Egyptian Pyramids for Kids
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Ancient Egyptian Pyramids: Printables, activities and crafts for kids
The Egyptian pyramids at Giza are one of the ancient wonders of the world. We are still awestruck by them.
Built during the Old Kingdom as tombs for Pharaohs, the ancient Egyptian pyramids are surrounded by myth and mystery.
Why are we so fascinated by them? Do we really know how they were built? What was inside the ancient Egyptian pyramids?
Learn more about the Egyptian Pyramids for kids.
Make pyramid crafts and replicas.
View videos and photos of the pyramids.
Grab some quick pyramid facts and learn about Egypt and the ancient Egyptians.
Image Credit
Built during the Old Kingdom as tombs for Pharaohs, the ancient Egyptian pyramids are surrounded by myth and mystery.
Why are we so fascinated by them? Do we really know how they were built? What was inside the ancient Egyptian pyramids?
Learn more about the Egyptian Pyramids for kids.
Make pyramid crafts and replicas.
View videos and photos of the pyramids.
Grab some quick pyramid facts and learn about Egypt and the ancient Egyptians.
Image Credit
Who built the Egyptian Pyramids?
Egyptian Pyramid Facts
Who built the Egyptian pyramids?
It was once commonly believed that the ancient Egyptian pyramids were built by slaves. Today, because of archealogical excavations, we now believe that the workers were both full time labourers employed by the Pharaoah, and farmers from local villages who worked during the wet season when they were unable to work on their farms.
There is even evidence of female workers.
The famous pyramids at Giza are believed to have taken over 80 years to be built using thousands and thousands of Egyptian workers.
But how did these giant blocks get to the work site?
The Nile river is most likely to have been used to transport huge limestone blocks to the site where the pyramid was to be built. From there, architects devised ways to to move them into place.
It was once commonly believed that the ancient Egyptian pyramids were built by slaves. Today, because of archealogical excavations, we now believe that the workers were both full time labourers employed by the Pharaoah, and farmers from local villages who worked during the wet season when they were unable to work on their farms.
There is even evidence of female workers.
The famous pyramids at Giza are believed to have taken over 80 years to be built using thousands and thousands of Egyptian workers.
But how did these giant blocks get to the work site?
The Nile river is most likely to have been used to transport huge limestone blocks to the site where the pyramid was to be built. From there, architects devised ways to to move them into place.
- National Geographic: Egypt Pyramids--Facts, Photos, Diagrams
- Explore the pyramids of ancient Egypt through diagrams, photos, and facts; plus get related links, kids content, news stories, and more.
All of the Egyptian Pyramids were built on the West bank of the Nile.
Where are the Egyptian Pyramids?
Aerial view of the Pyramids of Giza
There are over 100 pyramids in Egypt, but the most famous pyramids are the Pyramids of Giza.
These three pyramids are located in the northern part of Egypt in the city of Giza and the largest, the Great Pyramid, is also called the Pyramid of Khufu. The Pyramid of Khufu is the only one of the seven ancient wonders of the world to still remain standing.
Giza is located on the west bank of Nile River near the city of Cairo.
Image Credit
Where are the Egyptian Pyramids?
The Pyramids of Giza - Satellite View
The most famous of all of the Egyptian pyramids are the Pyramids of Giza.
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How were the Pyramids built?
Animation on how the pyramids were built
This animation gives an idea of how we now believe the Egyptian pyramids were built.
- ancientegypt.co.uk
- Read a story about the building of the Great Pyramid
Egyptian Pyramid History - Step Pyramids
What is a step pyramid?
When we think of Egyptian pyramids, the most common structures that come to mind are the Great Pyramids of Giza. These three pyramids are the most famous of all of Egypt's pyramids, but they are certainly not the only pyramids in Egypt.The first Egyptian pyramids didn't look at all like the pyramids at Giza. Instead, they had stepped sides, which is why we call them step pyramids.
The step pyramids were common for a while, and then the sides were filled in to make the smoother surface that we now associate with Egyptian pyramids.
The oldest known pyramid is a step pyramid at Saqqara. This is Djoser's step pyramid believed to be built during the third dynasty.
The Great pyramid is believed to have taken over 80 years to build. For a long time people believed that these structures were built with slave labour, however today it is more commonly believed that the builders of the pyramids were done by farmers during the wet season when they could not work on their farms.
Image Credit Construction on Djoser's Pyramid.
The First Pyramid - The Step Pyramids at Saqqara
Djoser's Step Pyramid
Pharoah's tombs were originally called Mastabas. A mastaba was a tomb built into the rock with a rectangular structure over the top of it.
The Pharoah Djoser did not have a mastaba built for him, but instead had a large pyramid built. Djoser's pyramid was a step pyramid and is found at Saqqara. This pyramid was made of limestone blocks and stands 204 feet high and was the largest known structure of the time which was manmade. Djoser's step pyramid is estimated to be over 4,600 years old.
The Pharoah Djoser did not have a mastaba built for him, but instead had a large pyramid built. Djoser's pyramid was a step pyramid and is found at Saqqara. This pyramid was made of limestone blocks and stands 204 feet high and was the largest known structure of the time which was manmade. Djoser's step pyramid is estimated to be over 4,600 years old.
- Djoser Complex
- Clickable plan of the Djoser tomb and surrounding area.
Djoser's Pyramid
Dahshur Pyramids
How and why did the Egyptians move from the Step pyramid to the straight edge pyramid? The pyramids at Dahshur are are one of the first straight edge pyramids.
View the video below to learn more about the Dahsur Pyramids and the evolution from step pyramid to straight edge pyramid.
View the video below to learn more about the Dahsur Pyramids and the evolution from step pyramid to straight edge pyramid.
