Titanic: the Past and Present Collide

June 05, 2012

Last weekend, I braved city traffic to take my family down to the Titanic exhibit currently showing down at Union Station. If you haven’t heard about this awesome travelling exhibit, I can tell you that it’s well worth a look. The exhibit takes about an hour to stroll through (maybe longer if you linger), and the curators have done a great job of using recovered artifacts and historical documents to tell the story of the doomed ship, from its construction in Belfast up to the latest expeditions surveying the wreck.

There are hundreds of authentic artifacts recovered from the Titanic on display, from cutlery to doorknobs to perfume bottles. My favorite little touch, however, is the "boarding pass" they give you when you first enter the exhibit. This little card contains the name, class, and history of one of Titanic’s passengers—as you wander through the exhibit, you can’t help but think what the voyage and disaster must have been like for them. At the very end of the exhibit is an enormous plaque bearing the names of all the passengers, indicating those who survived and those who perished. My passenger, a 21-year old newlywed in 2nd class, survived—as did her husband, a happy ending I couldn’t quite bring myself to hope for.

All in all, the exhibit does a wonderful job of drawing you into the story of Titanic—even more so than the movie. The exhibit is appropriate for all ages (kids under 3 even get in free), making it a wonderful day out for the whole family.

If you’re interested in reading more about the famous wreck, our adult nonfiction section has a number of excellent books about the history, tragedy, and legends of Titanic. We also have plenty of resources for kids, and don’t forget to check out the movie that started it all.

~Lizzie B.
Parkville Branch