The Plainsman Press - South Plains College

by Hilary McNamara, co-entertainment editor

all photos by Monica Rose

For most Gen-Xers, Titanic evokes the memory of the 1997 movie. That may lead some to think of “I’m the King of the World” or “I’ll Never Let go.”

Now the Lubbock Science Spectrum presents a whole new look at this amazing ship and its tragic story with “Titanic: The Artifact Exhibition.” This is the first time the exhibit has ever been in West Texas and the only time it ever will.

Originally, the exhibit was supposed to go to a museum in California, but they cancelled at the last minute and the Lubbock Science Spectrum was called. There are several different versions of the exhibit, and Lubbock received one of the smaller ones, with fewer than 200 artifacts.

To start the journey, you receive a White Star Line R.M.S Titanic boarding pass. This features the name of an actual passenger’s name who was on the ship. The minute you receive this boarding pass, 2006 melts away and you are walking into 1907, when it all began.

The exhibit starts at the beginning, when J. Bruce Ismay and Lord James Pirrie came up with an idea to build three vessels. These vessels were to compete in the transatlantic immigrant and luxury shipping market.

As the journey continues through the exhibit, you learn more about the Titanic and it becomes more personal. Among the artifacts is a brush back, which first-class ladies used to brush their hair to get ready for an elegant ball. The first, second and third- class areas of the exhibit are amazing in their own right. To travel first class back then, a ticket would cost $2,500, which would equal $43,800 today. To travel third class, a ticket would have cost $35, which would equal $620 today.

One of the highlights of the exhibit is the recreation of first and third-class rooms. The difference is amazing, and it is two worlds apart. It really gives a sense of how it was in the early 20th century.

The exhibit takes you through several more rooms, with each room becoming grander than the last. As you start to feel that you are on this incredible ship, you are introduced to people who were. Some of these people were the famous Margaret Brown (Molly Brown) or the Frederick Goodwin Family.

Through the whole exhibit, the world of these people and the mastermind of the ship is opened up. One recreation that gives a sense of reality is that of an iceberg. The exhibit dares you to put your hand on it and see how long it can stay there. The point is to show how cold the water was that passengers were drowning in. The water was 28 degrees. With water that cold, hypothermia sets in at about 15 minutes.

After the realization of the severity of the water, the rest of the exhibit hits you at the heart. It goes through stories of people who lived and people who died. Nearing the end of the exhibit, there is a huge wall that has the manifest of all the survivors and those who perished. With this information, you get to see if the passenger on your ticket lived or died.

Not only is the Science Spectrum offering this exhibit, but they are also offering a movie at the Omni Max titled “The Ghost of The Abyss.” This movie features the research world of the R.M.S Titanic Inc. This is the only company that is legally allowed to make the dive and retrieve artifacts from the ship.

The movie offers a jolting story that will complete or start the journey into the R.M.S Titanic. Viewing the movie first, though, will enhance the experience through the exhibit, but is not required.

The Titanic Artifact Exhibition will be at the Science Spectrum until January 1, 2007. This is an exhibit not to miss. It will open your eyes culturally and take your mind and heart to a whole other level.