Like a giant wonder of the world welcoming travelers into Seattle, Anubis, the god of Egyptian afterlife, now stands outside the King Street Station.
The 28-foot tall, half-ton statue was erected Tuesday, a week before the King Tut exhibit opens at the Pacific Science Center.
Temporarily transformed into "King Tut Street Station," Anubis will remain through at least part of the duration of the exhibit, which runs from Thursday, May 24 to January 6, 2013.
"We see King Tut as really being a community celebration," said marketing director Crystal Clarity. "While he's in Seattle, he's going to be the ambassador of the exhibition."
The King Tut display includes more than 130 treasures unearthed from the Boy King's tomb back when it was discovered almost a century ago. The artifacts are some of the most well-traveled in modern history, viewed by millions of people in museums all over the world.
For Seattleites, this is the second time the exhibit has visited. Locals can attest to long lines that snaked through the rain back in 1978, when King Tut was last here and more than one million people saw him.
But this time around, there are some big changes. The exhibit is twice the size as it was in 1978, with some artifacts never before seen in the United States. But the biggest added plus is the Internet. Tickets are sold with slotted reservation times.
"You're not going to see the kind of lines you saw back in 1978 because of the miracle of modern technology," said Clarity.
About 82,000 tickets have already been sold, breaking Pacific Science Center records. Field trips are sold out through the spring, but spaces remain open in the fall.
"Avoid the long lines, book in advance," advised Clarity. "It's the last time this display is ever going to be on display out of Egypt."
"Tutankhamun: The Golden King and the Great Pharaohs" opens Thursday May 24 and closes January 6, 2013. You can purchase tickets online: http://www.pacificsciencecenter.org/King-Tut/king-tut-the-exhibition
More info can be found at this National Geographic link: http://www.kingtut.org/