Titanic, the ship of dreams, still fascinates readers, moviegoers and just about anyone who has heard the tragic tale, even a century after an iceberg sent the now-legendary ship to the bottom of the icy North Atlantic.

Starting Sept. 29, visitors to the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences can follow that fateful voyage, take on the identity of a passenger, touch the iceberg and see more than 200 artifacts recovered from the broken ship's debris field two-and-a-half miles beneath the surface.

"Titanic: The Artifact Exhibition" runs through April 28, immersing visitors in the experience of the 2,228 passengers - titans of commerce, artists, leaders of countries, immigrant dreamers, mothers, fathers, sons and daughters. More than 1,500 died, and no one had ever believed it could happen. It was a catastrophe that shook the world's faith in technology and forever imprinted the ship's name into history books.

Titanic's compelling human stories are told through authentic artifacts and exacting re-creations of the ship's interior. Delicate bottles of perfume, china bearing the logo of the White Star Line, and many other objects recovered from the wreck site offer poignant connections to lives abruptly ended or forever changed by one of the world's greatest maritime tragedies.

Visitors are quickly drawn back in time upon entrance to the exhibition, as each receives a replica boarding pass of an actual passenger aboard Titanic.

They then begin their chronological journey through the life of Titanic, moving through the ship's construction, to life on board, to the ill-fated sinking and amazing artifact recovery efforts.

They will marvel at the re-created boiler room as well as first- and third-class cabins, stand on the Captain's Bridge, and press their palms against an iceberg while learning of countless stories of heroism and humanity.

Finally, 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.

Educational, emotional and appropriate for all ages, "Titanic: The Artifact Exhibition" pays homage to the indomitable force of the human spirit in the face of tragedy.

Tickets: $14 for adults; $11 for seniors (65 and up), students and military; $9 for children (3-12); $8 for museum members.

For more information or to purchase tickets, visit http://naturalsciences.org /titanic or call the museum box office at (919) 707-9950.