My name is Nicole, and I have been studying ancient Egypt since I was five years old. My Nonno (grandfather) was extremely passionate about ancient history, and he shared his passion with me. I was lucky to grow up spending a tremendous amount of time with my Nonno – not many kids are fortunate enough to have a grandparent that has a library of ancient history books in their basement, or visiting the Metropolitan Museum of Art as a frequent weekend activity.
Between the ages of six and twelve, I taught myself to read ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs utilizing my Nonno’s books. By the time I was twelve years old, I was able to read the hieroglyphs off of artifacts at any museum we went to. My biggest areas of interest are the pharaohs of the 18th Dynasty (specifically Hatshepsut and Akhenaten), Egyptian funerary literature, and tomb art.
While I have a big passion for ancient history, I love the history of the Earth as well. I have a Bachelor’s degree in Earth Science/Secondary Education, and am currently a Middle School and High School Science teacher. I have a passion for planning fun, hands-on, and engaging lessons to teach kids about our planet. Sedimentary Petrology is my favorite area of study because it connects with paleontology and geologic history. One of my biggest areas of interest is studying how Egypt’s unique geology and geologic past impacted the growth of the ancient Egyptian civilization.
I always tell the kids that “rocks are the hieroglyphs of the Earth” and I think that’s why I’m so passionate about geology; I love ‘reading’ what the Earth can tell us about her history!
I also have a Master’s degree in Environmental Studies and am very interested in paleoclimatology much can be learned about the climate of planets by studying the rocks present in an area. In my thesis, I studied what the sedimentary and igneous petrology of the Gale Crater on Mars could tell us about the planet’s climatological and geological past.
I run @ancientegyptblog on Instagram, in which I pay tribute to my Nonno and all of the amazing history he taught me. I translate the hieroglyphs off of objects in museums and give explanations for the history and meaning of the objects. I also teach the basics of hieroglyphs with the goal of making the words of the ancient Egyptians accessible to all who want to learn. This Instagram account is my passion project, and my way to share my Nonno and his memory with the world. All pictures on the account were either taken by me or Nonno!
I am also an avid reader and have read hundreds of books on the topic of ancient Egypt. While I have inherited my Nonno’s library, I also keep up to date with the newest publications.
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