You slowly make your way through the ship, passing the 1st and 3rd class accommodations. You hear the band sadly playing on the deck and you slide your hand over the large piece of ice as you hear the words that will change your life forever…Titanic is Sinking!
My girls could read books and watch movies about Titanic’s maiden journey, but they could never experience it like they did when we visited the Portland Science Center. They have not stopped talking about what it must have been like to be on the Titanic on April 15, 1912.
Time to Board
When you enter the exhibit you are given a boarding pass that assigns you the identity of a passenger that was on the ship. You are told your name, age, where you are from, who you’re accompanied by, where you are traveling, and for what reason. This immediately allowed my daughters to have a connection to the ship. Suddenly the people on that ship seemed real.
As you walk through the exhibit you see more than 100 actual items recovered from the ocean floor from the ship that sank 104 years ago.
One significant lesson about the ship was the difference between the different classes aboard. I was a 1st class passenger but my girls were 3rd class passengers. At first they didn’t think much about it until they saw the difference in our sleeping cabins.
Or our dinner menus.
As you’re walking, make sure you take note of the change in music and lighting as the exhibit progresses. As the warnings of icebergs begin to appear the tone of the exhibit becomes more serious.
My girls were in awe when they were feeling the piece of ice and they realized how cold the water must have been.
At the end you visit a wall filled with all the names of the passengers and you look on the names of the survivors and those lost. It is there where you can see the fate of the passenger’s identity you were given.
Nothing teaches better than experience and I know my girls will always remember this. I would highly recommend seeing this exhibit while you are in Portland, Maine.
ADDRESS: 68 Commercial Street on Maine Wharf. Portland, Maine
PHONE NUMBER: 207-812-3848
HOURS: Monday-Thursday 10:00-6:00
Friday & Saturday 10:00-7:00
Sunday 11:00-6:00
ADMISSION: Adults (13+) $19.50 Children (2-12) $17.50
WEBSITE: http://www.portlandsciencecenter.com/