Sloan’s Titanic exhibit takes visitors back in history

By Autumn Prescott, Reporter|March 16, 2017

IMAGE / Mr. Willy Stower / Wkimedia Commons

Mr. Willy Stower depicted the Titanic sinking in a 1912 engraving.

The Sloan Longway museum will be giving people a chance to take a trip through history dating back to 1912 with its new Titanic exhibits.

The exhibits, which opened Jan. 21, teach people about the ship, the sinking, and the tragic 1,503 deaths that happened in the early morning of April 15, 1912, after the ship hit an iceberg and sank.

Imagine, you’re a first class passenger on the second Olympic class ocean liner RMS (Royal Mail Steamer) Titanic. You’ve been spending your days on the ship deck playing squash and your nights feasting in the dining hall. You’ve admired the Grand Staircase and enjoyed spending time in the luxurious swimming pool.

IMAGE / Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons
The Titanic was 882 and a half feet long, and 45,000 tons. it carried around 2,200 people during its maiden voyage.

Then one night, your whole world is turned upside down when you hear rumors that the “unsinkable ship” has been hit by an iceberg and is in danger of actually sinking.

This is what every passenger on RMS Titanic went through.

The museum emulates this feeling by giving each visitor a brochure with a Titanic passenger on it.

Some of the passenger’s stories will be told and at the end of the tour there is a list of survivors if any visitor wants to find their passenger and discover more about them.

IMAGE / Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons
First Officer William Murdoch (l to r), Chief Officer Joseph Evans, Fourth Officer David Alexander, and Captain Edward J. Smith sailed the RMS Olympic. Murdoch later was promoted to Chief Officer of the Titanic and was on the navigation bridge during the Titanic’s collision with an iceberg.

The museum offers nine Titanic-related programs for all ages, including “Michigan Bound Titanic passengers” and “Titanic Tribute Night.”

Walking through the main exhibit, “Titanic: The Artifact Exhibition,” takes about two hours.

The exhibit is timed, which means Sloan employees will allow people into the display every 15 minutes. Workers are hoping this system will help alleviate congestion and keep people moving.

There are many artifacts in the exhibit, including parts of the ship and the china used during meals. Jewelry and clothing of Titanic passengers are on display as well.

In addition, replicas of first- and third-class cabins are shown and a hands-on iceberg model is also open for interaction.

Along the walls of the exhibit are pictures of famous Titanic passengers and details of their journey, including why they were on the ship and what happened on that fateful night 105 years ago. There are also models of the ship through the entire process of it’s sinking.

The exhibits offered at Sloan keep viewers interested and stick true to the facts.