This attraction is located in a large mall. its main entrance is located off of a courtyard that faces a patio/lounge area chairs and large Legos to play with. Being that this place is located in the mall, there is tons of parking available. I recommend parking either in the orange garage or in the area of the parking lot near the courtyard entrance.
You can pre purchase your tickets for a select time slot online or take your chances and purchase them when you get there. If you wait to purchase your tickets, you may not be able to get the time slot that you want though.
As soon as you are admitted into the museum, you are given a card with the name of a passenger on the Titanic, including their class. In the middle of the museum, in the lifeboat exhibit, you can see if the person on the card you were given survives. Only one person in my group of 4 survived. My littles were bummed that their person did not make it.
The first thing that you do when you enter the museum is to take an overpriced souvenir photo on a mock bow of the Titanic, like Rose and Jack. You can purchase it for $25 at the end of the tour if you would like.
After the photo you get in a line and wait to be let into the standing room only movie. I really enjoyed the movie. It was pretty modern and informative. It lasted about 7 minutes or so. After the movie, you start your self-guided part of your tour.
The museum has many replicas of artifacts from the Titanic. It should be noted that they do not have many, if any actual artifacts from the ship. However, they do have some items from the ill-fated ship's White Star Line sister ships. Some items would have captions like "the same china and silver were used on all 3 ships." You will also find a replica hallway, a starry night promenade deck replica, a boiler room and first-class cabin. I like the information placards placed around the museum that detailed certain aspects of the ship and highlighting passengers. There is an iceberg exhibit that was supposed to show you how cold it was when the Titanic sank by putting your hand in one of two slots. However, the freezer element was not working on it.
Other Museum exhibits include the exploration of the Titanic wreckage, a short movie showing the Titanic sink, from a lifeboat point of view, a timeline of the Titanic sinking, coal power exhibit, the ship in film and television, including James Cameron's 1997 hit movie Titanic, construction of the titanic, and lifeboat exhibit. You can also take a photo on a replica of the Titanic's grand staircase, but you are limited to going no higher than the 3rd step.
Additionally, the museum has section dedicated to the local ship tragedy, the sinking of the SS Eastland in 1915, at a pier in the Chicago River. It is located near the end of the tour and is also where you will find the men's restroom.
I found this exhibit interesting. I had never heard of this maritime disaster, and was amazed that it was partially caused by improvements made in response to the Titanic tragedy. I also found the link to George Halas and the Chicago Bears very eye opening. Unlike the Titanic exhibits, this exhibit has actual artifacts from that ship and videos of what happened and the link to the Chicago Bears and George "Papa Bear" Halas.
You exit the museum through the........yep, you guessed it, gift shop. The shop is grossly overpriced. I compared some of the items in there such as the Heart of the Ocean Necklace, to the same items online and found them much, much cheaper on there. I also felt that they did not have a good selection of items in the shop. They have a few books, shirts, bags, hats and other trinkets, but nothing really good. You can also purchase an add-on VR experience of the Titanic here.
This museum is good, but I have seen much better. I spent about a little less than an hour here. Compared to other Titanic museums that I have visited and what this museum could be makes this attraction just "good" for me. I was not wow'ed and we breezed right through it.
Of course, attractions like this are money traps, but this one seems even more so. I probably would not visit here again, but I will admit that it is a nice change of pace from the downtown Chicago attractions. I would definitely seek out discounts such as a Groupon, prior to my visit though. read more