Students will encounter the historical and scientific phenomenon of mummification, generate authentic curiosity about preservation, and refine focused, investigable research questions about how ancient Egyptian practices and modern scientific understanding can be used to mummify apples and chickens. By the end of the phase, each student will have a clearly written, testable research question and hypothesis recorded in their Mummification Investigation Research Notebook.

Students will design a systematic, research-based methodology for investigating how ancient Egyptian mummification techniques (using natron) can preserve apples and chickens. They will align their methods to their specific research questions, identify variables, plan precise data collection procedures, conduct a structured background review, and revise their investigation plans through peer critique before moving into data collection.

Students will systematically collect mass and observational data from their mummified apples and chickens, document conditions and anomalies in their research notebooks, conduct mid-collection quality checks, and revise procedures as needed to ensure reliable evidence for later analysis.

Students will transform their collected mummification data into meaningful analysis by creating accurate visualizations, identifying patterns and anomalies, debating interpretations with peers, and drafting evidence-based preliminary findings that directly address their original research questions and hypotheses.

Students will synthesize their data and analysis to draw evidence-based conclusions about their apple and chicken mummification investigations, explicitly acknowledge limitations, generate new research questions, and present their full investigation process to an authentic audience of visiting classes.