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Kansas City - Union Station 30 W Pershing Rd., Ste. 850 Kansas City, MO 64108 816-460-2020  Science City at Union Station features Dino Lab and over 50 hands-on science activities. Kansas City Front Page is a weekly news publication spotlighting attractions, jobs, events, business and hotels near Union Station and Crown Center in Kansas City. |
KANSAS CITY, MO, (kansascityfrontpage.com), February 20, 2012 - On April 15, 1912, Titanic, the world's largest ship, sank after colliding with an iceberg claiming more than 1,500 lives and subsequently altering the world's confidence in modern technology. 100 years later, Union Station Kansas City will pay tribute to the tragedy which continues to resonate through Titanic: The Artifact Exhibition, where more than 300 legendary artifacts conserved from the Ship's debris field is showcased offering visitors a poignant look at this iconic ship and its passengers. The exhibition can be seen in the Bank of America Grand Gallery at Union Station, through September 3, 2012. "We are pleased Kansas City was selected as the location to host Titanic for the 100th anniversary of the ship's voyage," said George Guastello, president and CEO of Union Station. "Union Station has been Kansas City's home for exciting exhibitions in recent years and our staff looks forward to providing an unforgettable experience with this incredible offering." The Exhibition has been designed with a focus on the legendary RMS Titanic's compelling human stories, as best told through authentic artifacts and extensive room re-creations. Perfume from a maker who was traveling to New York to sell his samples, china etched with the logo of the elite White Star Line and many other authentic objects offer haunting, emotional connections to lives abruptly ended or forever altered. Visitors are quickly drawn back in time to 1912 upon entrance, as each receives a replica boarding pass of an actual passenger aboard Titanic. They then begin their chronological journey through the life of the Titanic, moving through the ship's construction, to life on board, to the illfated sinking and amazing artifact rescue efforts. They will marvel at the re-created stair case, and press their palms against an iceberg while learning of countless stories of heroism and humanity. One of the many galleries will be dedicated to local connections, where visitors can learn about how the sinking of the great ship strongly resonated in Kansas City. In the "Memorial Gallery" guests will take their boarding pass to the memorial wall and discover whether their passenger and traveling companions survived or perished. Union Station Highlights Kansas City's Railroading Past
Union Station encompasses 850,000 square feet and originally featured 900 rooms. In its prime as a working train station, accommodated tens of thousands of passengers every year. At its peak during WWII, an estimated one million travelers passed through the Station. The North Waiting Room (now the Sprint Festival Plaza) could hold 10,000 people and the complex included restaurants, a cigar store, barber shop, railroad offices, the nation's largest Railway Express Building (used for shipping freight and mail) as well as a powerhouse providing steam and power. Today, visitors can experience a massive movie in the Vic & Helen Regnier Extreme ScreenTheater, the region's only 3D projection system with a screen five stories tall. Journey through space and discover the wonders of the universe inside the Gottlieb Planetarium. At the H&R Block City Stage, guests can enjoy live shows from the Station's two resident professional theater companies - Theatre for Young America and Kansas City Actors Theatre - or from one of the many visiting companies who perform in this state-of-the-art, 200-seat performance venue. Union Station's permanent local history exhibit, The KC Rail Experience, tells the story of how railroads shaped a city, a region and a nation. Visitors will see historic rail cars and artifacts -- tickets, bells, whistles and signs -- and hear stories from ghosts of Kansas City's railroading past. Union Station is a historical landmark and civic asset renovated and reopened to the public in 1999. A bi-state cultural sales tax, the first of its kind in the country, funded nearly half of the $250 million renovation. The remaining money was raised through private donations and federal funding. In November 2002, the National Trust for Historic Preservation named Union Station a recipient of this year's National Preservation Honor Award. The award recognized Union Station for the achievement of beautifully restoring a Kansas City landmark and turning it once again into a viable community destination.
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