Titanic
exhibit journeys through time
By Cynthia Tom
Special to the On-line Forty-Niner
It
starts with a boarding pass, and then the
journey begins.
 “Titanic:
The Artifact Exhibit,” which opened Sunday
at the California Science Center, is as
much of a voyage for visitors as the journey
that Titanic promised its passengers almost
90 years ago.
“It’s incredible to see how this story speaks
to people,” said Mark Lach, vice president
of exhibit design for Clear Channel Exhibitions,
which produced the exhibit. “This is a real
ship and real lives. Seeing that for themselves
is a compelling experience for visitors.”
The experience starts the minute visitors
line up for entry, when they’re given boarding
passes to “sail” aboard R.M.S. Titanic.
Each boarding pass contains individual passenger
information such as a name, age, class of
passage booked, final destination and reason
for travelling.
“As visitors go through the exhibit with
their boarding card, they have a true bond
to the name on it,” said Lach.
The chronological journey continues into
a room with a single artifact, a man’s bowler
hat, and a single quote to accompany it.
“These three-dimensional objects, more than
words or images, represent the vessel and
the 2,228 souls who journeyed with her into
history.”
Peppered throughout the exhibit are hundreds
of artifacts that have been recovered from
the crash site and painstakingly preserved.
Personal items, such as perfume vials, and
symbols of Titanic’s grandeur, such as fine
china, tell the story of the fateful journey
as authentic recreations of key areas of
the ship set the stage.
Passengers are invited to stroll through
a first-class hallway to the Veranda Café,
which explores the dining experience onboard
from menus to cookware. Elsewhere, the well-known
Molly Brown and Captain Edward Smith greet
passengers at the meticulously recreated
grand staircase.
Particularly engaging are the staterooms,
which are replicas complete with furnishings
made by original manufacturers. In these
staterooms, visitors can “meet” fellow passengers
who tell their true tales and interact with
guests. Their poignant, and often tragic
accounts make it clear that Titanic’s story
has very little to do with the ship and
everything to do with the people who sailed
aboard it.
A common theme throughout the exhibit is
the use of life-size photos as well as quotes
and biographical information from passengers
and crew.
The humanity in the story is particularly
conveyed in the striking gallery, where
passengers can touch an “iceberg” and read
quotes from the passengers who experienced
it.
“I will not be parted from my husband. As
we have lived, so we will die. Together,”
said Mrs. Ida Straus, a first class passenger
whose husband owned Macy’s department stores.
The memorial gallery tells the story of
Johan Svenson, a third class passenger who
sensed danger despite speaking no English.
As the ship began to sink, Svenson climbed
the Titanic’s rigging and leapt into a nearby
lifeboat, falling 20 feet into a mass of
people just minutes before the ship sank.
Svenson later changed his name and settled
in Long Beach as a ship welder.
Also in the memorial gallery are large panels
that list all passengers by class and whether
or not they survived. This is, for many,
the most moving part of the exhibit; the
place where passengers pull out their boarding
cards and see whether or not they survive.
“It’s amazing how this story from nearly
a century ago is still intriguing and impacting
so many,” said Matthew Lok, one visitor
who stopped to see whether or not his boarding
card had the name of a survivor. “This exhibit
is a great way to keep that spirit of intrigue
alive and to bring a story of this scope
to a personal level.”
Lok, whose boarding pass identified him
as a doctor who was travelling home from
his wedding in France, did, indeed, survive.
“We all know the end, so the suspense is
gone, but the story is really the human
story,” Lach said. “There was a real sense
of duty and heroism on board. Many people
gave up their spaces in the lifeboats, and
many of the crew members had to be ordered
to leave the ship.”
The exhibit concludes with a look at the
recovery and restoration process, as well
as the technology used to restore Titanic
artifacts from the crash site, 2.5 miles
below the ocean’s surface. Included in this
portion of the exhibit is the “Big Piece,”
a 15-ton section of Titanic’s hull that
is the largest artifact recovered from the
crash site.
“There’s no other place these items can
be seen,” Lach said. “It’s a theatrical,
experiential exhibit that hopefully connects
visitors with the dignity, honor and respect
of Titanic that’s deserved.”
“Titanic: The Artifact Exhibit” is open
through Sept. 1.
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