Titanic set to arrive at Singapore's ArtScience Museum

Nearly 100 years after it set sail on its fateful first voyage, RMS Titanic is set to be brought to life at the ArtScience Museum at Singapore'sMarina Bay Sands.

The story of the grand liner, her passengers and crew will be revealed in Titanic: The Artifact Exhibition, which opens on opens 29th October 2011 will remain open through the 100th anniversary of the historic sailing and sinking of the great Ship in April 2012.

Making its Southeast Asian debut, the blockbuster Exhibition will feature approximately 275 artifacts, 14 of which have never been seen before. These artifacts were rescued from more than 3,800 metres below the ocean surface at the ship's final resting place, offering visitors a poignant look at this iconic Ship and her passengers.

Designed to tell the incredible human stories from the legendary RMS Titanic's maiden voyage, the Exhibition makes use of authentic artifacts and extensive room re-creations combined with the compelling stories of the passengers and crew have made this exhibition one of the most successful exhibition in the world with more than 25 million tickets sold to date.

Items from the ship's construction, vials of perfume from a maker who was traveling to New York to sell his samples, china etched with the logo of the elite White Star Line, postage stamps, sheet music, coins, jewelry, personal items and many other authentic objects offer historical insights into the life and times of travelers of that era and the wide socio-economic disparity between rich and poor.

Tom Zaller, Museum Director, ArtScience Museum at Marina Bay Sands, explains "Titanic is such an iconic Ship with such a powerful story to tell that we're proud to present Titanic: The Artifact Exhibition at such an equally iconic venue. For the first time in Singapore and Southeast Asia, visitors will be able to travel back in time to relive Titanic's majestic maiden voyage and experience the drama that unfolded as the world's largest Ship sank to the depths of the Atlantic Ocean."

The artifacts will be displayed in ArtScience Museum's lower galleries which have been meticulously recreated to resemble actual locations in Titanic, such as the First and Third Class Cabins, Verandah Café, the famous Grand Staircase, the Promenade deck and Boiler Room.

Occupying 2,500 metres2 of gallery space, the Exhibition will show the magnitude of Titanic using real artifacts recovered from the wreck site. A total of nine galleries will take visitors through the Ship's conception, construction, sailing day, life on board, the famous iceberg, Titanic's sinking, the discovery of the wreck, while all throughout telling the incredible stories of her passengers and crew.

To immerse visitors in Titanic's story and bring them back in time to the Ship's maiden voyage on 10th April 1912, each visitor will receive a replica boarding pass of an actual passenger aboard Titanic as they enter the exhibition. They then begin their chronological journey through the life of the Titanic, moving through the ship's construction, to life on board, to the ill-fated sinking and amazing artifact rescue efforts.

Visitors will marvel at the re-created grandeur of the 9 metre high Grand Staircase, an exact replica and reconstruction of the real Grand Staircase on Titanic.

Visitors can experience first-hand the freezing temperature when Titanic sank by pressing their palms against an interactive 'Iceberg Wall' in the 'Iceberg Gallery'.

To experience the luxurious decor of Titanic's 'First Class Cabin', visitors will see a precise replica of the cabin with details such as furniture, carpet, bed structure and bathroom facilities.

The 'Discovery Gallery' takes visitors through the key milestones of Titanic's expeditions as divers searched for the Titanic wreck, the Ship's final discovery in 1985 and the science of how the wreck has been monitored and artifacts recovered at such extreme depth.

In the 'Memorial Gallery', guests will take their boarding pass to the "Memorial Wall" and discover whether their passenger and traveling companions survived or perished.

To understand the impact of Titanic in Singapore, a new gallery is being created. Named 'Singapore 1912', the gallery will be dedicated to local connections where visitors can learn about how the sinking of the great Ship strongly resonated in Singapore. Images of Singapore in the early 1900's and 1912 will be displayed alongside local newspaper articles that covered Titanic's disaster at the time. Archeological finds from the period including European and Chinese ceramics, glassware, toothbrushes and opium vials which were excavated at Pulau Saigon, the "lost" island of the Singapore River, will also accompany the Exhibition.

Zaller adds "ArtScience Museum at Marina Bay Sands is committed to bringing blockbuster exhibitions to Singapore that are accessible to people of all ages and interests. With Titanic: The Artifact Exhibition, we've taken this one step further and enhanced its relevance to Singaporeans by demonstrating the impact of global developments here, even in the early 20th century."

Over the past 15 years, more than 25 million people have seen this powerful Exhibition in major museums worldwide.

During its display in Melbourne last, the Exhibition became the most popular event at an Australian museum with a record 333,000 visitors. 

For more information go to www.marinabaysands.com/Singapore-Attractions/ArtScience-Museum/

Lower image shows the ArtScience Museum as it sits in front of Singapore's Marina Bay Sands

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