Titanic Exhibit?

[matt t.]

Anybody been to the Titanic artifacts exhibit at the Milwaukee Public Museum? Looking for input before spending a bunch of $$$ to see a pair of glasses and a baseball glove or something .

[Dad_Crush]

I did.  Took the kids and thought, overall, it was interesting, but expensive for what it was.  As I like history, I thought the whole thing was great to see and to support the museum.  So I paid and went.  It was about $80 for 2 adults and 3 kids...it's more interesting for adults and late elementary school kids.  Little ones like my 5 year old pretty much just liked the model ships and the 2-3 videos that were playing.  My 10 year old was totally into it.  It's certainly nothing like the egyptian exhibit that was in town a while ago, but here are the highlights:

+ big chunk of ice for everyone to look at/touch  (kids got a kick out of that)
+ mock state room from 1st class and a mock third class cabin with bunks are set up
+ there were a bunch of clothes, dishes, glasses, and a bunch of other personal artifacts that were connected to teh people that lost them which adds something to what you're looking at
+ There's a 2-3 ton chunk of the titanic and a cargo door...in this section there is a volunteer and video to explain how they raised the pieces, how long it took, and what the challenges were.  '
+ The exhibit is heavy on the passengers and there are lots of quotes from the ship builders, crew, passengers, etc, interestingly they give you a mock "ticket" when  you walk in that has a person's name, class, who they were with, where they were going, etc.  at teh end of the exhibit is a wall where you can find out if that person lived or died. 
+ at the end, where you see the passenger roster, there is also a set up that shows models of the Edmund Fitzgerald and another very well known Michigan wreck that I'll kick myself for not remembering here in a minute.  There's a video here also of their stories. 

Much more interesting for people who can understand the history of it.  If you are going without kids, or kids that are old enough, rent the audio tour hand helds,...we did not, but it might add that something extra that I felt was missing.  Most of what is posted near each artifact is a small description of what you're looking at, the audio might add the extra history.  I was sheparding kids so I didn;t have time to stand in one place for long.

Hope this helps

[matt t.]

Thanks, it sounds good enough to me. I think we'll go sometime this winter.

[Captain caveman]

I went a couple years ago Matt when the exhibit was in Chicago. I had a great time and hope to see it again. 

[matt t.]

We finally made it to see the IMAX film "Ghost's of the Abyss" and the Titanic exhibit at The Milwaukee Public Library today. I thought the documentary movie was a good addition, but the additional $8 cost for the movie and the $24 exhibit admission made for an expensive afternoon for the 3 of us. I believe the documentary, shot in 2001 by James cameron has been on as a cable t.v. special before as it seemed familiar, but it helped to get you in mindset to take in the exhibit and all of it's elements. In the exhibit there were many personal artifacts as well a a good number of artifacts from the ship itself. They even had a "live" iceberg to touch if so inclined. There were many personal stories related by survivors about their experiences during the cruise and subsequent sinking. On one wall lists were posted as to who survived and who went down with the ship. I wouldn't say that it's a "must see", but if you're bored some winter weekend it may be worth it to you. YMMV.

[Dewit2it]

Speaking of the Fitzgerald, the Anderson is in Sturgeon Bay for the winter. (the boat that tracked the Fitzgerald during the storm)