The sinking of the mighty RMS Titanic in April 1912 is an event forever enshrined in American (not to mention international) history, memorialized in song, literature and, of course, the blockbuster film named for the doomed ship. Part of the public's continuing fascination with the event is that in addition to tragedy it represents heroism on the part of the crew, and survival for those who lived to tell the tale. People can engage with the story of the Titanic on all of those levels, and that's where Titanic – The Artifact Exhibition comes in. It allows you to walk into that maritime world for a while, view actual historic items from the ship and interact with the Titanic experience in an unforgettable way.

Probably the most immediately arresting artifact included in the exhibition is the aptly dubbed The Big Piece. It's an enormous, 15-ton section of the Titanic's hull, which lends a sense of the massive ship's scale. But there are plenty of other items recovered from the ship, including postcards, money, playing cards, dishes and personal effects. And in addition to artifacts, re-creations help to bring the whole experience home to visitors. You'll hear accounts of the passengers' own experiences on the Titanic, see their individual boarding passes for the boat and visit startlingly realistic simulations of different parts of the ship. The promenade deck, the staircase and the sleeping quarters are reproduced in dazzling detail. You can even view a re-creation of the huge iceberg that brought so many of the Titanic's passengers to their grim, terrible fate and get a visceral understanding of the forces of nature that were at work. It all adds up to an emotional experience that's simultaneously sad and inspiring, and the exhibit makes you feel as if you're taking part in a historic saga.