SANTA ANA, CALIFORNIA. - Due to the immense popularity of the landmark exhibit, Tibet: Treasures from the Roof of the World, The Bowers Museum has extended the groundbreaking show through the summer, Museum President Dr. Peter Keller announced today.

The historic exhibit, which features nearly 200 of the most sacred and precious treasures from Tibet never before seen in the Western World, opened Oct. 12, 2003 to a jammed-packed crowd of thousands of people and families. The exhibit, which also features breathtaking personal treasures of centuries of Dalai Lamas and Tibetan nobility, was originally scheduled to close on May 16, 2004.

But with the growing demand for tickets through the summer, Dr. Keller, his executive team, and the Board of Governors agreed that the exhibit should remain in place to fulfill the high number of summer ticket requests. The extended closing date for the show is September 12, 2004.

"The popularity of our Tibetan exhibit continues to grow on a daily basis," Dr. Keller says. "To meet these high ticket demands, particularly over the summer when students are out of school, we felt it was best for the community to keep the exhibit open before it goes on a national tour."

After its run at The Bowers, Tibet: Treasures from the Roof of the World will travel to the Houston Museum of Natural Science (Oct. 16, 2004-Jan. 8, 2005), the Rubin Museum of Art in New York (Feb. 8, 2005 to May 8, 2005) and the Asian Art Museum of San Francisco (June 12, 2005 to Sept. 11, 2005). The Bowers organized the entire national tour.

Tibet: Treasures from the Roof of the World has been so popular that The Bowers also extended its hours to 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. on November 18, 2003 for a limited time.

"With the groundbreaking nature of this exhibit, we want to give everyone the opportunity to see these extraordinary mystical and breathtaking masterpieces of Tibetan art, never before seen in the Western World," Dr. Keller says.