Titanic exhibit offers depth of material

The designers behind Mystic Aquarium's Titanic exhibit knew there would be plenty of other activities, events and exhibits this year to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the sinking of the massive ocean liner.

So, they set about to create an experience that would be unique and revelatory -- one that not only explored the circumstances that led to the disaster, but delved into the story of how the wreckage was found.

The result is "Titanic -- 12,450 Feet Below," and the Sea Research Foundation, the operator of the aquarium, recently offered a peek of what visitors will find when the exhibit opens to the public April 12.

"You have to make it interactive, you have to make it emotional, you have to tell the right story at the right time, and that is our goal," said Tim Delaney, a former top designer at Walt Disney, who, along with his team, has been working to reach that goal in the newly named Ocean Exploration Center exhibit hall.

The Lockwood-Mathews Mansion Museum in Norwalk collaborated with Mystic on gathering photos for a related exhibit to take place in the spring.

Delaney said he considers the "heart and soul" of the Mystic exhibit to be the information, recollections and documents the team retrieved when they asked ocean explorer Robert Ballard, who discovered the wreckage of the ship in 1985, to go through his archives. Ballard is founder and president of the Sea Research Foundation's Institute for Exploration.

The two met more than 30 years ago when Ballard was consulting with Disney on Epcot Center's Living Seas pavilion and have collaborated many times since.

"I thought I could pass this off to Tim and sit back and see him and his team do all this magic," Ballard said. "And, all of a sudden, I find myself in my archives because they said, 'We want 75 documents that are the most critical documents that led up to the discovery.' "

Ballard said the exercise, which lasted more than two weeks and often stretched 12 hours each day, had the effect of bringing it all back. The very core of how the exhibit took shape -- Ballard's immersion and emotional response -- is the essence of the exhibit.

"The idea is to ... put yourself in my shoes and go through the process and go for that moment of discovery," Ballard said.

Delaney and his team were guided by the duality of the emotional experience of the disaster and the moment when Ballard and his team realized they were looking at a wreck that had been undisturbed for 73 years.

The exhibit will begin with the anticipation that surrounded the luxury liner's construction, with sets that show workers putting together the hull, a finished state room and a look at the radio room.

"Pretty quickly, the mood changes," Delaney said, adding that visitors will be led to another, larger room, dominated by a central iceberg. A drop in temperature, along with what he called ghost sounds of iceberg warnings will further set the scene for the disaster that is found around the next corner.

Digital images show the tale of the destruction and the steady descent of the technological marvel to 12,450 feet below. Debris, interactive displays and other elements will be employed to make visitors feel as if they are actually on the ocean floor. The final part of the journey brings visitors to the stories of the passengers.

"We are trying to create an exhibit that is about discovery and exploration by using discovery and exploration," Delaney said.

Over the years, Ballard said he has learned public fascination with the particular wreck has never wavered. The story continues to draw people to make their own discoveries.

"As I have discovered over the years, (the Titanic) is something that just doesn't die. Even though the ship sank, the story is always rediscovered by every generation."