If you’re not willing to shell out $18 for a Titanic 3D ticket, National Geographic has you covered. The museum’s new exhibit, “Titanic: 100 Year Obsession,” takes viewers on an interactive journey from the ship’s historical beginnings to the latest discoveries about the fateful night of April 15, 1912.
Opening in conjunction with a series of speaker events hosted by National Geographic to commemorate the disaster’s anniversary, “Titanic” runs until June 8. While truly obsessed fans might not learn too much from this exhibition, an artful combination of history, new discoveries, and movie props makes this exhibition truly enjoyable—if nothing else, for a photo op on the reconstructed bow of the ship, à la Rose and Jack.
Starting with the ship’s construction, the exhibit delves into the vessel’s history from the origination of its architectural plans to the newspaper headlines describing the Titanic as the dawn of a “new epoch in naval architecture.” Pictures and descriptions illuminate the ship’s 4size in creative ways—the exhibit showcases the Titanic by the numbers (there were 1,500 bottles of wine on board) and boasts a to-scale model ship.
Beyond the iPads and touch screen televisions, an interactive Morse code station provides the most engaging use of otherwise kid-friendly technology. The device illuminates the sinking of the ship through the succession of mistakes made that night—ultimately proving wrong boasts from engineers and passengers that even God could not sink the ship. Striking newspaper headlines from the disaster also abound, as the White Star Line refused to admit the news of the sinking. In fact, only the New York Times got the story right the first time, on a hunch from the editor that the ship had indeed sunk. Meanwhile, headlines like “Her Side Ripped as by Giant Can Opener,” and “Band Played Till the End” capture the drama of the weeks following the unforeseen tragedy.
A tribute to the century-long “obsession” would not be complete without deference to James Cameron’s classic tale of star-crossed lovers Rose and Jack. Movie scenery and props line the exhibit, bringing the story of this disaster to life. From the security room where Jack is handcuffed to one of the lifeboats used in the film, these props give visitors the sense of what life on the boat was like, and should entertain the film’s super-fans.
The exhibit parallels the ship’s history with the most recent discoveries made by National Geographic explorer Robert Ballard along with his partner Jean-Louis Michel. A documentary of Ballard’s exhibition complements models and pictures of the wreckage. Interestingly, his search for the Titanic provided a cover-up for his “Sponsor the U.S. Navy” voyage, which was actually in search of missing Cold War nuclear submarines.
While the exhibit doesn’t offer much more than what can be learned by watching Cameron’s 1997 film, the combination of history, new ocean discoveries, and of course, movie paraphernalia—yes, cameras are allowed—makes for an engaging, pleasant visit.
