The Titanic was a British cruise ship that sank on April 15, 1912 during its first voyage from England to New York. More than 1,500 people died. Only 700 escaped to safety on the lifeboats.
When the Titanic left England, it was the largest ship in the world. It was 882 feet long, over 100 feet tall, and had 10 levels. The Titanic was thought to be unsinkable.
The First Class passengers had every luxury you can imagine: gourmet meals, a heated pool, and squash courts. The ship even had its own onboard newspaper.
On the night of April 14, 1912, the R.M.S. Titanic sailed through the cold waters of the North Atlantic Ocean. The 2,200 people on board were not aware of the danger just ahead.
At 2:20 a.m. early the next morning, the ship ran into an iceberg. It tore a 300-foot hole into the ship’s hull. As it flooded, people ran to the lifeboats. But although there were many luxuries on the ship, the Titanic had only 20 lifeboats. That was only enough to hold one third of the people on board.
Only about 700 people would survive the sinking of the Titanic. And the ship, which took three years to build, would sink in less than three hours. Of the 109 children on board under the age of fourteen, 53 lost their lives. All except one were from the third class, or steerage class, section of the boat. These children were from poor families. In many cases their families had spent their life savings to make the trip to America for a better life.
Scientists and historians believe that problems with the design of the ship led to the disaster. They continue to study the famous steamship for answers. But that has not been an easy thing to do. The remains of the Titanic wreck sit on the floor of the ocean more than 12,400 feet beneath the surface.
Visit the Museum! Bringing the ghost of the Titanic to life
Want to do more than just read about the Titanic? Just a short drive away you can walk through a door into the past. The Titanic Museum Attraction in Branson, Missouri, offers a one-of-a-kind experience for the whole family. As a visitor, you can touch a real iceberg and reach your hands into 28-degree water. You can walk up and down the Grand Staircase. You can journey through the third class hallways. You can even try to stand on the sloping decks of the sinking ship. You can feel what it was like on the R.M.S. Titanic by experiencing it first-hand these authentic recreations.
The fun begins as you enter the ship and receive a boarding pass of an actual Titanic passenger or crew. Feel their spirit presence in the galleries where over 400 personal and private artifacts are on display. Many are on display for the first time in the world. This collection is valued at over four and a half million dollars. At the end of your self-guided tour you can discover your passenger or crew’s fate in the Titanic Memorial Room. Here they list all 2,208 names on this historic wall.
Fun activities on board:
• Receive a Boarding Pass of an actual passenger/crew member
• View $4.5 million + of artifacts
• Walk the $1 million exact replica of Titanic’s Grand Staircase
• Touch an iceberg and feel 28-degree water
• Shovel “coal” in the Boiler Room
• Learn how to send an SOS distress signal
• Experience the Sloping Decks of the ship’s stern as she descended
• Sit in an actual size lifeboat and hear true passenger stories
Take a look at this video to see what families are saying about the Titanic Museum experience!