The museum, which was named for the ancient Egyptian architect Imhotep, was opened on April 26, 2006 by Mrs. Suzanne Mubarak and Mrs. Bernadette Chirac.[1] Imhotep is credited with being the first Egyptian to build a monumental structure out of stone: Pharaoh Djoser's step pyramid located at Saqqara, which was built during the 3rd Dynasty.