The "Unsinkable" - Titanic

It was hard to ignore the fact that the Titanic sank 100 years ago. Dubbed as the "Unsinkable", the Titanic is definitely one of the most well known Ocean Liners of all times. Dumpling caught snippets of the story on cable and asked me about it one evening at length and hence I decided that there is no better time to learn more about this with her.

Though we have worked on it for two weeks, this tragic story/topic presents so many endless possibilities that I feel that we have only been scratching the surface. :) After putting in many late nights into researching and putting together materials for this topic, I decided to bring Dumping and my helper for the Artifact Exhibition.

Dumping was excited beyond words when she saw the huge banner that was suspended on the wall. It was our first time to the Art Science Museum too.

She is also at a stage where she is becoming her own little person and would insist on doing things all on her own. Top left: though not tall enough, she went on tippy toes and stretched out so high up to "beam" herself through. lol

Unfortunately, the exhibition in Singapore did not allow for photography which was a great disappointment because there was just so much that I could have "shot" great photos of. 

The exhibition was well planned and well thought of as it brings the visitor through a journey. It started off with the basics - ship model, a short bio on Captain Smith and some displays of the ships parts such as the steel rivets.

Source: http://www.talkingscience.org/2009/08/review-titanic-the-artifact-exhibition/

Thereafter, we moved into a different section which showcased the replicas of the cabins along with the artifacts of what were in those cabins (faucets, brushes, bottles, etc.) before coming to a display of the cutlery used, etc.

A replica of the first class cabin

Source: http://shaun-owyeong.blogspot.com/2012/01/titanic-artifact-exhibition.html

A replica of the third class cabin

Source: http://shaun-owyeong.blogspot.com/2012/01/titanic-artifact-exhibition.html

Source: http://americajr.com/news/titanicexhibitionpg6.html

The tour then continued onto other items such as the crockery and cutlery used for the various classes. It was amazing to see how grand the first class plates (with gold trimmings no less) were as compared to the third class plates (as above) which were simply "decorated" with the White Star Line logo (artifacts as above).

Two of the main draws were definitely the "Grand staircase" with the glass dome as well as the Promenade Deck. 

Above: Replica of the Grand Staircase

Source: http://app.youth.sg/Home/Articles.aspx?id=1856

I was especially impressed with the latter as the set up was very tastefully done - the deck was done up with a night scene using a dark (velvet?) cloth and the clever use of lighting for "stars". There was also special lighting effect to create a "wave-like" movement on the ground which the visitor sees if he were to look down from the "deck".

Above: the actual deck

Source: http://titanichistoricalsociety.net/forum/viewtopic.php?f=98&t=320

The replica

Source: http://app.youth.sg/Home/Articles.aspx?id=1856

The exhibition then slowly reveals the various key incidents leading up to the fateful accident at 11:40pm on April 14, 1912 with a mock "iceberg" at one side of the section.

The mock "iceberg", needless to say, entertained the little one greatly!

Source: http://blog.thehenryford.org/2012/03/prepare-to-set-sail-for-titanic-the-artifact-exhibition/

The exhibition also showcased personal belongings of some passengers as well as touched on some famous survivors ("Unsinkable" Molly Brown) and those who did not make it (Captain Smith himself, Jacob Astor, etc.) Dumpling and I read up on some of these passengers too.

Though the exhibition in Singapore is over, this Elementary School Teacher's Guide (Winner of 2007 NAI Interpretive Media Award for Curriculum) will definitely come in handy with its amazing details and explanation. :)

If the exhibition is heading your way, I would highly recommend for you to bring along your little one(s). Just read an age appropriate title (DK Readers has a few as shown below) to prep your child so that he/she will enjoy it more.

Some of the activities in our unit study and some of the resources we used

Exposing Dumpling to Geography. Incidentally, she heard the words "New York" on the radio news while we were driving and said "Hey Mummy, I know New York! That's in America and the Titanic was supposed to head there but it sank!" So, do not underestimate what your little ones can recall :)

The exhibition certainly added dimension and depth to what we learnt and read about in the books. We are still waiting for some more books to arrive before wrapping this unit study up. While waiting, I have also extended this to some simple Chinese activities.

As I am typing this, I have my eye on a ship model.

Now, how do I go on convincing the man, on the model, when he is already lamenting that our place looks like a kindy! Hmmm... Ideas anyone? :p

Edit:

Here's a link to another mummy blogger's post who has visited and enjoyed the exhibition: A Juggling Mom - The Titanic Exhibition in Singapore