Titanic surfaces at Science Center

[Andrew Clarkson]

ROCHESTER -- A collection of items from the ill-fated Titanic is featured in a recently opened exhibit at the Rochester Museum and Science Center, 657 East Ave.

"Titanic: The Artifact Exhibition," on view through Jan. 18, 2010, tells the story of the hundreds of people aboard the ship through artifacts and room recreations.

The story begins on a calm April night in 1912. Titanic, the world's largest ship, set sail with 2,228 passengers on board, including business tycoons, artists and film stars, government dignitaries, immigrants dreaming of a new life, mothers, fathers, sons, and daughters.

About 1,500 people died when the so-called "unsinkable" ship sank after striking an iceberg on its maiden voyage across the Atlantic Ocean in 1912.

"Titanic: The Artifact Exhibition," a traveling exhibition that opened Oct. 10 at the Science Center, features more than 125 artifacts conserved from the ship's debris field.

The exhibit offer visitors a poignant look at the iconic ship and its passengers.

The exhibition focuses on the RMS Titanic's human stories as told through authentic artifacts and extensive room re-creations. Perfume from a maker who was traveling to New York to sell his samples, china etched with the logo of the elite White Star Line, and personal items such as a shoe brush, a sock, a cigar holder, or the top of a toothpaste jar offer haunting, emotional connections to lives abruptly ended or forever altered.

Visitors are quickly drawn back to 1912 upon entrance, as each receives a replica boarding pass of an actual passenger aboard Titanic. They then begin their chronological journey through the life of Titanic, moving through the ship's construction, to life on board, which includes recreated first- and third-class cabins, to the sinking -- visitors can press their palms against an iceberg -- and artifact rescue efforts.

In the "Memorial Gallery," guests will take their boarding passes to the memorial wall and discover whether their passengers and traveling companions survived or perished.

The exhibit also looks at the science behind the Titanic -- why the ship was said to be unsinkable and what lead to its doom.

During the past 15 years, more than 22 million people have seen this exhibition in major museums worldwide, including Chicago, Los Angeles, Paris and London.

RMS Titanic Inc., subsidiary of exhibition creator Premier Exhibitions Inc. of Atlanta, is the only company permitted by law to recover objects from the wreck of the Titanic. The Company was granted Salvor-in-Possession rights to the wreck site of Titanic by a United States federal court in 1994 and has conducted seven research and recovery expeditions to the Titanic, rescuing more than 5,900 artifacts. The company is planning another trip to the site next year. It would be the first expedition since 2004.

If you go

WHAT: "Titanic: The Artifact Exhibition."

WHERE: The Riedman Gallery at Rochester Museum and Science Center, 657 East Ave., Rochester.

WHEN: Through Jan. 18, 2010. Exhibition hours are 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Mondays through Saturdays, and to 9 p.m. Wednesdays and Thursdays (except selected holidays); and 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sundays.

ADMISSION: $17 for adults, $15 for seniors and college students, $14 for ages 3 to 18, and $5 for RMSC members. Tickets available at www.rmsc.org.

FOR MORE INFORMATION: Call (585) 271-4320 or go to www.rmsc.org.

Source: http://www.thedailynewsonline.com