We went to Titanic Belfast on April 15th, which happens to also be the 113th anniversary of the Titanic's sinking.
We started with a workshop on naval communications using flags and Morse Code. This workshop took place in the former engine room of the SS Nomadic, the last remaining White Star Line vessel in the world. We then got to explore the ship, seeing the first and second class areas and learning about what this ship did and how it ferried passengers to the Titanic in Cherbourg France.
We then walked to the nearby slipways where Titanic was built and ran along with an outline of the Titanic appreciating how vast this ship was. A plan of the ship is laid into the ground so we stopped to see the funnels, deck area and life boats.
After lunch we explored the Titanic experience, learning more about the how the ship was built, how astonishing it was for its time and how it sank. We saw artefacts from the wreck, replica first, second and third class cabins along with a virtual tour of the completed ship.
Lots of photos below and some very poignant ones including a child kneeling and touching the wreck which was cleverly sunk beneath the floor and one of a child by the violin that was played on the night the Titanic sank to help calm passengers. The musician sadly died in the tragedy but his violin remains. 3 children in the class learnt to play the hymn 'Nearer my God to thee', on their own violins, which was reportedly the last thing played by the musicians on the night of the sinking and these children were very keen to see the violin which was bought in 2013 by a collector for close to £1 million and is on loan to the exhibition.
A great day out and a fitting end to our Titanic topic this term.
