This is an amazing museum inside and out and is worth the price of admission. I love the museum's exterior. It is a realistic replica of the ill-fated ship in an iceberg field. A feature that I really love and that is easily missed is the water fountains shooting up against the lower part of the keel, giving the illusion that ship is moving through the water. The museum does a great job putting its visitors back in the time of the Titanic's sinking, I really felt I was there, minus my cell phone and all of the other people.
You have to purchase timed tickets to visit the museum. I was able to find a goal deal on tickets on Groupon. The museum has a decent sized parking lot available for visitors. The staff there was very friendly and helpful. Everyone gets an audio device that can be used to help you with your tour and a card with the name and brief bio of one of the passengers that were on board the titanic. You can see if your person survives at the end of the tour. The audio device is easy to use. You just type in the number that corresponds with the image or exhibit you are looking at. Photos are not allowed of the first level of the museum due to what they call "copyright laws".
The museum has one of the largest collection of Titanic artifacts, in addition to some interactive exhibits. Some of the exhibits that you will see include being able to touch an actual iceberg, a replica model of the Titanic, a deck chair from the ship, a replica 3rd class cabin, a replica life boat, a replica grand stairwell, a tribute to jewish passengers, a comparison as to how far the Titanic wreckage is and a tribute to children passengers.
Some of my favorite exbhits were the room that was kept as the temperature on the deck of the Titanic the night of it hitting the iceberg, the sloping deck exhibit, and the interactive exhibit that allows you to see how long you could keep your hand in water that was the same temperature of the water the Titanic was in when it hit the iceberg.
You will find a couple of movies, with seating areas, playing on the second floor of the museum. The first one shows the construction of the Titanic. The other features exploration of the wreckage. Fun fact: in about a hundred years, there will be no wreckage left, just an orange spot at the bottom of the see, due to corrosion and deterioration.
Pretty much at the end of the tour, you will have the opportunity to take a souvenir photo that you can purchase later in the gift shop. The next room lists all of the passengers that survived the accident, divided by the class of cabin they were in. The room beyond that displays what life boat each survivor was on. There is also a tribute to the youngest and las living survivor of the tragedy, Millvina Dean, who was just 9 weeks old when the Titanic was sunk.
You end your tour in......yep, you guessed it, the gift shop. This is where you can purchase the souvenir photos that you took near the end of the tour. They also have toys, magnets, shirts, shot glasses, books, stuffed animals, drinks, snacks and other novelties.
I really enjoyed my visit to this museum. It is very well put together and is as entertaining as it is educational. This museum is fun for all ages and makes a great family outing. My 4-year old loved walking around with his audio device, dialing up sections of the audio tour. I highly recommend checking this museum out whether you are a history buff or not. You will not be disappointed. read more