Titanic Branson Museum : Engage in History Through Exhibits, Hands on Activities, and More

I was given complimentary admission as part of a #BloggingBranson event. However, all thoughts and opinions are my own. 

Photos of the Interior of the Museum, including artifacts and displays, are property of the Titanic Museum are used with permission. 

Titanic Branson Museum :

Engage in History Through Exhibits, Hands on Activities, and More 

For anyone that has a fascination with history or the Titanic, then you will want to add the Titanic Branson Museum to your list of places to visit while in Branson, Missouri. We had the opportunity to attend a private Murder Mystery Event during our Blogging Branson trip last month and it offered a unique way to explore the museum. 

The Titanic Branson Museum is a wealth of information that lets visitors engage in history through a variety of exhibits, hands on activities, special showcases, private events, and so much more. It has been carefully constructed and designed to provide an experience that everyone is able to enjoy from young children to grandparents and great grandparents. 

The crew members (employees) at the Titanic Branson Museum are educated in the history of the Titanic when they are hired and continue to receive education during their employment. Crew Members have the ability to move up in the ranks similar to the way crew members on a ship are promoted. This is just one of the areas of education that the museum provides.

On their website, visitors can find a wide array of of educational information related to the Titanic. It is broken down into several categories and sorted by the educational topic it represents. (Example: Science, Geography, Math, etc.) Homeschoolers and teachers can also take advantage of their educational resources to use on its own or in conjunction with a trip to the museum.

Upon arriving at the museum, crew members immediately bring you back in time with their period specific uniforms. As you enter you are given a Boarding Pass with the name and information of a passenger or crew member from the Titanic. This connects you to the person that was on the ship and helps to bring a personal experience to the museum tour. At the end of the museum tour, you will discover your fate. 

During normal business hours, tours are self-guided and each “passenger” receives their own listening device to access pre-recorded information about the exhibits, artifacts, and Titanic history. Throughout the museum these exhibits are numbered and the passenger simply types the number of the exhibit they want to learn about. They offer an adult version and  youth version so you don’t have to worry about young visitors losing interest. 

For special events, like the murder mystery we attended, they offer guided tours with a crew member leading you through the museum. Either tour provides a wealth of information about the Titanic and its passengers and crew. 

The museum is set up with a variety of rooms that replicate the rooms and areas on the Titanic. These rooms/areas include the Grand Staircase, Captain’s Bridge, Third Class Quarters, First Class Quarters, and Music Room. Each of these rooms are decorated with artifacts from the ship and include pieces like a recovered deck chair (pictured below), china, jewelry, and documents. 

There are over 400 artifacts on display inside the exhibit rooms and at different times of the year you will find specialty exhibits. While many artifacts stay at the Branson location, some artifacts rotate between the Branson museum and the museum location in Pigeon Forge. We had the opportunity to see one of these such exhibits during our tour. 

For the first and only time, the largest assembly of remaining RMS Titanic life jackets are on display. These life jackets will be at the Titanic Branson Museum through June 15, 2019. This display was stunning to take in as there are only 12 “Known” Titanic life jackets left in the world and 7 of these priceless artifacts are on display for guests to see. 

It is important to mention than there were enough life jackets on board the Titanic to protect the 2, 2028 passenger and crew members. However, there were not enough lifeboats to save them all. These life jackets were made of hard cork and canvas which proved to be dangerous for those that were forced to jump in the water. Another historical fact to consider is that a life boat drill was never held. This left passenger and crew members unprepared when the emergency happened. 

Special exhibits like these are just one of the reasons that I recommend visiting the Titanic Branson Museum more than once. There is a wealth of information stored inside the walls of the museum and each visit provides guests with the opportunity to take more information in. Along with the exhibits providing information, their are a multitude of hands-on activities through-out the museum. 

These hands-on activities engage guests of all ages and allow you to truly understand some of the difficulties the passengers faced as well as take in the opulence of this massive ship. These activities include the following:

• Shoveling Coal
• Climbing Sloping Decks
• Sitting in a life-sized life boat replica
• Feeling 28 degree water
• Standing at the Captain’s Wheel
• Climbing the Grand Staircase

One of the other notable features about the Titanic Branson museum is the replica rooms which include a 3rd class cabin and a 1st class cabin. There is also a room dedicated to the famous musicians of the Titanic. These men played up until the end in an effort to keep passengers calm and this room serves a memorial to their bravery in the face of certain death. Located in the center of the room is a beautiful grand piano that at different times is played by crew members as well as guests. During our tour, we were treated to a piano solo by the famous Marty Hughes. Marty and his family are local entertainers who own the Hughes Brothers Theater and put on amazing shows each season. 

The opportunity to play the piano is open to guests of the museum. If you or someone in your party plays, ask a crew member for the opportunity to entertain guests of the museum. This is a special way to honor the memory of those that stared death in the face and put the needs of others above their need for self-preservation. 

As the tour comes to an end, you enter the Titanic memorial room. Here you find out the fate of your passenger or crew member from your boarding pass. This moment brings the whole experience full circle as you find yourself hoping that you made it to the survived list but know there is a strong chance that you did not. 

This was also where we took our guesses at solving the Murder Mystery. My husband ended up being the winner and took home this amazing prize package from the museum. These items (along with many others) are available in the Titanic museum gift shop and in their online gift shop. 

The Murder Mystery event is just one of the private tour options available at the Titanic Branson Museum.Some of the other private events they also offer include wedding packages, corporate events, birthday parties, flashlight tours, and more. Looking to for that special event for your group, reach out to the crew members at the Titanic to help plan an evening they won’t forget. 

It is important to note that photos are NOT allowed inside the museum due to proprietary reasons as well as the preservation of the artifacts. However, you are free to take pictures outside the museum and the Titanic provides an amazing back drop for some fun photos, like this one of my husband sporting the captain’s hat he won at the Murder Mystery event. Make sure to make time before or after your Titanic museum tour to memorialize your trip in photographs. 

For museum hours, tour information, educational resources, and more head on over to the Titanic Branson Museum website.  The website contains a wealth of information for the Titanic newbie or enthusiast. Prepare for your upcoming trip or discover more information about what you learned during your last visit with the educational information and much more. 

Don’t forget to include the Titanic Branson Museum on your itinerary when booking your next Branson vacation.