KANSAS CITY, Mo. - King Tut, that popular Egyptian boy king whose travelling tomb lured gangbuster museum crowds two decades ago, is once again touring the United States. But Egypt lovers who can't make a trip to Denver or New York and don't want to pay nearly $30 to see treasures from King Tutankhamen's burial site, have another option. Kansas City's Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art now boasts its own permanent ��" and free ��" ancient Egyptian coffin and funeral objects. Today, the Nelson-Atkins begins displaying the 2,300-year-old coffin and other antiquities of noblewoman Meretites in its Egyptian Galleries, the new centrepiece of the museum's refurbished Ancient Art Galleries. Meretites' intricately-detailed 2.13-metre inner coffin is among the first thing visitors see entering the Egyptian gallery ��" revamped from a former cloak room during the $1.7 million renovation. The subtle lighting, dark marble, and treasure-laden walls evoke the feeling of a tomb without being sombre or frightening. That's the point, said Robert Cohon, curator of art of the ancient world at the Nelson-Atkins. Cohon, who guided the two-year renovation for the Ancient Art Galleries, has a particular audience in mind for the new galleries. "We want children to come in here, and want to know more."
