We were hosted by Titanic Belfast, as always opinions are our own.
The partly filled lifeboat standing by about 100 yards away never came back. Why on Earth they never came back is a mystery. How could any human being fail to heed those cries. -Jack B Thayer, Titanic Survivor
Like many other teenage girls, I remember my obsession with Leonardo DiCaprio in the Titanic movie days. Unfortunately, at that time in my life my focus was less on the real story of the Titanic and more on the Hollywood version of it.
As parents, Meshach and I are always trying to educate Tristan about monumental events that have taken place in our world’s history and to become independent enough to rely on finding the real stories behind an event like the sinking of the RMS Titanic.
Well apparently, Tristan beat us to it. Prior to our trip to Ireland, he came across some ocean research videos on YouTube about the Titanic and (Tristan who is only 4 years old) suggested we visit Belfast to see the Titanic museum. How did he even know the museum is in Belfast is a mystery to me!
Tristan was really excited about visiting the museum since he is a fan of anything Titanic related.
If you ask him, he can tell you everything he knows about the Titanic and the sinking of the ship – at only 4 years old! So we took him to where it all began.
RMS Titanic
If you look in your dictionary you will find: Titans – A race of people vainly striving to overcome the forces of nature. Could anything be more unfortunate than such a name, anything more significant?
– Arthur Rostron, Captain of the rescue ship Carpathia
The Titanic was then, the world’s largest passenger ship measuring at 882 feet in length. It had a gym, Turkish bath, spa, restaurants, cafes, bars, barber shop, many areas used for lounging and an elegant Grand Staircase which we all remember seeing a perfect replica of in the movie, Titanic.
It took 2 years for the ship to be constructed in Belfast at Harland and Wolff shipyard before launching its maiden voyage April 2, 1912.
The ship was coined as “unsinkable”. Little did everyone know.
An Interactive Experience
Walking through Titanic Belfast museum, the exhibits are an interactive experience for visitors.
It covers everything about the Titanic from the first planning stages to today’s research and recovery efforts of the ship. One of our favorite things about our visit was the shipyard ride.
It’s an actual ride that takes you through 10 minutes of an electronic gallery showing how the ship was built, including commentary from those who constructed it. We learned a lot about the building of the ship. For instance, did you know the millions of rivets used in the construction were all done by hand?
Some scientists speculate that weak iron rivets and poor quality riveting is why the ship could not aid in the possible survival of the crash into the iceberg.
The museum also takes visitors through the interior of the Titanic in very cool holographic and CGI exhibits – one in particular that will show you its famous Grand Staircase.
You will also get a glimpse into the ship’s decks, cabins, and dining hall. We recommend taking your time touring the museum, there is a lot of information and things to see. You could easily spend most of your day there.
Tragedy at Sea
Deeply regret advise you Titanic sank this morning after collision with iceberg, resulting in serious loss of life. Full particulars later. – J. Bruce Ismay, wire to the White Star Line offices in New York
There were 2,240 passengers and crew on board the luxury ocean liner. Over 1500 of them died during the sinking of the ship.
Towards the end of your walk through the museum, you are taken through a profound experience of the night of the tragedy. Echos of wireless transmissions from the Titanic’s distress calls set the tone of this part of the tour.
It was at 11:40pm on April 14, 1912 when the Titanic crashed into an iceberg about 50 – 100 feet high and 200-400 feet in length. It was sailing 400 miles south of Newfoundland.
The iceberg was spotted in the water about 30 seconds before the crash.
Evidence shows that other ships were giving multiple advance warnings throughout that day to the RMS Titanic about icebergs in their path, but no one heeded the warnings. Ironically, Captain Edward Smith suddenly cancelled a lifeboat drill earlier that day for unknown reasons.
The night was too dark to spot the iceberg ahead, which is why it was too late despite all efforts to turn the ship around. The starboard bow struck the iceberg within seconds.
I’ll not have so many little boats, as you call them, cluttering up my decks and putting fear into my passengers. -J. Bruce Ismay, Director of the White Star Line
At 12:20a on April 15, 1912 another ship, RMS Carpathia, heard the distress calls and made their way to the Titanic’s location, however they were 58 miles away. The SS Californian who gave warnings of the icebergs were only 20 miles away but had turned off communications for the night.
Women and children were being loaded first into the lifeboats. The ship was supposed to have at least 48 lifeboats but that was reduced during the construction due to aesthetic reasons.
At approximately 2:20a the RMS Titanic sank into the sea. About an hour later, the Carpathia arrived and managed to rescue 705 people. The others had either perished in the sea with the sinking of the ship or hypothermia as the water temperature was at 28 degrees Fahrenheit.
Titanic Quarter
Titanic Belfast is located in the Titanic Quarter which is a waterfront area comprised of not only the museum but the SS Nomadic (the Titanic’s tender), hotels, restaurants, businesses and film studios where Game of Thrones is filmed.
A walk along Belfast Harbour is also a nice way to spend your time in the Titanic Quarter. Check out our video below!
For more information about Titanic Belfast, visit their website.
What museum have you visited that was based on a historic event? Comment below and share this post!
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