{as told by my husband}

My wife and I spent  2 hours 2-1/2 miles below the frigid North Atlantic during our last trip to Las Vegas. Titanic: The Artifact Exhibition provides an eerie yet informative trip through the fateful events surrounding the world’s most famous shipwreck.

Within the giant black pyramid on South Las Vegas Boulevard, the Luxor Hotel and Casino is currently exhibiting an amazing variety of articles salvaged from the bottom of the sea.

Our journey began with a boarding pass and a step 100 years back in time to April 1912 where the excitement surrounding the first voyage of the RMS Titanic is depicted in a number of testimonials and press clippings from the Southampton departure.

A background track of the clamor and bustle sets the mood, and the excitement is brought to life with boastful descriptions of the finest ship ever built. A haunting realization that for all its glory and fame, this ship was soon to be a tomb is present throughout the exhibit.

A small gangway and passage leads through the ships innards where replicas of typical accommodations for the steerage, second and first class passengers are displayed.

Artifacts including luggage, personal items together with descriptions of their use provide insight into the lives of the variety of people on board the ship.

I found myself trying to place myself amongst the rich and famous heading back to the States after a year vacationing abroad, or more probably amongst the families huddled aboard with all their worldly possessions in search of a new life in the new world.

The impressive replica of the grand staircase is all the more amazing when one considers that the real actual thing is still sitting at the bottom of the North Atlantic.

Through the galleys and dining halls, 100 year old utensils, flatware and cookware extol the pride with which the White Star Line was known for.

The daily lives of the variety of passengers on board is described throughout the exhibit and visitors can envision themselves on deck chairs with nothing but dark, cold, star-filled skies between the horizon and the ship’s deck rail.

Suddenly, the ease and excitement is transformed into chaos when visitors pass into a room that contains a large block of ice and descriptions of the navigation decisions that led to disaster. Visitors are encouraged to hold their hand to the ice for a chilling idea of what lay ahead for the passengers of the Titanic. Descriptions of the distress calls and shortage of lifeboats as well as locations and travel times for the nearest rescue vessels make it seem improbable that anyone would be able to survive.

Movies, books and documentaries may have made the disaster of the RMS Titanic common knowledge, but Titanic: The Artifact Exhibition now on display at the Luxor Las Vegas makes it personal. My favorite piece in the exhibit was a 30 foot long 12 foot tall section of the ships hull suspended for visitors to walk around. Knowing the fate of this massive steel ship does not dampen the effect of visiting 100 year old pieces of disaster salvaged from the the depths of the North Atlantic, and one hopes that the lessons learned from this event are not lost on future generations.

Our boarding pass carried throughout culminated with a wall of passengers that perished and those who survived, a Guggenheim, I did not make it.  Jen also did not.  This is completely worth your time if you are fascinated by the Titanic as we are. It’s really an out of the ordinary Vegas experience you will not forget.

We received tickets to experience the exhibition to facilitate this post.  All opinions are solely our own.