Museums

Volo Museum’s Titanic exhibit floods on anniversary of ship’s sinking

Posted April 16, 2026 9:57 am

By Michelle Meyer

An image taken from security footage shows Volo Museum employee Gary Uhland helping to clean up the flooding at the Titanic exhibit. Courtesy of Jim Wojdyla

On the anniversary of the sinking of the Titanic, waters also troubled the Volo Museum, as its Titanic exhibit was flooded after Tuesday night’s storms.

The flooding occurred 114 years to the day since the legendary ocean liner fatally struck an iceberg just before midnight on April 14, 1912, sinking on April 15.

The museum staff in Volo were able to rescue the valuable displays when the intrusive waters were discovered Wednesday morning. The collection includes authentic fashion pieces and artifacts from the Titanic era, as well as vehicles valued at more than $6 million, once owned by prominent Titanic passengers, including John Jacob Astor, Benjamin Guggenheim, and Lady Lucy Duff Gordon, according to a Volo Museum news release.

Water creeps up the replica sloped decks, mimicking the pitch of the Titanic's deck during its final moments, at the Volo Museum's Titanic exhibit. Brian Grams/For Volo Museum

“The irony of any Titanic exhibit flooding is strange enough, but the fact that ours flooded on the exact anniversary of the Titanic’s sinking is more than ironic; it’s almost paranormal,” marketing director Jim Wojdyla said in the release.

Though the intense thunderstorms that blanketed northern Illinois Tuesday night may be an easy explanation for the mishap, employees and owners say paranormal activity isn’t out of the question. Thorough inspections revealed no cracks in the foundation, broken pipes, roof leaks or other obvious points of entry, according to the release.

The Volo Museum, located at 27582 Volo Village Road, isn’t usually prone to flooding since this is the second time the building has experienced it in more than 40 years, according to operators. The other occurrence was at the Titanic exhibit under mysterious circumstances in 2024.

“This is the second time our Titanic museum has flooded,” Wojdyla said in the release. “The first time occurred during its opening year, and now again on the anniversary. I’m not sure what to make of the coincidence, but it’s enough to give us goosebumps.”

The first flooding incident drew attention from national news programs and the Travel Channel’s “Paranormal Caught on Camera.” Other unexplained occurrences at the museum have also been featured on the Discovery Channel’s “Ghost Hunters.”

“Another point to stress was that the first leak came from under our Titanic car,” Wojdyla said. “Only two were ever made. One went down the Titanic, and we have the only other one in the world.”

Antonio Zavala uses a wet vacuum to clean up water next to the 1912 Renault, famously known as the "Titanic Car," following an unexplained flooding incident at the Volo Museum. John Guske/ For Volo Museum

Tuesday’s leak came from a different location – by the interactive slopes where people can experience how the ship tilted a degree by the minute while it sank.

According to the National Weather Service’s Chicago O’Hare station, more than 2 inches of precipitation were observed on Tuesday. That amount could be a new record for the day, smashing the 1.21 inches recorded in 1949.