Tickets for Titanic: The Artifact Exhibition go on sale Tuesday, April 14

ST. PAUL, Minn., April 9 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Science Museum of Minnesota will present the worldwide debut of authentic artifacts recovered from the RMS Carpathia, the ship best known for the rescue of Titanic's passengers and crew. Never before seen publicly, these poignant artifacts will appear as part of Titanic: The Artifact Exhibition, which opens on Friday, June 12, 2009 at the Science Museum of Minnesota. Tickets for the limited-run exhibition go on sale on Tuesday, April 14 -- 97 years to the night Titanic struck its infamous iceberg and sank.

(Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20090409/DC97037)

Carpathia, one of the most famous ships in the Cunard line, was 58 miles from Titanic when its crew received the distress call. In response, Carpathia raced through the icy waters of the North Atlantic to help. It arrived on the scene after Titanic had foundered, but the crew managed to rescue the 705 survivors of the disaster and carry them to their New York destination. After the historic rescue, Carpathia returned to transatlantic service and was sunk by a German torpedo during World War I. Her wreckage was discovered in September 1999, approximately 185 miles off the southwestern coast of England.

The world premiere Carpathia artifacts will be displayed in a brand new Rescue Gallery within the Titanic exhibition. Dramatically retelling the story of Carpathia's heroic crew, this specially designed gallery will contain nearly half of all artifacts that were recovered from the ship's wreck site. In addition, the gallery will highlight many elements of Titanic's rescue, including historic photographs, wireless telegraph messages, and the stories that led to Carpathia's moniker "The Ship of Widows."

Highlights of the Carpathia Rescue Gallery include:


    --  A flask, one of only five personal items found during the recovery
        efforts.  Made of sterling silver and glass, this flask was recovered
        with a protective leather covering. The leather did not survive the
        conservation process, but its loss revealed an engraved stag's head
        and wine glass on the metal surface.
    --  A porthole, which weighs over 50 pounds and has its original glass and
        wood still intact.  Visitors will also see two clamps/locks that would
        have kept the porthole closed during rough weather.
    --  A telegraph top which, because of its size and position, proved to be
        the most difficult item to recover from Carpathia's wreckage.
    --  A tiny cosmetics jar from the United Kingdom's Boots Pharmacy. 
        Measuring at just 3 inches tall, this jar was recovered with its
        contents -- a yellow cream -- still intact.

-- Floor tiles, glassware, china, and more.

"The Rescue Gallery allows us to paint a more complete picture of Titanic's story," says Mike Day, senior vice president for museum enterprises at the Science Museum of Minnesota. "We're thrilled to be able to offer Science Museum visitors the opportunity to be the very first in the world to see artifacts from the famous RMS Carpathia."

"We are pleased to unveil yet another fascinating layer to the Titanic with the worldwide debut of more than 20 of the 50 artifacts recovered from RMS Carpathia," states Chris Davino, CEO of Premier Exhibitions, Inc. "Visitors to the Science Museum of Minnesota will have the first opportunity to not only witness a unique piece of history, but to better understand the stories of those on board Titanic that notorious night in April 1912."

Titanic: The Artifact Exhibition will feature more than 250 artifacts that have been recovered from Titanic's wreck site, detailed room re-creations, and a gallery devoted to Minnesota's connections to the historic shipwreck.

The exhibition first visited St. Paul's Union Depot in 1999 and proved to be enormously popular.

At 14,000 square feet, Titanic will be one of the largest exhibits the Science Museum has ever hosted, offering visitors a rare chance to see what life was like on board Titanic and connect with this legendary story of human drama.

Tickets go on sale April 14

Tickets for Titanic: The Artifact Exhibition will go on sale on Tuesday, April 14, the 97th anniversary of the fateful night that the famous luxury ocean liner hit an iceberg in the frigid waters of the North Atlantic. Just hours after the collision, the ship went down, taking the lives of more than 1,500 passengers.

Tickets are $23 for adults and $18 for kids and seniors. (Ticket price includes admission to Titanic: The Artifact Exhibition and the Science Museum's permanent exhibit galleries.)

Beginning Tuesday, April 14 at 8 a.m., visitors may call (651) 221-9444 or log on to www.smm.org to purchase tickets. Admission to Titanic: The Artifact Exhibition will be timed and dated; visitors will be asked to choose a specific date for their visit when they purchase their tickets, as well as a time to enter the Titanic exhibit.

Titanic: The Artifact Exhibition is produced by RMS Titanic, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Premier Exhibitions, Inc. (Nasdaq: PRXI) and the only company permitted by law to recover objects from the wreck of the Titanic. The company was granted salvor-in-possession rights to the wreck by a United States federal court in 1994 and has since conducted seven research and recovery expeditions, where it recovered approximately 5,500 artifacts.

The Science Museum of Minnesota serves more than one million visitors each year with its hands-on exhibits, breathtaking giant screen films, special events, and unparalleled education programs. It is located at 120 West Kellogg Boulevard in downtown St. Paul. For specific directions, parking information, hours, show times and ticket information, call (651) 221-9444 or visit www.smm.org.

PLEASE NOTE: Images of items recovered from Carpathia are available for media use. Please visit http://www.mediasmm.org for more information. For access to underwater b-roll footage of Carpathia, contact Sarah Imholte (651-221-9412, simholte@smm.org). (Images and b-roll from the Titanic exhibition and recovery efforts are available, as well.)

SOURCE Science Museum of Minnesota