‘EXTREME DEEP’ PUTS TITANIC, SHIPWRECK EXPLORATION IN GUESTS’ HANDS

Many an ocean-going vessel has seen its voyage end at the bottom of the sea. These sunken ships–and the riches and history they contain–are one of the great attractions of the ocean. EXTREME DEEP: Mission to the Abyss sponsored by John Hancock Financial Services and Discovery Channel highlights the most famous sunken ship of all, the Titanic. Presented by Evergreen Exhibitions in collaboration with Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI), EXTREME DEEP shares the historic and scientific riches of deep-sea exploration during its five-year, 15-city tour.

WHOI and a team from France discovered the British luxury liner Titanic in 1985 using a towed imaging system called Argo. They returned to the wreck site in 1986 to explore further with Alvin and a prototype robotic vehicle called Jason Jr. The “unsinkable ship” settled into its watery grave off the coast of Newfoundland on April 14, 1912. EXTREME DEEP puts museum visitors in touch with the ship whose history and lore have captivated millions over the decades.

In the Shipwreck theme area, visitors work together to manipulate a remotely operated vehicle, or ROV, to explore the Titanic. A scale model of the Titanic from the bow to the break, backed by actual footage taken at the site, puts patrons virtually on top of the wreckage. Guests can conduct their own exploration by operating a camera to zero in on the mammoth ocean liner’s toppled foremast, giant anchor crane and dozens of other amazing details.

Shipwreck

Alvin’s lights cannot penetrate very far in the water, so they illuminate a relatively small part of the ship at a time. Also, the sea bottom is silty, and the motion of subs and ROVs stirs up dirt into the water, making it impossible to see or photograph the whole area at once.

However, visitors to EXTREME DEEP can view a dramatic photo-mural of Titanic. The remarkable display is actually made up of about 120 separate 35-millimeter images selected from thousands taken when the ship was discovered in the mid-’80s. The film was brought ashore so prints could be made and adjusted many times in order to assemble the mosaic. It took nearly three months of a photo technician’s time to make theTitanic mosaic. The current mosaicking technique, developed over a seven-year period at the Deep Submergence Laboratory of the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, makes it possible to assemble a photo-mosaic image right on shipboard, while at sea.

In addition to Titanic, visitors will get a close-up peek at a model of the German warship Bismark. They also can examine video footage of wreckage of an ancient Roman vessel and the modern-day Derbyshire, the largest merchant ship ever built in the United Kingdom.

EXTREME DEEP will criss-cross the country, showing in the nation’s finest science centers and museums for five years.

 

For additional information on this Extreme Deep article, please contact:

Mike Kempf
(210) 599-0045
Mike@evergreenexhibitions.com

Source: Evergreen Exhibitions
http://www.mikekempf.wpengine.com