Nora Keene was boarding the Titanic headed to Harrisburg when she accidentally dropped her rosary and prayer book overboard: an omen of the tragedy to come.

While Keene survived that ill-fated voyage, others bound for Harrisburg weren't so lucky. Four Balkan immigrants hoping to work in the Susquehanna steel mills perished when the Titanic struck an iceberg and sank into the Atlantic Ocean. Their bodies were never recovered.

Visitors to the Whitaker Center's "Titanic: The Artifact Exhibition" can discover more about these passengers and trace their steps through the ship when the exhibit opens Saturday, March 27, in the newly expanded Gloria M. Olewine Gallery. Created by RMS Titanic Inc., the company responsible for salvaging the wreck, the traveling exhibit has been seen by more than 22 million people in 70 cities worldwide.

"The story of the Titanic has so many different facets," said Steve Bishop, Whitaker Center's vice president of science and IMAX programs. "The cutting-edge technology that Titanic represented and the failure of that technology, the interplay between the passengers and the crew, the story of the wreck's disappearance and its discovery nearly 80 years later. … It's not just about the information and the details of the sinking; it's also about the emotional impact."

"Titanic: The Artifact Exhibition" is a larger version of Whitaker Center's 2005 Titanic exhibit, which drew more visitors to the museum than any other display in its history. The new installation features 150 artifacts not previously displayed in Harrisburg, 11 of which have never been shown anywhere.

At the start of the exhibit, each visitor is given a boarding pass of an actual passenger on the ship. Unlike past exhibits, museum officials will only allow a certain number of people into the exhibit at one time to prevent crowding. This preserves the quiet, contemplative mood as visitors get a first-person look at the ship's construction in Northern Ireland and life on board.

The Titanic spared no luxury: Its first-class section had a swimming pool, gymnasium, squash court and Turkish bath. First-class passengers paid more than $4,000 for such amenities — about $96,000 today. An elegant string orchestra can be heard as museum visitors pass a replica of the ship's grand staircase, complete with cherub.

The exhibit then guides visitors through the ship's sinking, marking the experience by inviting them to feel the icy water in which 1,517 people plunged to their deaths. Tragically, only a few of the lifeboats were loaded to capacity.

After a tour of the ship, visitors can see various artifacts pulled from the wreckage. Many are remarkably well-preserved after spending 80 years on the ocean floor. Paper items such as money, postcards and stock certificates survived inside leather wallets and briefcases. Also on display are stacks of gold-leaf china with the ship's name and logo, off which first-class passengers ate a 10-course meal of filet mignon, lamb and roast squab. Patrons can even sniff half-full vials of perfume.

At the end of the exhibit, visitors find out whether the people on their boarding passes survived by looking at the names on the wall memorial. With only 706 of the 2,223 passengers surviving, the Titanic disaster remains the worst shipwreck in U.S. history.

An IMAX documentary accompanying the exhibit, "Titanica," provides an even more immersive experience. Leonard Nimoy narrates as a Russian crew navigates the wreckage while cramped inside a pair of research submarines. Both subs were outfitted with IMAX cameras and 150,000-watt lights, producing crystal-clear picture quality. The underwater scenes are interspersed with black-and-white photos of the ship during its construction and an interview with a survivor, Eva Hart. She was 90 years old when the movie was filmed, and 7 at the time of the sinking.

"Mother thought to call it 'unsinkable' was flying in the face of the Almighty," Hart said.

"Titanic: The Artifact Exhibition" runs through Sept. 5 at Harsco Science Center in the Whitaker Center, 222 Market St., Harrisburg. For ticket information, call 214-2787 or visit whitakercenter.org. blog comments powered by Disqus