Step back in time to discover life on the world’s most famous ship in our The Legend of the Titanic review.
Using the latest VR technology this brand new immersive experience allows visitors to wander the decks, meet virtual passengers and learn more about the history of the ship on the night it sank back in 1912. Along with artefacts and interactive games, there’s tonnes to see and enjoy at this brand new exhibition that has just arrived in London. This is why it’s a great day out for families this month.
What is The Legend Of The Titanic Experience
The world’s most famous ship has fascinated generations since it struck an iceberg and sank on it’s maiden voyage, from Southampton to New York, on 15th April 1912. There have been books, TV shows and films made about the disaster, and now a new immersive experience is showcasing the Titanic’s final hours in a way never seen before. Arriving in London this July for a six month stay, The Legend of the Titanic is the largest ever exhibition about the ship, and the 3,000-square-metre space at Dock X, Canada Water, is packed full of artefacts and state-of-the-art technology taking you back in time. Wander her decks, explore her cabins, and get a very real sense of what it was like to be on board during the year she set sail.
Using 360º projections, VR and Metaverse Experience, this is the closest anyone will ever get to seeing what life on board the Titanic was really like. As well as the outstanding immersive tech, there’s a selection of artefacts from the extensive private collection of Juan Cruz Ercoreca, the curator of the exhibition, that he has been carefully building for over 15 years. Much of it comes from the sister ship of the Titanic, RMS Olympic, and from the White Star Line, owner of RMS Titanic.
Each piece reveals a fascinating insight into life onboard the Titanic, but one of the most impressive items is a real rusted porthole from the actual ship. There’s also props and costumes from the world-famous and much-loved 1997 Titanic movie starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet.
Who is the experience for?
Part entertainment, part history lesson, this experience is great for older children. There were 2,224 people on board that night and of them 1,635 are recorded to have perished. Listening to dramatic and realistic tales based on accounts from those who were there – right down to their footsteps on the deck – along with a moving musical score, can make the whole experience quite emotional as you grasp the enormity of the tragedy. With this in mind, the experience is more suited to children aged eight and up, who will be able to understand it all.
Wearing VR headsets, you can move around a virtual ship gaining a real perspective of being at sea and meeting characters along the way. The producer’s aim was to balance the factual side of the production with the lived human experience, so there is a fictionalised element with the story of passengers who you will (virtually) meet and hear from as you move through the 13 rooms that explain what happened when the ship hit the iceberg.
It’s not scary or graphic, but you are learning about one of the deadliest events in peacetime maritime history, and it’s worth remembering that hearing about such loss of life might be distressing for some children. The team recommend the Metaverse and VR experience for children aged five and above, but ultimately say that there are no age restrictions, and it is up to parent discretion.
Kids will love the Family AI Activity Room with interactive games, screens and quizzes – a super way of teaching them the history side of things in a fun and engaging way. There’s also colouring in to do, which is always a hit with little ones.
The Highlights
For most visitors – and especially youngsters – the virtual reality sections of the experience will be the most exciting. On arrival you can scan a QR code enabling app-based access to various features around the experience; for example a welcome from a virtual Captain Smith, which adds to the feeling that this is a ‘living history’ exhibition.
Then it’s on to even more incredible life-like VR adventures. Split into different parts, in the first room you’ll put on a VR headset to watch an animated concert from the ship’s musicians, who famously played as it sank. After that it’s on to the immersive 360° room with a video mapping wall, where you’ll move around an enormous space for a cinematic experience all about the Titanic’s story – from the dockyard to the ballroom to the tilting as it slips under the water. It’s here that you’ll meet the Callaghans, a fictitious family whose journey you’ll follow. Finally, a seven-minute Metaverse journey asks you to explore the iconic ocean liner in fascinating detail; you’ll walk in and out of rooms, peer over the edge of the ship, and listen to passenger conversations.
Need to Know
The whole experience lasts about two hours, which gives enough time to discover everything. When you book you’ll be allocated a time slot and it’s best to arrive 15 minutes prior to that. Buggies and prams are not allowed inside, but there is a buggy park where you can leave them. You can’t take food or drink into the exhibition, but there’s a themed ‘Cafe Parisian’, at the end. Onsite parking is available.
Lead image credit: The Legend Of The Titanic Experience
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