The lavish and ill-fated RMS Titanic has been romanticized in popular culture since its tragic sinking in 1912 that resulted in the loss of more than 1,500 passengers in the icy northern Atlantic Ocean.
The nearly-15,000-square-foot attraction, Titanic: The Artifact Exhibition, has returned to COSI, with more than 350 artifacts from the Titanic, including 100 not seen before in Columbus, and 23 making their world debut.
Now you can wander among intimate remnants of the ship, including clothes, shoes, binoculars, dishes and jewelry from its passengers; feel the chill of an uncomfortably close iceberg; and take a journey through the grand ship’s construction. COSI “passengers” are given a pass that allows them to move throughout the vessel, with replicas of the Grand Staircase, a first-class cabin and a third-class cabin.
“You don’t feel like you’re in a science museum or at an exhibit. When you enter, you feel like you’re drawn back in time to 1912 – like you’re entering the ship,” says Kelli Nowinsky, COSI public relations and social media manager. “It’s a very moving, compelling story, unlike anything you’ll ever see. It’s a great exhibition.”
Titanic: The Artifact Exhibition runs through Sept. 6, 2010
Tickets: Adults (13-59) $23.75, Seniors (60+) $21.75, Youth (2-12) $16.75, Under 2 Free, COSI Members (adult/youth) $8/$7.
COSI is open seven days a week during the duration of the exhibit from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Mondays through Saturdays, and from 12 to 6 p.m. Sundays. For tickets or more information, visit www.cosi.org.
Ohio Connections
Of the more than 2,200 passengers on the Titanic, 18 of them were headed back to Ohio. Some were Columbus natives returning home; others were looking for a new life in Akron. Here are some of their stories.
In the early 1900s, Akron’s rubber plants attracted hundreds of immigrants from Penzance, Cornwall, England. Richard George Hocking moved to Akron to work at the Diamond Rubber Plant a few years before turning 22. In 1912, he went back to Penzance to lead a group of 11 to America, more than half of whom were family members, including his mother, an aunt, two sisters and two nephews. As was the case with so many families on the ship, the women and children lived while the men perished.
Sarah “Sallie” Monypeny was born into one of Columbus’ wealthiest families in the early 20th century. She married fellow Ohioan Logan Newsom, from Gallipolis, and was cousins with Ohio Governor Judson Harmon. When Newsom died young, Sallie remarried Richard Beckwith, a real estate broker from New York, and began going by the name of Sallie Beckwith.
At the time, a world champion tennis player, Karl Behr, was attracted to Sallie’s daughter Helen. Sallie took Helen to Europe to escape from his aggressive pursuit; however Behr followed and maintained contact with Helen while there. After he heard that Sallie and Helen were planning to return to the United States via the Titanic, he bought a ticket aboard the ship, as well. All three of them survived the tragedy and, upon their return to the United States, Helen and Behr were married, with Sallie’s approval.
In 1905, Jessie Bruce and her parents emigrated from Scotland to the United States and settled on a farm close to Camp Chase, the former military prison and Confederate Cemetery outside of Columbus. She married William Trout in March 1911, but he died just six months later. To combat her grief, Jessie visited her grandmother in Scotland. Not scheduled to return until May, she decided at the last minute to buy a ticket for the Titanic to return to her parents sooner. She also survived the sinking and became a favorite source of journalists upon her return to Columbus.
John Thomas Sr. immigrated to America prior to the rest of his family, and began a clothing manufacturing venture which brought much success. He eventually traveled from Columbus back to his homeland of Lebanon (at that time, a part of Syria) in 1911 to get his 15-year-old son, John Jr. Although they planned to leave in late March, other family members decided to come, too, so they pushed back their departure and boarded the Titanic at Cherbourg as third-class passengers. Thomas’ niece, however, was the only one who would see a new life in America.
These stories are among many that are part of the Titanic exhibit, and provide a more personal look into one of the world’s most notorious disasters.
Preservation and Recovery
Throughout seven expeditions to the site of the Titanic’s wreckage by RMS Titanic, Inc., the only company that can legally retrieve objects from the area, more than 5,500 artifacts have been recovered. The objects range from porcelain dishes to a 17-ton section of the ship’s hull.
After spending years on the ocean floor, artifacts go through a meticulous preservation process. First, the objects undergo a careful process to remove rust and salt deposits. Once an object leaves the water and become exposed to the air, it must undergo an immediate stabilization process to prevent more deterioration. This process can take anywhere from six months to two years before an artifact can be further conserved by using a treatment compatible with its specific material. Metal, leather and wood objects, for example, require a process called “electrolysis,” which removes negative ions and salt. Chemical agents and fungicides are then used to remove rust and fungus. Also, a water-soluble wax replaces spaces in leather objects that were previously filled with debris and water.
Paper artifacts are first freeze-dried to remove water and then cleansed with specialized vacuums and hand tools that remove debris.
Once an artifact is sealed in a case, temperature, relative humidity and light levels can be controlled to protect it from further deterioration during worldwide exhibits.
Science of the Titanic – April 10
COSI will present a family workshop with a unique look at the science behind the Titanic. Geared toward children ages 6-12, the two-hour event will explain how the ship stayed afloat, why it sank and the changes made to future ships to avoid similar disasters. Young scientists eager to get a head start can download the “Float Your Boat” activity from the Family Workshops page of the COSI Web site. “Science of the Titanic,” runs from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. and 1:30-3:30 p.m. For more information, visit www.cosi.org.
Highlights of the Titanic: The Artifact Exhibition include:
• A 3,000-pound section of the ship’s hull
• Recreations of both first- and third-class accommodations
• Personal items, including a gentleman’s top hat, china etched with the logo of the elite White Star Line, binoculars and more
• A collection of perfume vials that belonged to a first-class passenger, recovered during a dive in 2000
• A simulated iceberg offering a sense of the environmental conditions at play on the night of the Titanic disaster
• A gallery devoted the Titanic’s Ohio connections
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