Titanic Exhibit Brings Immersive History to Union Station
Many parents and organizations are making The Science of Guiness World Records exhibit at Union Station part of their summer activities. Now the station has announced plans for its next major exhibition, which is coming this fall.
Titanic: An Immersive Voyage will open on November 8 after being on display in Milan, Italy, and Atlanta. The exhibit will transport visitors not only to the ill-fated Titanic but also her sister ships, Olympic and Britannic; the rescue ship Carpathia; the Californian, which sat nearby in silence; and the largest actor of all in the story, the iceberg, whose journey is traced from its birth to its complete dissolution in the Atlantic just a few short days after the disaster.
“What Union Station does especially well is take our guests on important, emotional journeys to places and events that have defined world history,” said George Guastello, Union Station president and CEO. “The fascinating story of RMS Titanic is one such example of how time, technology, circumstance and celebration all connected in the form of the most opulent and majestic ship of her time. A voyage for the ages that still resonates today as Titanic’s unsolved mysteries continue to be revealed.”
Exhibition guests will board the luxurious ship via a recreation of the Southampton, England maiden voyage dock. They then set sail through an immersive and impressive series of Titanic rooms that transport them back in time to meet fellow passengers, pause for iconic photos and experience moment-by-moment the series of events that led to the tragedy known around the world.
More than 200 artifacts from Titanic and its sister vessels are encountered along the voyage to add human connections to the iconic story. Included are the Heart of the Ocean, Artemis Statue, one of seven fully intact deck chairs, fine china, employee uniforms and much more. Plus, a self-paced, downloadable audio guide (available in English, Spanish and French) is included to narrate each step of the way.
Among the many first-time exhibition elements will be an invitation to board a lifeboat to witness Titanic’s final, dramatic moments. Seeing the distress calls and the responses from other ships in the area add a layer of reality that is particularly poignant. In the final room, guests will have the option (with an additional ticket) to be fitted with state-of-the-art virtual reality technology and journey to the Titanic wreck site to explore and interact with their physical surroundings. This high-tech, high-touch aspect adds even more drama to the discovery of what really happened to sink the “unsinkable,”
“Titanic is the most enchanting ship of all time and is revered by many as an iconic gem,” said John Zaller, executive producer at Exhibition Hub. “Our voyage engages the Titanic story like never before. Our expertise in exhibition design and immersive storytelling creates an unforgettable emotional connection to Titanic. We’re delighted to tell this immortal story in our signature humanistic and immersive style, and to share it with guests around the world, including in Kansas City at your historic Union Station.”
Tickets and additional information are available at www.unionstation.org.
–Dwight Widaman
