Titanic artifacts on mobile tour in Gurnee
It's been nearly 100 years since the Titanic sank, but interest in the disaster hasn't waned.
For those who might not travel to the Titanic Museum in Branson, MO, a bit of the history has made it's way to Lake County.
The "Titanic, Treasures from the Deep" exhibit is on an 18-city tour across the country, including this weekend's stop in Gurnee.
Housed in four, 50-foot long trailers, the exhibit contains at least 50 authentic artifacts recovered from the ship wreck.
The collection includes a fragment of the ship's hull, a hand mirror, cuff links, clothing and money carried by passengers and a spittoon. There are dozens of historical photographs along with pictures shot underwater at the site of the wreck.
Each visitor receives a boarding pass with the name of an actual passenger on the doomed ship. Visitors can check for their names on a board, and at the end of the self-guided tour to find out whether they survived.
Cruising the Atlantic Ocean on its maiden voyage, the 882-foot-long ship collided with an iceberg April 14, 1912. It sank 2 hours and 40 minutes later on April 15. Of the total 2,216 people on board, 1,517 perished.
The mobile museum is new this year and is sponsored by Bloomington-based Country Financial. Admission is free.
The museum will be at the Naperville Rib Fest on July 2-5.
It will be at Gurnee Mills through Sunday. It's located in the parking lot between entrances C and D.