made; many TV movies/shows have been made the sinking of the RMS Titanic. What makes us want to know more
about this? Maybe because they found the ship under the ocean and now we all want to see what it looked like. We
want to know why it sank, etc.
This exhibit gives us inside information about some of the things still at the bottom of the sea, but also some that were
recovered after several expeditions.
When you enter the exhibit you are given a boarding pass. When I got mine I did not think about it, as I was excited about
seeing the exhibit. Then at the end of the journey through the past a man asked me if I survived? He explained that
each boarding pass has information about a passenger (and their guest) on the back. He looked at my boarding pass
and said you survived. This man wrote several books about the Titanic, including a list of the passengers and who
survived and who did not survive the sinking.
After looking at my boarding pass and reading about the person and their guest I found it very interesting. I consider
myself a survivor and the passengers were a mother and daughter. I have a daughter, so that interested me. The
daughter took piano lessons, as did my daughter. The two ladies transferred another ship to the Titanic. They had
stopped in Paris to do some shopping before starting on their trip home to Chicago, Illinois. Well, my daughter and I love
to shop...but the fact that the ladies were from Illinois was even more interesting. I lived in the Chicago area after I was
married. So it seemed that we shared some things with the actual passengers of the Titanic.
Maybe that is why I was moved by this trip through time. From the moment the curator Mark Lach talked about a
survivor he met and I was almost in tears as it was sad, until the last part of the exhibit. When I saw the "big piece" I felt
this dread come over me. It was like I could feel the pain of those who had been through this terrible tragedy.
I will talk about what the "big piece," to me the highlight of the exhibit, later.
The exhibit has artifacts recovered from the RMS Titanic over the years. There was money, suitcases, dishes, jewelry,
perfume, watches, etc. There are photos showing inside pictures of the Titanic and replica suites, etc. showing the
inside of ship.
Now to the highlight of the exhibit the "big piece" recovered from the ocean floor.
It is a piece of the outside wall recovered in 2004 from the Titanic resting place. It is amazing when you walk into the
room where this piece of the outside hull is located. It is a 15-ton piece of the Titanic's hull, measuring 12 feet by 23
feet. It is the largest object ever recovered from the Titanic wreckage after the ship sank on its maiden voyage in 1912
killing more than 1,500 people.
The exhibit designer Mark Lach and curator talked about his trip down in the sub to the RMS Titanic's resting place,
before we entered the exhibit. He also introduced us to a man (who looks just like Captain Smith). Our tour guide
Captain Smith talked a little about his ship. The role-play was done throughout the exhibit. I took photos of him by some
of the things they have replicated for the exhibit from original photos from the ship. It was like talking with the actual
Captain Smith.
TITANIC’S “BIG PIECE” MAKES ITS WAY TO THE TROPICANA
The largest object ever recovered from the wreck site of the legendary Titanic installed at the Tropicana Resort &
Casino as part of the seven-month run of Titanic: The Artifact Exhibition.
DETAILS:
RMS Titanic, Inc. recovered the “Big Piece” during a 1998 expedition. The section of Titanic’s hull is from her starboard
side and contains huge steel plates, thousands of rivets and portholes from first-class cabins C-79 and C-81.
The deep-diving submersible Nautile first set out to recover the “Big Piece” in 1996. The piece was rigged with cables
and connected to lift bags to raise it to surface. The piece ascended to within 215 feet of the ocean surface before a
sudden storm caused cables to fail, sending the piece back down two and a half miles to the bottom of the sea.
RMS Titanic, Inc. launched a second expedition to recover the piece in 1998. This time the recovery effort was a
success and the “Big Piece” was slowly pulled from the North Atlantic Ocean.
After resting on the bottom of the sea since April 15, 1912, the “Big Piece” underwent an extensive conservation
process that included an electrolytic bath to arrest corrosion and remove salts.
Information obtained from a press release from the Tropicana Resort & Casino. Also, check the RMS Titanic, Inc.
Website for more information on the RMS Titanic and other recovery exhibitions.
RMS Titanic, Inc. and Tropicana Resort & Casino. Photos by John Gurzinski.
Titanic: The Artifact Exhibition
at the Tropicana Resort & Casino.
was located on the Titanic.
the back portion of the hull. The artifact was cleaned up since it was brought up from the ocean floor.
separate the 3rd class passengers from
the upper decks.
prices for passage.
replica of one of the first class hallways.