I have a special spot in my heart for the 1997 film by James Cameron after attending with my 5th grade “boyfriend” & my mom as chaperone (she sat in the back, don’t worry!) And, while the theatrics made for an incredible first date, I became totally invested in researching the real life events surrounding exactly what happened that April 15th in 1912.
The grandeur of the Titanic wows me even in 2024, so it’s easy to be taken back in time when you’re exploring just how amazing it must have been to be alive and boarding the first ship of its kind back then. I was super excited when I found out that Titanic: The Exhibition was coming to Skokie, IL, just a short drive away.
The location is in the mall so while it’s easy to get to, it’s important to note that you can only enter from inside the mall, so it’s best to park in the adjacent parking garage as opposed to where the signage is in the parking lot.
When you enter the exhibit, you’re given a boarding pass with a real passenger’s name, occupation, and class, and as you’re walking through the rooms throughout the exhibit, it felt profound to be holding on to your boarding pass and wondering if your passenger survived or found final resting place at the bottom of the ocean.
The exhibit was a nice combination of informative video footage and interviews, miniature replicas of the ship (and sister ships), and hallways and rooms designed to look exactly like what the passengers experienced firsthand aboard the Titanic. There’s a nice photo op right when you enter to pose on the bow of the ship (taken professionally and you can purchase on the way out), and there’s another cool photo op about ½ way through the exhibit at the iconic grand staircase.
You know it’s mesmerizing when your 2nd grade and Kindergarten sons actually stop at all of the placards to read them instead of whizzing on past to the next thing. We particularly liked learning about some of the “myths” that were explained – like the gated doors that separated the quarters of 1st, 2nd, and 3rd class; in the film, it appeared like the gates were closed and locked only once the ship was sinking to keep lower class passengers from getting to the lifeboats first, but we learned that the gates were actually closed and locked at all times on the voyage to separate the classes.
Exhibition favorites: The room full of stars where you can look over the rails of the ship and into the blackness of the sea, the grand staircase, and the room with the giant iceberg, which had little holes with REAL ice that you could stick your hands inside to touch.
At the end, there were giant commemorative signs with all of the passengers on board, and you can take your Boarding Pass to find out whether your passenger survived or perished. It was a very eye-opening experience, and my younger son actually cried at the end when he found out that his passenger didn’t make it.
If you’re looking for something different to do in the Chicagoland area, Titanic: The Exhibition is it. Adult tickets start at $29.50, and kids under 4 are free! Explore your options here: https://thetitanicexhibition.com/chicago/
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