Imagine you are making a voyage. This voyage is to a new world, a place full of wonderful opportunities. Your means of transportation on this journey is aboard a brand new ocean liner, whose critics have stated that it is one of the safest and most luxurious ships ever built. Excited for your trip, you step aboard. You never think about how the sinking of this ship will change your life and the lives of 2,227 other passengers. A bit hard to grasp? Don’t worry – the new Titanic exhibit at the Milwaukee Public Museum allows guests to live out the famous maiden voyage and wreck.
Titanic: The Artifact Exhibition opened Oct. 10 at the Milwaukee Public Museum, 800 W. Wells St., just a few blocks from Marquette’s campus. It has impressed visitors of all ages, and for good reason. The exhibit, shown worldwide, features actual artifacts recovered from the underwater ruins of the ship.
When one enters the exhibit, they are greeted and handed the replica of a boarding pass from an actual Titanic passenger. Exhibit visitors are told later whether or not they survived the ill-fated voyage.
Visitors travel chronologically through the ship’s life. In the first room of the exhibit, details of the ship’s construction are presented, from concept design to the actual building process. Tools used by the crew are displayed to show the ship’s construction. The next several rooms cover life aboard the ship, including everything from room replications to dining menus. Women dressed as stewardesses and nurses give detailed accounts of their everyday lives, making the ship life seem all the more real.
Suddenly, the rooms grow darker and colder. Visitors sense the unmistakable dread — the ship has crashed. To demonstrate the crash, a miniature iceberg, much like the one the Titanic hit, is available for visitors to feel. A two-ton piece of the ship’s hull is suspended in the air with one of the supposedly unbreakable watertight doors a few steps away. After a display of many passengers’ possessions, the exhibit comes to a close with a list of the survivors and those who unfortunately did not make it.
The Milwaukee Public Museum did an excellent job putting on this world famous exhibit. The environment was very professional yet relaxed, which allowed for maximum entertainment. The staff was helpful and made sure everything flowed smoothly. The price is a deal for the rarity of the artifacts on display and for the effort put into making the experience enjoyable.
Student tickets cost $18 on weekdays and $20 on weekends. Ticket price includes museum general admission. Advance tickets are strongly recommended and can be purchased by visiting the museum Web site, by visiting the museum box office at 800 W. Wells St. or by calling 414-223-4676.
The exhibit runs until May 25, 2009 with entry from 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. weekdays and from 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. weekends.
For those interested in having as close an experience to this famous catastrophe as possible, this exhibit is strongly recommended. The past is unforgettable in this presentation — these prized artifacts will keep the story alive forever.