Titanic was meant to be the biggest and best ship of its day, but it sank on its first trip. Yet it is still the best-known boat on Earth.

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The Wonder Ship

On April 10, 1912, hundreds of people packed a dock in Southampton, England. The came to see Titanic, a ship that was about to leave on its first trip. And what a ship it was!

Titanic was the largest ship in the world - as long as four cith blocks. Manh people called ot the "wonder ship". It was like a floating palace, with a swimming pool, carved wood, and fancy gold lights. It also had many rich and famous passengers who wanted to be the firsg to ride on this great ship.

Titanic left England for New York in 1912. Poor passengers had to stay in the lower decks. Only the rich could use the top four decks.

Danger Ahead!
Titanic set off for New York. At first, the ride was in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean. That night, the weather ws clear, and stars twinkled against the dark sky. On the ship, people danced late into the night. No one knew that danger was near. Shortly before midnight, a sailor on lookout saw something in the darkness. He knew it could be only one thing. It was an iceberg, a floating mountain of ice. The sailor raised the alarm: "Iceberg ahead!" Next, the crew tried to turn Titanic away from the Iceberg, but it was too late. Finally, the ship scraped along the ice.

Water Rushes In
The problem did not seem too bad at first. Then water started to pouring into the ship, and nothing could stop it. The ship was going to sink!

The crew tried to get help. They shot off fireworks to attract the attention of nearby ships. Crew members on those ships thought the fireworks were for fun, so they didn't stop to help.

Passengers began climbing into the lifeboats on Titanic. Women and children mostly went first, but there was not enough room for everyone. When the last lifeboat was lowered into the water, ther were still 1500 people on the sinking ship.

A Ship Torn Apart
Soon passengers heard a terrible sound. It was the sound of the ship ripping apart. The ship sank just 20 minutes later, with most of the passengers and crew still on board.

A Boy's Dream
Titanic sank to the ocean floor and stayed there for 71 years. Then Robert Ballard set out to find it. As a kid, Ballard had loved reading about Titanic. "My Dream", he says, "was to find this great ship."

Ballard became an ocean explorer and studied the ocean floor. Althought he made many discoveries, he never forgot his dream: he still wanted to find Titanic. People said it was impossible. They said that the shipwreck was to deep, but Ballard didn't agree.

Hunting For Titanic
In 1958, Ballard teamed up with a French scientist and began his search for Titanic. The two men sailed to where Titanic had sunk. They used high-tech tools to search the ocean floor. For weeks, they found nothing. Then they sent down Argo, an underwater machine that took pictures and sent them back to the crew.

Argo searched the ocean for a few days without finding anything. Then a big metal object came into view. It was a ship's engine. The team began to cheer. They knew that they had discovered Titanic!

A Closer Look
Ballard saw the bow, or front, of Titanic stuck in mud. He saw cups, beds, shoes, suitcases, and other objects from the ship. It was like visiting a museum. Ballard wanted to see more, but he had to return home.

In 1968, Ballard came back to the ship. This time, he traveled down to the wreck, riding in a submersible, which is an underwater craft. He brought a deep-sea robot that was able to look inside the ship.

Saving The Past
As Ballard explored Titanic, he tool picture of the shipwrecks. He did not take abything away, thought. He left things just as theh were. Each object helps to tell the sad story of Titanic.

Talking Wih Robert Ballard
Robert Ballard has explored many parts of the ocean. In this interview, he talks about his work.

How did you get interested in the ocean exploration?
I always loved the book Twenty Thousand Leagues Under The Sea by Jules Verne. It was all I could think about. I wanted to see what was deep in the ocean!

How did you become an explorer?
My parents wanted me to have a good education. I went to college and studied the ocean. Later, I joined the navy.

There have been many shipwrecks. What is special about Titanic?
Titanic's story interested people. The ship was full of people when it sank. Many were scared. Many were brave. Many were also very famous. People want to see their stories. They want to know how we study the shipwreck.

Why it is a bad idea to take items from the wreck?
The objects are part of history. Seeing them in place tells a lot. For example, we can learn how the ship sank. That information ia lost if you take things away from the wreck.

What was it like to find Titanic? How did you feel?
Finding Titanic was a dream of mine. So discovering it made me happy.