From 11 March to 31 August 2003, the Cité des Sciences is presenting a major new exhibition, Treasures of the Titanic, featuring objects recovered from the wreck of the famous transatlantic liner which sank in April 1912 and lies 3,780 metres below the ocean surface.

Presented in recreated sections of the liner, these relics of the past testify to the extraordinary scientific feats performed in locating the wreck and carrying out salvage expeditions. The objects recovered, along with period photographs and accounts by survivors, evoke life on board until the final tragedy and tell the epic story of this marvel of early 20th-century technology.

The exhibition begins in the Harland & Wolff shipyard in Belfast, Ireland, where the keel of RMS Titanic was laid down in March 1909. Popularly known as the "unsinkable", it was designed to outstrip all competition and represented a major technical challenge. At its launch, the Titanic was the largest transatlantic liner in the world and the ultimate symbol of seagoing luxury.

In the jubilant atmosphere of the great departure, visitors climb aboard the White Star Line vessel to relive its maiden voyage in April 1912. Each of them holds a facsimile of a boarding card belonging to one of the passengers.

The visit continues in partially recreated interiors of the Titanic and in conditions similar to the Atlantic crossing, with sounds and variations of temperature and light replicating the ambience on the liner. The objects recovered from the sea bed are presented in a third-class cabin, along passageways, in a first-class suite and on the grand staircase surmounted by a glass dome. Offering a unique portrait of the early 20th century, they evoke life on board – luxurious or modest – and reveal the diversity of the passengers.

A gallery displaying personal effects, statements from survivors and contemporary photographs tells the story of the passengers and members of the ship's crew, revealing their delight at leaving or – for the many emigrants – their hopes for a new life.

The atmosphere during the fateful night of 14-15 April 1912 is realistically conveyed on the promenade deck. With orchestral music playing in the background, the stars in the cold night sky shine brightly over a black Atlantic ocean.

In the freezing conditions of the shipwreck and the rescue operations, visitors can run their fingers along a block of ice representing the fatal iceberg before looking for the passenger whose boarding card they are holding among the 2,200 names displayed in the memorial gallery. In the days following the shipwreck, newspaper headlines and front pages informed the world of this maritime catastrophe in which 1,490 souls perished and only 711 survived. Commissions of inquiry were set up and subsequently published their reports.

Along with a programme of activities and demonstrations on navigation techniques, the scientific part of the exhibition covers:

• the localization and discovery of the wreck, lying at a depth of 3,780 metres
  

• the exploration of the wreck by submersibles, including the Nautile, operated by the French marine exploitation research institute IFREMER (a full-scale model of the Nautile can be seen in the Explora exhibition Oceans on level 1 of the Cité)
  

• the salvage expeditions
  

• the treatment and conservation of the objects recovered (partly carried out by the Fondation Electricité de France).

Individual audioguides add a further realistic dimension to the tour of the Titanic. An exhibition commentary provides technical information and brings specific images and objects into vivid relief. Dialogue between crew members and comments from passengers can be heard, faithfully recreated by actors, along with music and sounds reproducing the atmosphere on board the great steamship.
The liner's hull is rusting away at the bottom of the ocean and will soon disintegrate completely. Of the shipwreck's 711 survivors, only three are still alive. The objects displayed in the exhibition movingly evoke this historic tragedy, the fate of the passengers and crew and the legend of the "unsinkable". They reveal the secrets of the Titanic.

Information for visitors:
Treasures of the Titanic
11 March to 31 August 2003
Exhibition commentary in French, English, Italian and Spanish
Cité des Sciences et de l’Industrie
30, avenue Corentin Cariou
75019 Paris

Opening hours:
Tuesday to Saturday 10 am to 6 pm
Sunday 10 am to 7 pm
Closed Monday

Ticket prices:
(Prices include access to the Cité's permanent and temporary exhibitions)

• Standard admission: € 13.50
• Reduced admission: € 9.90
• Children aged 7 to 13: € 7.50
• Season ticket holders: € 8.00
• Season ticket holders under 25: € 5.50
• Hire of audioguide: € 1.50

Further information:
Website: www.cite-sciences.fr
Voice server: 33 (0)1 40 05 80 00

Press contact:
Catherine Meyer
Tel: 33 (0)1 40 05 73 60
Fax: 33 (0)1 40 05 73 44
E-mail: c.meyer@cite-sciences.fr