The Carnegie Science Center is looking for stories from local descendants of RMS Titanic passengers or crew.
Their tales will become part of the "Titanic: The Artifact Exhibition" that opens May 24. "We want to make a connection between Western Pennsylvania and the Titanic," said Mike Marcus, assistant director of marketing and community affairs at Carnegie Science Center.
The exhibit will seek to give visitors a realistic impression of what it would have been like on board the legendary "unsinkable" ship that went down in the North Atlantic in the early morning of April 15, 1912.
Visitors will receive a replica of a boarding pass of an actual passenger and will be able to see 260 authentic artifacts recovered from the remains of the Titanic, as well as re-creations of the ship's famous rooms and real stories from the passengers and crew.
One of the exhibit's galleries will feature a memorial wall to commemorate the 1,523 who died in the tragedy. This gallery also will highlight the local connections between the ship and its survivors.
The center is asking local descendants of the Titanic to share their family stories, which will be incorporated into the local exhibition and possibly a permanent inclusion in the traveling exhibit designed by Premier Exhibitions Inc., the Atlanta-based promoter that brought "Bodies ... The Exhibition" to the center. Titanic historians will review all stories before they're used in the exhibit.
"We're still figuring out how to incorporate the stories into the exhibit," Marcus said. "It depends on who comes forward and the number of stories we receive."
There already are some local connections.
"There are a few that Premier are aware of, and one is Henry Clay Frick," Marcus said. The coke-and-steel baron purchased tickets but canceled his trip aboard the Titanic after his wife sprained her ankle in France.
Frick gave his first-class tickets to J.P. Morgan, who also canceled for business reasons.
Frick's and Morgan's stories are only a sampling of the thousands from the 705 survivors of the Titanic. Today, there is only one living survivor from the sinking ship.
Anyone with a tie to the Titanic or a story to share is encouraged to send an e-mail to Titanic@CarnegieScienceCenter.org.
The exhibit runs through Sept. 1. Tickets for the exhibition go on sale tomorrow. For nonmembers, it's $20 for adults (ages 13 and older) and $15 for children (3-12).
For members, it's $14 for adults (18 and older) and $9 for children (3-17).
First Published: May 14, 2008, 4:00 a.m.