to visit.
It was ideal for the history and culture enthusiasts in our family. We really appreciated all of the opportunities we had for interactive experiences. I felt there was enough information in the exhibits to entertain young children, my teenagers, and grandparents or other multigenerational family visitors.
Rosicrucian Egyptian Museum tickets were inexpensive and we got a lot of value for the money.
So, the museum is worth a visit and one of the best things to do in San Jose.
You Might Also Enjoy:
See our visit to observe more Egyptian mummies at the Denver Museum of Nature and Science.
Discover another ancient culture as we tour the Mayan Ruins of San Gervasio on Cozumel.
See the fascinating artwork of the Ancestral Pueblo people Petroglyph National Monument in New Mexico.
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