History buffs and Titanic fanatics alike can now take in an immersive experience at Montreal’s Place Bonaventure.
“Titanic: An Immersive Voyage” dives into life-sized recreated rooms and 3D projections, with the goal of immersing each person into the story of the tragedy.
“People actually connect to the passenger stories. They find themselves in those passengers,” said Gautam Chandna, the senior vice-president of global touring and business development at Exhibition Hub. “What would it be like being a third-class passenger or a first-class passenger? What would I have done?
“A lot of the sceneries when they see, they are so touched by it, and it’s like walking into the movie.”
The experience docked in Montreal on Tuesday. The entire voyage lasts from 60 to 90 minutes and will be on display until the holidays.
“Titanic has this lore, this love, this passion that people have for the ship. It’s a modern Greek tragedy, if you will,” said Chandna.
“You also see the room recreations, the first-class cabin or the grand staircase or even the Marconi room, the captain’s bridge, the crow’s nest. I mean, there’s so many things out there for people to come, see, experience and feel.”
A key part of the exhibit is a virtual reality exploration of the Titanic wreck site, which is nearly four kilometres deep in the Atlantic Ocean.
“You put on a headset, you’re in the metaverse and you take a dive deep down into the ocean where the Titanic is resting right now,” Chandna said. “Not only that, and then you come up to the deck of Titanic and you walk the deck, like you’re on Titanic.”
Visitors told CityNews what drew them to the exhibit was the unique blend of history, drama, and education.
“We always like history stuff and old things. So obviously we were interested in the exposition, but I mean, especially in this room, I feel like with the sound and everything, it really encapsulates… there’s so many people who died, unfortunately,” one person said.
Chandna expects visitors will respond well to the exhibit.
“When they see those artifacts, those sceneries, and objects and I think they feel very happy once they come out of this, profound and happy.”
