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Penn Museum brings 1990s game show back to life

Talk about #FlashbackFriday. If you were a kid in the '90s, there's a good chance you were planted in front of the TV every evening to catch the latest episode of Nickelodeon's "Legends of the Hidden Temple."

On April 20, Philadelphia's Penn Museum is giving nostalgic fans of the show the chance to compete themselves -- well, in a way.

"Legends of the Hidden Temple: Penn Museum Edition" is actually part of P.M. @ Penn Museum, a series of socially-driven events taking place at the University of Pennsylvania-affiliated institution.

Though the series has featured everything from drag performances to magic shows, nothing has rivaled the excitement surrounding April 20's event Kate Quinn, Director of Exhibitions and Public Programs at the Penn Museum told CBS News. Quinn sensed the event was poised to go viral when the museum's younger staff members first heard about it. "You could see the stars in their eyes as we began talking about it here," said Quinn. "Since our museum is filled with material connected with what the show did, maybe this was something we could play with," she added.

The event will consist of a number of challenges taking place at stations scattered throughout the Penn Museum's grounds and galleries. Participants will be split into teams like the Blue Barracudas, Orange Iguanas, and other groups bearing the colorful names made famous by the show.

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"Temple guards" from various cultures will be on hand to "capture" participants during the event Penn Museum

The museum has partnered with other Philadelphia-area institutions to create an array of fun and informative challenges. The Mütter Museum, which focuses on medical history, will present a challenge about body adornment like tattoos and scarification. The Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel University plans one on animal adaptation. Eastern State Penitentiary, a historic site that was once the most expensive prison in the world, has created a challenge about ancient Egyptian incarceration.

Of course, a great deal of the evening's program will be produced by the Penn Museum itself, including a physical obstacle course ("Nothing that will harm the objects of course!" Quinn caveated). As with all other P.M. @ Penn Museum events, attendees are invited to socialize over drinks and snacks following the event's conclusion.

Though the "Legends" event was quick to sell out, those wishing to participate are invited to add their names to a wait list. And given the enormous response "Legends" has elicited, Quinn and her team are already hard at work planning similar events for the upcoming season.

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