Titanic: The Artifact Exhibition

By: Toronto4Kids

We are all too familiar with the tragic story of the RMS Titanic and how she sank on April 15, 1912 on her maiden voyage to New York, after hitting an iceberg. Over 1,500 passengers perished making it the single most disastrous shipwrecks of all time. But what do we really know about the passengers of Titanic, and the events that brought them aboard the ship on that ill-fated voyage?

Mlle Berthe A. Mayné (aka Berthe de Villiers), aged 24 from Brussels, Belgium boarded the Titanic in Cherbourg, France. She had met and fallen in love with Mr. Quigg Baxter a Canadian Hockey Player and son of a Banker who had promised to take her back to Canada to marry her. She was travelling 1st class - a room that at the time cost $4,350 US (approximately $50,000 US today).

And so begins "Titanic: The Artifact Exhibition" currently on display at the Ontario Science Centre, where visitors receive a boarding pass bearing the name, age, occupation and other information of an actual Titanic passenger. At the end of the tour, you learn about your passenger's fate - if they survived or perished.

The exhibit, which opened in early June, recreates the ship's brief existence through a series of galleries, pictures and artifacts, enhanced by music and sound effects. Throughout the display, you can begin to imagine what it would have been like, travelling as your passenger - strolling up the grand staircase, walking down a first-class hallway, sleeping in a first-class cabin…

You can also get an up close look some of the over 280 personal artifacts retrieved from the ship's ultimate resting place some 400 miles east of Newfoundland and 2 1/2 miles beneath the ocean's surface. Items range from luggage and jewellery, to letters, china, clothing and more. You will be astonished as corked bottles still contain their original champagne, while money and letters appear only moderately damaged though they have spent decades on the ocean floor. The exhibit also shows a sample of perfume bottles that still carry a scent.

But what truly echo's from this exhibit are the stories of the passengers and crew - the rich and the poor, the survivors and the victims. Their personal stories and heartfelt thoughts are shared on panels as you walk through the exhibit. There is even an "Ontario" connection highlighting the lives of Ontario passengers who were on board the Titanic.

It's a rare opportunity for guests to travel in the footsteps of actual Titanic passengers, while getting a real sense of what it was like to be on the boat on April 10, 1912. The exhibit is a remarkable story among stories - an educational and moving experience. "Titanic: The Artifact Exhibition" is on display at the Ontario Science Centre until January 6th, 2008. For more information, visit: www.ontariosciencecentre.ca.

Regarding Mlle Berthe A. Mayné - she survived the sinking of the Titanic. Mr. Quigg Baxter did not.