The ship went down, but its memory is… Titanic

Published 9:00 pm Saturday, April 14, 2007

Victoria’s Royal BC Museum launched its six-month run of “Titanic: The Artifact Exhibition” on Saturday.

That’s exactly 95 years to the day, April 14, 1912, that RMS Titanic struck the iceberg that sent it to the bottom of the north Atlantic Ocean.

I had seen a Titanic exhibit at the Pacific Science Center in Seattle in 2001 and was underwhelmed. But after a sneak peek at the Royal BC Museum last month, I’m planning a return visit to Vancouver Island to see the show in its entirety.

Pauline Rafferty, CEO of the Royal BC Museum, said additional items and added experiences have been added to the show since it was in Seattle.

Produced by Premier Exhibitions, granted sole rights to recover wreckage from the Titanic, it includes 281 artifacts recovered from the Titanic’s resting place in 12,500 feet of water.

The artifacts are creatively displayed in a series of galleries that trace the life of the “unsinkable” ship – from its design and construction to its discovery, recovery and conservation.

“It isn’t just about the sinking of the Titanic,” Rafferty said. “It tells the stories and honors the memories of the people who lived through – and lost their lives during – this tragic incident.”

In keeping it real, visitors are issued boarding passes before they climb the gangplank. Each pass includes the name of a passenger and details about their voyage. At the end of the exhibit, you can find out if you survived.

I was 29-year-old Sarah Elizabeth (Lawry) Chapman from Spokane. My husband, John Henry Chapman, and I were returning to America to live closer to my brother in Fitzburn, Wis.

The trip was a belated honeymoon. Our journey began in Southampton in southern England, where the Titanic departed at noon April 10, 1912.

We were to arrive in New York City on April 15, with stops along the way in Cherbourg, France, to collect continental passengers and Queenstown (now Cobh), Ireland to pick up mail and additional passengers who were emigrating to the United States.

What impressed me were the special programming elements of the exhibition. Throughout the galleries are demonstration stations staffed by trained interpreters and junior docents who use props, reproductions and hands-on demonstrations to tell Titanic’s tale.

You can learn all about shipboard life and the difference between being in first and third class, explore the contents of an elegant steamer trunk, even sniff perfumes of the era.

You can also slip on a replica life jacket and lounge in a replica deck chair to get the feel of life on board the ship.

Actors in period costumes portray the main characters central to the Titanic story. They roam throughout the galleries, answering questions and interacting with visitors.

The characters include the ship’s captain, Edward Smith; shipbuilder Thomas Andrews; John Jacob Astor IV, the wealthiest man on the Titanic; Margaret Tobin Brown, better known as “The Unsinkable Molly Brown”; and Violet Jessop, an Irish stewardess who survived the sinkings of both the Titanic and her sister ship, the Britannic, four years later.

The “cast” was selected in March, and spent hours reading and doing research to get into character.

Barry Bowman, a well-known voiceover artist and broadcaster in Victoria, is playing the part of Smith.

Bowman remarked that he already has his sea legs, since he was the voice of the BC Ferries for many years.

Running in conjunction with the exhibition is the IMAX film “Titanica,” showing at the adjacent National Geographic Theatre.

I think it’s best to see the film before the exhibition. You’ll dive to the wreck through the lens of an IMAX camera and learn about the people on board and how the sinking unfolded.

As with many blockbuster exhibitions at the Royal BC Museum, Victoria’s hospitality industry has hopped on board, offering everything from hotel packages to special tours to the 250,000 visitors they expect:

Willow Stream Spa at The Fairmont Empress features a 90-minute “Titanic – Power of the Sea Thalasso Kur” treatment that will “harness the power of the sea and its healing properties.”

The Empress Dining Room has composed special Titanic-inspired dinners based on recipes and menus served aboard the doomed ship. A sample menu includes skewered squab, consomme Olga, filet mignon Lili and Waldorf pudding.

Spinnakers Gastro Brew Pub has created three special brews for the occasion: Titanic Stout, Iceberg and Unsinkable Molly Brown Ale.

The Victoria Harbour Ferry Co. has adapted its guided Gorge Tour to feature Titanic-era historical sites and lore from Victoria’s illustrious marine and shipbuilding past.

So did my husband and I survive the sinking of the Titanic?

I forgot to check. A return visit is definitely in order.

Sue Frause is a Whidbey Island freelance writer and photographer. You may contact her through her Web site at www.suefrause.com.

If you go …

“Titanic: The Artifact Exhibition”: April 14 to Oct. 14, Royal BC Museum, Belleville and Douglas streets, Victoria; 888-447-7977; admission is $25.50; save $6 by reserving tickets by April 23 for visits until June 17; hours are 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.; www.royalbcmuseum.bc.ca