The Titanic Museum in Pigeon Forge

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Disclosure: I received free admission for this post. Post contains affiliate links; purchases made through the link may earn me a small commission.

On this cold Saturday morning, everything in Northeast Tennessee was covered with a beautiful sheen of ice following our recent winter storm. What a perfect day to remember those souls who were aboard the Titanic just over 100 years ago.

As we drove down to Pigeon Forge, I was reminded of how cold it was on the Atlantic on that fateful night in April 1912. The air was around 32 degrees and the water a frigid 28 degrees!

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Instead of being on a sinking ship, we enjoyed the view of the Smoky Mountains from our warm car.
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The museum is located along the main strip as we entered Pigeon Forge. It’s right along the road, you can’t miss it! The sign is along the road as well, plus a multitude of billboards along the way.

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I took a few snacks along because I wasn’t sure if there was anything (or any place to eat) offered inside the museum.  My kids had their snacks before we entered the museum.

When we reached the entrance to the museum, we were promptly greeted by an employee in Titanic staff costume.  She handed each of us a boarding pass.  On the back of the pass was our character for the duration of our visit.  We were told that we would find out at the end of the tour if our character survived the journey.

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My character’s biography was eerily close to my own life…..she was a year younger than I am, and had two small children traveling with her.  I immediately felt a need to find out if she survived the Titanic’s fateful voyage.  You’ll just have to visit for yourself to find out what happened to her!   There is a sign along the front stating that no cameras or cell phones can be used during one’s tour through the museum.   Because of this, the following photos are used with permission from the museum’s website.  You can view a preview of the museum by clicking here….and believe me, you’ll want to!     We were given speakers hanging from lanyards to wear throughout our travel.  By holding the speaker to our ears like a phone, we could each hear an audio message about the rooms we visited.  There were two recordings for each room, one for adults and one for children.  My daughter (8 years old) especially loved the independence of this.  She wanted to hear every message in its entirety.  Unfortunately my son wasn’t as interested (he’s 3 years old) so my husband and I took turns moving ahead so that each child could see what they wanted.  I definitely want to visit the museum again when my son is older because I know there were some things I missed by moving so quickly through the tour.  Everything was so well lit and generously spaced so that there was room to walk through each area.  Guides were available in every room to assist with questions, help with activities, or just to interact with the guests.  It helped to make the experience even more special.

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The artifacts in the museum were simply amazing.  One of the guides told me that there are hundreds of authentic Titanic artifacts in the museum, some found floating in the ocean after the disaster and others were donated.   Just seeing the belongings of those travelers put a hole in my heart.   We had the unique opportunity to see the exhibit memorializing the smallest of the passengers–the children–and it was heartbreaking to look at the pictures of those little faces.  Some of the artifacts belonged to those children (clothing, shoes, and toys).  The guides are so knowledgeable; they shared many stories with us that weren’t found on the walls of the exhibit.  I couldn’t get enough!  There was plenty to occupy the kids during the tour.  They loved seeing the replica of a third-class room. My daughter was in disbelief about how small the beds were, until the guide told her that the travelers would have felt like they were in paradise by having clean water in their room each day.  They could even sit in the lifeboats to see how large they were.  One guide told me that most of the bigger lifeboats were filled to less than half capacity.  So sad!  It was neat to see my daughter have an interest in history.  The ability to experience so many sights and sounds was a great opportunity for the kids to have sensory stimulation.   This would be an excellent place for parents of special needs children to consider for a trip.  There were some steps; however, there was an elevator available.  There was an entire room devoted to the James Cameron movie Titanic.  I looooooooved this room.  My husband and I went on one of our first dates when the movie released.  We even had some of the soundtrack play at our wedding!  So yes, I’m the king of the world and all that.  My little girl saw a dress created by fashion designer and passenger Lady Duff Gordon and insisted that she wants to wear that dress at her wedding.  Oh, she’s my child for sure!!

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My two favorite parts of the museum had to be the grand staircase and the visit to the deck.  I laughed when the guide told me that the staircase had linoleum on it because it was considered to be more impressive than marble.  So if you have linoleum in your kitchen, you should feel like a first-class passenger!  Walking on that staircase was like being transported in time.  How many times have I seen that in movies?  It is built to scale and is breathtaking in real life.  I felt so underdressed in my jeans and blazer.    Later we went into the captain’s room and got to see the night as the captain would have viewed it.  It was impossible to comprehend the events that would take place on that beautiful starry night.  Outside the door, a real wall of ice (simulating the iceberg) was waiting.  We all got to touch it.  Outside the wall of the ship, you can actually feel the 28-degree water.  The room is even cold!  I just felt hauntingly sad in that room.  My kids tried to climb the incline of the deck, which again reminded me of the movie.

Oh, there is just so much to tell.  You just need to visit for yourself.  I know that we’ll visit the Titanic Museum in Pigeon Forge again, especially as my kids learn about the Titanic at school.  I feel so fortunate that we have this amazing museum so close to our home.  I’d love to take my class there so that we can learn from the history and appreciate the memory of those brave men, women, and children from a century ago.

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This picture is mine! 🙂

 

We arrived at the Titanic Museum around 10 AM, which seemed to be a low-traffic time. It was great; we had the museum nearly all to ourselves. On the website, visitors are reminded to purchase tickets in advance because they sometimes sell out! So keep that in mind when you’re making your trip.

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Comments

  1. Savannah Miller says

    My little guys are only 5 and 2 so I want to wait until they are old enough to apperciate it. But I def. want to take them here. Everything looks and sounds amazing :). The hubby and I always wanted to see the Smokey Mountains, so when we do finally make our trip I’m adding Titanic Museum to our to do list 🙂

  2. Tara Gauthier says

    I love these, I would so like to visit here with my family, wishing I lived closer. We love to visit museums and learn about the past and from your pictures I just know we would like this one too. It is neat how they make it so realistic with the cold, sloping deck, etc but gives you a true feeling of just how scary it must have been. Thanks for sharing.

