Branson, Missouri: Titanic Museum

A doomed ocean liner-building beached in Branson. Once inside, can you stand on the sloping deck simulator? How long can you keep your hand on a frozen iceberg?

This is a wonderful experience! You are "assigned" a passenger on the Titanic as you enter, and look for information on that person throughout the museum. At the end, on the memorial wall you find out if you survive. Also, if you survive, you find out what happens to the rest of your life.

We couldn't have been more excited. We visited just a month after the 100 year anniversary of its sinking, and they'd added an Unsinkable Molly Brown exhibit. It displays the dress that Debbie Reynolds wore in the movie and some of Margret Brown, the real Molly Brown's personal effects, like family photos and such. You can also hear her voice from the James Cameron movie in the replica lifeboat telling everyone to turn back to save everyone. There's a new Eternal Flame outside, dedicated to those who perished.

The artifacts are what really amazed me. Two of only nine remaining life jackets worn are on display, tea cups and silverware cleaned up and displayed, deck chairs, a whole room dedicated to pictures taken by a priest featuring the only photo of a child on board. What really got me was a pocket watch that stopped about twelve minutes after the ship finally went completely under. I don't know what about it struck me more than the others, but it gave me chills.

The only criticism I have is that it's not a place for really young kids. It's fairly cool throughout the entire museum, which made one girl very finicky, and her continuous crying/screaming really distracted us. Slightly older kids will definitely enjoy it; if they're not old enough to really grasp the educational side, don't bring them! There's some interactive stops, such as sloped decks you can walk on that show how hard it was to hold on while the ship tipped up and sank. The 28 degree water bowl shows the temperature of the water and times how long you can last.

They have a strict no picture policy. They have eyes in the back of their heads! Caught my dad who is very sneaky. All in all, a definite must see.

We went through the Titanic Museum with four kids under 7. It was stroller-friendly (a huge plus when traveling with little ones). The staff was extremely knowledgeable right down to the history of passengers and their pets. The design of the majority of it was exquisite. We spent nearly 4 hours here, and all agreed afterwards that had we not had the 2 year old with us we could have spent a couple more hours. The 3 seven year olds were fascinated with finding their passengers history and fate. They loved trying to shovel the coal, and thought that seeing the dogs walk through made it more "real."

The only thing I found to be disappointing was that cameras and video cameras were strictly not allowed, but toward the end they do offer to take a your picture against a green screen and then they superimpose a couple of backdrops. The pictures did turn out very nice and were ultimately worth the $20.

A new museum devoted to everyone's favorite calamity -- Titanic: The Legend Continues -- has opened in Branson, Missouri. Its promoters call it "the world's largest Titanic museum attraction."