Titanic: The Artifact Exhibition opens Oct. 10 at the Milwaukee Public Museum, giving visitors a chance to experience the story of the "unsinkable ship” that collided with an iceberg in the North Atlantic on a calm April morning in 1912. Viewed by more than 18 million people worldwide, the traveling exhibition is among the highest attended in history.

Running through May 25, 2009, the show has been designed with a focus on the RMS Titanic's compelling human stories as told through hundreds of authentic artifacts and extensive room re-creations. Perfume from a maker who was traveling to New York to sell his samples, china etched with the logo of the elite White Star Line, even a 3,000- pound portion of Titanic's hull -- these and many other authentic objects offer haunting, emotional connections to lives abruptly ended or forever altered.

Visitors are quickly drawn back in time to 1912 upon entrance, as each receives a replica boarding pass of an actual passenger. They then begin their chronological journey through the life of the Titanic, moving through the ship's construction, to life on board, to the ill-fated sinking and amazing artifact rescue efforts. They will see the re-created first and third class cabins, view the Ship's cargo hold, and press their palms against an iceberg while learning of countless stories of heroism and humanity. More than 1,500 of the 2,228 passengers died.

One gallery will be dedicated to Wisconsin connections, where visitors can learn about how the sinking of the great ship strongly resonated even locally. In the "Memorial Gallery" guests will take their boarding pass to the memorial wall and learn if their passenger and traveling companions survived or perished. (414-223-4676, www.mpm.edu)

Source: http://www.australia.to