10-04-2025
Minnesota museum remembers lives lost in Titanic sinking with special exhibit 113 years later
April 15 will be the 113th anniversary of the day the Titanic sank in the North Atlantic, taking with it 1,500 lives. From news to movies, people still marvel over what happened.
The infamous tragedy is remembered in St. Louis County, Minnesota.
Most people come to Duluth to see the big ships on Lake Superior, but at Karpeles Museum, it's the little ships that grab your attention.
Matthew Sjelin is the director at Karpeles, which is anchored inside a former church. It's where you'll find the Mayflower, the Victory and even the RMS Titanic.
"It's such an intrinsic part of our pop culture knowledge now," Sjelin said.
Each April, the museum runs a Titanic exhibit. While the notorious ocean liner was 882 feet long, this one is just over 2 feet in the length. But the meticulous effort it took to build this ship is unmatched.
"As much as I loved Legos as a kid, this is such a level beyond that," Sjelin said.
The model isn't really the featured attraction. Each of the ships here comes with an authentic manuscript from their seafaring days. For the Titanic, Karpeles has the original "Certificate of Clearance," which was the last document the ocean liner needed to set sail for America.
"When you are looking at this information, you realize how few of these people came home," Sjelin said.
Sjelin also shows visitors how many lives could have been saved when the Titanic began to sink. His painter's tape demonstrates the vast size of the lifeboats. The first one carried 28 survivors but could have held 40 more.
"Everything in here is just kind of amazing to see," said Alexandra Houck, a visitor. "It pulls you in because there's a lot we just don't know, I guess."
It's not just Duluth that remembers this infamous tragedy. Down the road, in the town of Proctor, you'll find a replica of the sinking Titanic. The family who lives there built the replica. They did it to honor the previous homeowner and Titanic survivor, Anna Larsen. She was coming to the U.S. from Norway, and as the ship sank, she caught the very last lifeboat.
Statistics, models and manuscripts are what Karpeles has to tell this tale, and that's all they really need. Because, unlike the ship itself, the legend refuses to go under.
"It's continuously taken a 100-year-old wreck and continually brought it into popular culture," Sjelin said. "There's always something about the Titanic."
The Titanic exhibit at Karpeles Musuem will run from April 12 through April 20. Though the miniature Titanic remains on display year-round. Admission to the museum is free.
