Pompeii: The Exhibition
California Science Center
700 Exposition Park Drive, Los Angeles, CA
Through January 4, 2015

Before its destruction, Pompeii was one of the most vibrant and modern cities of its time. Now on display at the California Science Center, Pompeii: the Exhibition is a full-scale display of over 150 artifacts that illuminate the city’s cultural import. On loan from the Naples National Archeological Museum are garden frescoes, marble statues, and religious altars and shrines.

While the exhibit honors Pompeii’s significance as an emblem of Roman engineering, it also pays special attention to the cataclysmic impact of the volcano’s destruction. Full-body replicas of the body casts created by the volcano’s eruption (the original casts remain in Italy) occupy a designated space. An “eruption room” houses an immersive CGI experience of the eruption. The exhibit as a whole acts as an immersive experience for visitors, in order that they may fully soak in the art, architecture, and lifestyle of Pompeii residents.

After its Los Angeles residency, the exhibition will move to the Pacific Science Center in Seattle, Washington.