“The munchkins need something fun and lighthearted while they’re home for spring break,” parents across the area have been thinking. “Let’s teach them about the Titanic.”

Titanic: The Exhibition had a special this week. The ship was built in Ireland, so they wanted to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day.

The creative producer says the exhibit is laid out in chronological order, so you start with the party. A couple hundred Irish immigrants were also onboard. The producer says they were looking forward to passing the Statue of Liberty as they arrived to start a better life in America.

Spoilers: It didn’t work out.

After you watch an introductory video, they give you the Titanic’s origin story: In 19-aught-7, the heads of the White Star Line and Harland & Wolff Ltd had dinner. They were competing shipbuilders but had been outdone by those rascals at Cunard, which was “ferrying passengers on transatlantic ships, more modern and faster than any others.”

So they decided to build their own ships, ships that would be 50 percent bigger and 100 feet longer than anything else afloat! The exhibition gives you all the specs. For instance, I learned Titanic had three million rivets.

“With all those rivets, what could go wrong?!” you’re thinking.

They even give you the name of a passenger so you can make an emotional connection with someone while you walk through. More on the passenger list in a moment.

You start out learning about the passengers. They’ve got postcards sent before Titanic left its last port for the United States and clothes worn by passengers and crew. An attendant, Leonard Taylor, wrote to his mom about pictures alone can’t describe how big Titanic is.

Then they show you the staircase. The Leonardo DiCaprio staircase.

A state room would set you back $77,500 today, but you could come over in third class for the low, low price of $940.

The exhibit says third class vibrated and hummed with the “ship’s rumbling engines,” but “third class passengers found Titanic’s accommodations and facilities rivaled second class on most other liners of the time.”

They’ve also got dishware from different classes and the sister ship on display.

But then things start to turn. The day before, Titanic got a warning about “bergs, growlers and field ice” about 9 a.m. Then they got warnings from several other ships, but “Captain Smith was not concerned and maintained full speed.”

A rundown of transmissions reports they tried to tell other everyone they did hit an iceberg and were sinking.

“Should … should I tell my manager?” the other ships heroically responded.

One of the last items on the rundown is the eight musicians onboard gathering to play “Nearer my God to Thee.”

Maybe that’s not a happy ending, but the munchkins get a chance to make a hand print on the iceberg.

And the tots had a good time. You’ll recall they got the name of a passenger when they started. At the end, you get to check a roster to see if your guy lived or died.

I spoke to a family who had just wrapped up. Mom said her son was the only first class passenger in the group, but he was also the only one who died, providing a wonderful lesson about the fragility of life to a child enjoying his spring break.

Her son had a good attitude about dying, though. At least he went out in first class.

The exhibit says there weren’t many second class passengers, so it’s harder to find examples of their dishware… but you can buy some in the gift shop conveniently located at the end of the tour!