- Video -- Destination: Egypt, Pyramids -- National Geographic
- Video of the evolution from the step pyramids to the more familiar smooth pyramids.
Photo of Egyptian Pyramids
Photo taken by J Duval - Creative Commons License Terms
The Bent Pyramid
The Pyramid at Dashur
The pyramid of King Sneferu at Dashur
Why "The Bent Pyramid"?
Once you take a look at this pyramid, you will see that the angle changes considerably about two thirds of the way up. This change gives the pyramid a bent shape, hence its nickname.
Why "The Bent Pyramid"?
Once you take a look at this pyramid, you will see that the angle changes considerably about two thirds of the way up. This change gives the pyramid a bent shape, hence its nickname.
- The Bent Pyramid
- Read more about the Bent Pyramid. The interior of the Bent pyramid is largely unpublished and there are no color pictures easily available to visit it. Now, for the first time, HERE, you can explore much of the interior.
- Egypt: The Bent Pyramid of Snefru at Dahshur
- Egypt: Information about the Bent Pyramid of Snefru at Dahshur
Egyptian Pyramid Crafts for kids
Build your own Pyramid
Have fun making your own Pyramid with some of these craft ideas
- Paper Pyramid Craft
- Fun children's crafts, including printable craft templates, for preschool, kindergarten and elementary school kids.
- Egyptian Pyramid Project Instructions | eHow.com
- Egyptian Pyramid Project Instructions. Egyptian pyramids evolved from the early step-pyramids--tombs made of flat layers called mastabas that look like staircases when stacked with the largest on the bottom and the smallest on...
- Cereal Pyramids
- This Cereal Pyramids craft is an easy way for kids to learn about Egypt, not to mention they are really fun to make!
- NOVA Online/Pyramids/Scaling the Pyramids/Scale Model
- Scale Model of the Great Pyramid. You can build a model of the Great Pyramid, but first you need to scale it down. To do this, you will need to make the pyramid 3,000 times smaller than it really is!
- Egyptian Fact Pyramids Lesson Plan - Crayola OFFICIAL Site
- Explore the wonders of ancient Egypt then construct a 3-D pyramid on which to display your findings.
Egyptian Pyramid Photo
Fun Egyptian Themed Kits for Kids
Egyptian Kits
The tomb of Ramses IV - Inside the Pyramid
- Luxor - Valley of the Kings Luxor Egypt - Tomb of Ramses 4 - Ramesses IV
- View the inside of the Tomb of Ramses IV in the valley of the kings
Explore the Egyptian Pyramids with Interactive sites and games
- National Geographic: Egypt Pyramids--Facts, Photos, Diagrams
- Explore the pyramids of ancient Egypt through diagrams, photos, and facts; plus get related links, kids content, news stories, and more.
- ancientegypt.co.uk
- Explore a reconstruction of Khufu's pyramid complex
- Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery for Kids - Egyptian Mummy
- Answer questions about what the ancient Egyptians would fill their tombs with.
- Build a Pryamid Game, Game -- Discovery.com
- Build the Impossible: The Great Pyramid of Giza. To play this game you will need the Shockwave 8 plug-in.
- BBC.co.uk
- Journey back four and a half thousand years to Egypt's Old Kingdom, to the Pyramid Age.
- National Museum of Scotland
- The National Museums Scotland offers educational experiences & activities for all age groups.Plan a family day out or a school trip or find out what we offer for students & adult learners.
Ancient Egyptian Pyramid Sites Worth Visiting
- NOVA Online/Pyramids/Explore the Pyramids
- Follow a team as they reconstruct how the pyramids of Egypt were built on NOVA's "This Old Pyramid."
On this Web site, wander through the chambers and passageways of the Great Pyramid, and learn about the pharaohs for whom these monumental tombs were built. You can also follow the 1997 field season of a team of archaeologists as they excavated the bakery that fed the pyramid builders.
Egyptian Pyramids at Night Photo
Image Source - Mitch Maltman - Creative commons license terms
Egyptian Pyramid Lesson Plans and Worksheets
Great for school teachers and homeschoolers
Printable worksheets and lesson plans to help your child learn about the ancient Egyptian pyramids.
- Great Pyramid Lesson
- This Great Pyramid lesson will evaluate one of the Great Wonders of the World, The Great Pyramid, located in Egypt. Students will learn about Egyptian culture, definitions, and geography.
- LessonSnips.cm
- PDF - Egyptian Pyramids Lesson Plan - Third and fourth grade.
- Egypt's Pyramids: Monuments with a Message
- By introducing students to artifacts and archaeology, this lesson considers pyramids as artifacts and examines the scale of these great structures and asks what clues pyramids give us about the ancient Egyptians.
Please leave your feedback on Egyptian Pyramids
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JaguarJulie May 3, 2012 @ 8:38 am | delete
- Awesome learning about the Egyptian Pyramids ... I'd like to build such a pyramid ... are there kits for that? Pretty cool stuff.
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ogrote
Apr 27, 2012 @ 6:18 pm | delete
- Interesting Lens - Been to Pyramids twice - awestruck feeling.
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Tolovaj
Feb 24, 2012 @ 5:53 pm | delete
- Egyptian pyramids are still one of most mysterious projects in human history. I hope I'll get a chance to check them 'life' one day...
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Donnette
Aug 26, 2011 @ 1:09 pm | delete
- Again, a really fantastic and informative lens. Thank you.
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Tipi
Jun 21, 2011 @ 5:39 am | delete
- There is something spiritual about pyramids, and they are of interest to all ages. I'm going to try out that pyramid game.
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jkiu
May 8, 2012 @ 9:59 am | delete
- cool
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Egyptian Pyramid Table of Contents
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