A FRESH LOOK

“Titanic: The Artifact Exhibition”

By JOHN BENSON

entertainment@vindy.com

Even though April 15 marks the 98th anniversary of the Titanic sinking, interest in the ship remains at an all-time high. It’s for this reason that “Titanic: The Artifact Exhibition” returns to Columbus for a six-month engagement at COSI.

“It’s a global touring exhibition,” said Premier Exhibitions VP of Education Cheryl Mure. “‘Titanic: Artifacts Exhibition’ has toured for the last 14 years and has been seen by more than 22 million people. We were at COSI in 2005, so we’re back again in 2010 with some fresh artifacts.”

Fresh indeed. Not only are there 23 new artifacts added that will be debuted in Columbus, but there are 66 artifacts in total that didn’t visit central Ohio in the past.

Also, this exhibit boasts full-size re-creations of the grand staircase, as well as first-class and third-class cabins.

Regarding the artifacts, all of which were recovered from the debris field of the wreck site of the Titanic, there are rivets, a beauty cream jar and even a postcard from Rocky River, Ohio.

“We don’t know who the postcard is from, but it’s interesting because there were over 20 immigrants on the Titanic that were traveling to all areas of Ohio,” Mure said. “Only New York was waiting for more of Titanic’s immigrants than Ohio was.”

While a rivet or glass jar may seem like a logical artifact to have survived underwater for nearly three-quarters of a century, how exactly do scientists explain a postcard not being destroyed?

“Anything we have in our collection that’s made of paper – we have a lot of currency and some letters – were all found inside of something made of leather, like a wallet, suitcase, purse, pouch,” Mure said. “The chemicals that were used in the tanning process in the early 1900s repelled the microorganisms on the bottom of the ocean so they can’t eat through it. You can imagine on any of the recovery expeditions we made to the wreck site any time we found leather when it came up to the surface, inside was a virtual time capsule from 1912.”

Finally, what is it about this ship that sank nearly a century ago that continues to draw new generations of onlookers and fans to visit “Titanic: The Artifact Exhibition?”

“First of all it was an iconic moment in history,” Mure said. “Everyone knows something about the story of Titanic. They bring that built-in interest with them when they come to the exhibition but the story has so many layers to it. It’s a tragedy that didn’t have to happen. So it leaves you with that sense of sadness. It’s also a story of great hope. Let’s not forget this ship was carrying over 700 third-class passengers who were hoping to start a new life. So it’s really a ship of dreams. It was opulent and luxurious and the biggest and largest and everyone’s eyes were on Titanic when she set sail.

“So that burned that into our memories. And when you think of that night of the sinking, there’s so much about that story that pulls you into it and it never leaves you. And the artifact exhibition tells that story through these amazing one-of-a-kind objects that were actually from the ship itself.”

“Titanic: The Artifact Exhibition” appears at COSI, 333 W. Broad St., Columbus now through Sept. 6. Tickets are $19.75 adults, $14.75 youth and $18.75 seniors. For more information: Call (614) 228-2674 or go to cosi.org.