'Titanic: The Artifact Exhibition' opens Thursday at Cox Science Center & Aquarium

The Cox Science Center & Aquarium on Tuesday unveiled “Titanic: The Artifact Exhibition,” for a preview of the exhibit that opens Thursday.

The exhibit, which has drawn crowds around the world, allows visitors to play the role of passengers or crew as they travel through the history of the R.M.S Titanic and experience the more than 100 recovered items on display.

For the preview event, guests entering the center were greeted by harp and violin duo Laura Sherman and Valentin Mansurov of the Palm Beach Symphony playing music from the James Cameron's film "Titanic," including “My Heart will Go On,” the song made popular by Celine Dion.

Kate Arrizza, president and CEO of Cox Science Center, highlighted the exhibit’s standing as one of the most visited in the world, as well as the intimate storytelling that is pivotal to the experience.

“The exhibit is more than just a display of historic items, however. It’s a unique narrative experience,” said Arrizza. “It’s a tale of the people aboard history’s most legendary ship on its maiden and final journey.”

Interactivity is central to the exhibit, beginning with the replica boarding passes given to visitors, each containing the information of a passenger or crew who was on the Titanic including age, hometown, class and reason for travel.

After “onboarding” into the exhibit, guests are taken through the history of the Titanic, with artifacts correlating to the time-period on display, such as the rivets and bolts of the ship’s hull displayed near quotes and photos of the Titanic’s construction; or the various early 20th century U.S. bills displayed in front of the replica first class living quarters.  

Conniston Middle School teacher Anne Rainey, whose students attended the preview event, praised the interactivity as central to the students' learning experience.

“They love reading about which passenger they are, the artifacts and they really loved the iceberg exhibit," Rainey told the Daily News.

The iceberg is yet another interactive display — a wardrobe-sized replica iceberg that guests can touch is next to a display highlighting the frigid environment the Titanic’s survivors found themselves in.

The final display in the exhibit features the names of all the survivors. Students flooded this portion of the exhibit, some jubilantly announcing their passenger’s survival, while others sighed at the realization that their passenger had died.

The exhibit runs through April 14. Admission is free for members; general admission is $24 for adults, $22 for seniors 60 or older, $20 for children 3 to 12, and free for children younger than 3. 

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Daily News: Titanic exhibition comes to Cox Science Center & Aquarium