JUISZELLE: Hi. My name's Juiszelle.

CAMILE: Hi, my name's Camile.

QUINN: Hi, my name's Quinn.

ISABEL STUENKEL: Hello, my name is Isabel, and I'm an Egyptologist.

JO LOH: We’re all taking a tour of the Egyptian Collection, want to tag along? We were wondering just what this wooden object was for. What do YOU think?

CAMILE: Is it the bottom of a boat?

QUINN: Is it the top of something?

CAMILE: Is it the tracks of some kind of thing that carries humans?

JUISZELLE: Is it a…sled?

ISABEL STUENKEL: Yes! What do you think a sled was used for? In Egypt?

JUISZELLE: It wasn't used for snowing, it was used for going through the desert.

QUINN: It didn't snow in the desert, it's too hot!

ISABEL STUENKEL: So did the ancient Egyptians, how did they actually transport heavy blocks and statues?

JUISZELLE: They took sleds, because that was the fastest way, because they had no cars or hauling trucks. Did you ever have animals pull the sleds or did you pull the sleds?

ISABEL STUENKEL: What do you think?

JUISZELLE: I think it would be both.

ISABEL STUENKEL: They did both.

QUINN: Most likely an ox or a man.

ISABEL STUENKEL: And how do you think it works? There was one trick the ancient Egyptians would do with the sand.

JO LOH: See if you can figure out the trick. The ancient Egyptians used the sled to transport things—if it was really heavy they used a lot of oxen or men to pull the sled—but they had to pull it across the sand in the desert. So, imagine you’re walking on the sand in the middle of the beach. It’s a lot of work moving your feet, isn’t it? But imagine you’re walking down by the edge of the water, where the waves come in and the sand is wet. It’s a lot easier to walk down there. The waves pack the sand down under your feet.

And that’s just what the ancient Egyptians did to move their sleds. Their trick was pouring water on the sand to make it easier for the sled to glide.