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| Titanic Scale Model featured in the exhibit. |
Upon arriving at the exhibit, you receive a boarding pass with a passenger's name, and some information about the person whose name is on the pass. I received a boarding card with the name Jamila Nicola-Yarred, a 14 year old third class passenger from Lebanon. Her family was escaping religious persecution, headed for Jacksonville, Florida. She was traveling with her younger brother Elias. Their father was turned away from the Titanic due to an eye infection, so the children embarked on the journey to America alone.
The exhibit began with the blueprints and building of the Titanic. There were several artifacts from the ship placed in climate controlled cases throughout the first rooms. The music they piped through had sounds of crowds mixed in. It created a unique atmosphere. Visitors passed each other, and talked about their passengers, discussing where each was from, and taking care to see the items in the cases, which included a scale model of the Titanic, and a small leather bag recovered from the wreckage.
Upon entering the next room you're greeted with a more upbeat music, dance music from the era plays over cases filled with money, dishes, toiletries and decorations from the ill-fated vessel. I was most impressed with the distinction made between the serving ware used among the different class distinctions. The dishes designated for third class passengers were extremely plain, heavy duty items. It was believed the they would steal anything, and to deter theft the dishes were stamped them with the company logo.
Moving forward, there was a small hallway, and a recreation of the third class quarters. The bunks were small, and it looked like a college dormitory or a barracks. As most of these passengers were planning to immigrate at Ellis Island, these were adequate accommodations for the trip to their new life. Tickets for these small spaces would cost nearly $400 today.
Next we stepped onto the bridge. Housed in this room were the wheelhouse assembly and telegram which directed orders to the engine room.
Our story then took a tragic turn. The ship was taking on water. There was ice in the water. Something was terribly wrong. We walked under a recreated door that would close off lower portions of the ship, and entered into one of the most well known shipwrecks of all time.
A large iceberg, made of actual ice, stood off to one side. Video renderings of how the ship made her journey to the bottom of the North Atlantic on another. In between, the ghosts of passengers. Their belongings, shoes, hats, jewelry, and other personal artifacts were scattered throughout the room. The room was darker than previous spaces in the exhibit, and created a somber, sobering atmosphere.
Next, we learned the fate of some passengers on the ship. The one that stands out most to me are the musicians. If you've seen the James Cameron film "Titanic" you might remember the scene with the band playing as the ship sank. That really happened.
Also in this room were photographs of artifacts on the ocean floor paired with the actual artifacts, also in glass cases. There was a monitor set up with a 3D film of the Titanic in her final resting place. Covered with calcium deposits. It was incredible to see.
Finally, we learned the fate of another passenger, one who never boarded the ship. He packed his bag and promised a friend that he would meet him there. Instead, he was kidnapped. He ended up lost in another country for years. His belongings made the journey, but he managed to escape tragedy. I think he might have been the original Final Destination passenger..
In the final room, we discovered the names of all passengers, those who survived, and those who didn't. My passenger survived, and her story is one that I'll remember for a very long time. She heard noises and commotion, so she roused her brother, and headed to the deck, where people were boarding lifeboats. She was placed onto a lifeboat, but her brother was left on board. Distressed, she cried out for her brother, who was then placed into the boat with her. As the story goes, she was also handed an infant wrapped in a mailbag. This infant, according to everything I've read, was the last living survivor of the Titanic. It's such a beautiful story, and I really related to this young girl being given charge of her younger brother, and I couldn't help but imagine myself and my own brother on that ship. Would I have been so courageous? So brave? I'd like to think so.
We exited into a small gift area, where I purchased a replica of a third class passenger cup. I like to think I smuggled it away from the White Star Line, to spite them for expecting the worst of the "lower class." In reality, I paid $10 for a souvenir mug.
If you have the opportunity to visit this exhibit, you should absolutely go.
I'd go again if I could.