  3. I would so like to visit here with my family, wishing I lived closer. We love to visit museums and learn about the past and from your pictures I just know we would like this one too. It is neat how they make it so realistic with the cold, sloping deck, etc but gives you a true feeling of just how scary it must have been. Thanks for sharing.
    Tara Gauthier recently posted…Create Unique Stickers with Sticker HubMy Profile

  4. This sounds SO cool! My hubby and I love visiting historical sites and museums so this one is right up our alley and I can’t wait to tell him about it!!!
    Liz recently posted…{2 Days Left!} Animated Valentines and Photo Cards 99 Cents Each ($3.99 reg) Shipped!My Profile

  5. This looks awesome! I love museums about random stuff. I have been to tons across the country (and world!), but I haven’t seen this one before. I’ll have to add it to my list 🙂
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  6. Jennifer Hall says

    This looks like a great experiance!

  7. Oooh I have always been fascinated by Titanic and really want to go to the museum. Great post!
    Brooke B. recently posted…My First Six Word Saturday PostMy Profile

  8. I am totally fascinated by the Titanic, and this museum looks so awesome! It’s great that you were able to visit it, and I can definitely see how you would be reminded of the movie. I probably would be too!
    Holly @ Woman Tribune recently posted…52 Weeks of Baking Love; Week 4: Chocolate Chip and Walnut Fudge BrowniesMy Profile

  9. You know, we were in Tennessee a couple years ago and my biggest regret was not making it to the Titanic museum – this makes me regret it even more! Looks like you guys had a great time! I’m a huge history buff – I actually got my bachelors in history. I just love when history sucks you in and that’s exactly what it looks like this museum does. I’m a bit jealous you got to go!
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  10. Leslie Pleasants says

    That is just so neat!! I didn’t know that they had something like this! I would love to go and check this out! Thank you for sharing!!
    Leslie Pleasants recently posted…J.J. Abrams to Direct Star Wars: Episode VIIMy Profile

  11. I got chills reading about the Captains view at night and touching the ice…. Sounds like quite the experience.
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  12. I really enjoyed reading this post….I know Ive looked up various people who were portrayed in the James Cameron titanic movie to see if they survived and to learn more about them…so I really liked the touch of receiving a boarding pass with a persons info and then finding out if they survived or not…. The titanic story is truely a sad one, and the fact that so many died simply because they had not carried enough life boats for everyone was heart wrenching. I cannot imagine having been there or having a loved one there. Thank you for this post. I’ll definatly be looking up more information about the museum and hope thatill be able to visit. Thank you.

  13. 100 years! Titanic always seemed so personal to me as a child (maybe it had to do with Leo…) that I can’t believe it’s so long and removed. What a beautiful musuem.

  14. I’d need to check with you here. Which isn’t something I generally do! I take pleasure in reading a post that can make folks believe. Also, thanks for permitting me to comment!

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  15. laurie nykaza says

    Titanic museum looks so amazing to go and visit. I know my family would love to go their and learn some more history of the ship and the people who were aboard it.

  16. sally guenterberg says

    I hope I can remember this for sometime when we could make the trip to TN.

  17. My nephew is only 8 and obsessed with the Titanic. Well this summer they were able to go to Pigeon Forge and visit the same Titanic museum. He loved it and said for his birthday in November he wants to take his whole class there. He won’t quit talking about it but of course they can not take the whole class there 🙁

  18. COOL! I love stuff like this! Your pictures are a lot of fun. This museum kind of reminds me of the Winchester Mystery House in San Jose, CA.

  19. I took my daughter to the one in Branson, Missouri some years back. Loved the ticket aspect and learning about who we ‘were’.

  20. I would love to visit here with my family!

  21. rochelle haynes says

    This looks so nice love to visit here

  22. What a neat experience. I would love to go someday!

  23. They brought a traveling exhibit of the Titanic to Denver that I saw. Neat stuff.

  24. Cheryl Everitt says

    Thanks so much for sharing your experience. As a kid I can remember all the talkabout the Titanic. This would be an awesome place to take my grandchildren.

  25. Looks like a great museum, we would enjoy visiting someday. It’s funny that linoleum was considered better than marble, how strange!
    The Titanic is one of the saddest stories, all the lives needlessly lost!

  26. rochelle haynes says

    Love to visit this place looks nice

  27. Jerry Marquardt says

    I would definitely love to visit this nice museum. I would love to visit Northeast Tennessee and the Titanic Museum in Pigeon Forge.

  28. Museums can give kids a real history lesson when they see things like this.

  29. gina travers says

    wow this is awesome,my girls would love this.they enjoy anything titanic ever since they learned about it in school.ty keep on posting

  30. What a great museum.

  31. John Smith says

    The grand staircase looks fantastic! I would love to see that!

  32. I would love to see this museum. What a fascinating piece of history.

  33. Deborah W. says

    We love the Smokey Mountains and this museum will be on the list to visit the next trip. Thanks for the great information!

  34. Wouldn’t that be fascinating. I would love to see it.

Trackbacks

  1. […] ruins to the tales of those who survived, all of it is amazing to me.  My family recently visited the Titanic Museum in Pigeon Forge, TN and found that there’s so much to learn about this epic disaster and the […]

  2. Jackson says:

    Jackson

    Titanic Museum in Pigeon Forge

  3. The Titanic museum was by far the coolest thing we’ve done as a family,… – Tennessee says:

    […] The Titanic museum was by far the coolest thing we’ve done as a family, we even got to see the Titanic violin before it went back to England. .. Click here for original. […]

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