Press Release: Amelia Earhart Search

Press Release

April 3, 2001
For Immediate Release
Contact Person:
Lynn Jourdan (207) 967.0666

Deep Sea Explorers Help Bring Mystery of the Titanic to Maryland Science Center

Nauticos Corporation of Hanover Assists in Exhibit That Gives Schoolchildren Hands-On Lesson in the Science & Technology That Helped Raise Artifacts from the Sunken Vessel

She was the grandest luxury ocean liner ever built. Almost 90 years since her catastrophic sinking, the legend of the RMS Titanic still lingers and continues to capture the public's imagination. Schoolchildren today can turn their natural curiosity into a hands-on history and science lesson thanks to a new exhibit at the Maryland Science Center.

One of the highlights of the exhibit is the robot-like vehicle that scours the ocean floor searching for and retrieving artifacts like those recovered from the Titanic. The Remotely Operated Vehicle (ROV) Control System was created for the exhibit by noted underwater search and recovery expert Nauticos Corporation of Hanover, Maryland.

"This is a realistic simulation that gives students a chance to see what live exploration in the underwater world is like," says Mike Davis, Project Developer. "Schoolchildren actually get to operate the ROV using a joy stick to steer."

The ROV display includes a mini-ROV in a sizable water tank with all the control and display electronics needed to pilot the ROV. The aim is to give the visitor a feel of what it is like to "fly" an ROV.

The Maryland Science Center calls the Titanic Science exhibit - which runs from April 7th through September 3rd -- a learning experience for the entire family allowing visitors to experience real-world science while participating in observation, critical thinking and hands-on experimentation as they become explorers of the wreck.

Nauticos is a world leader in unearthing long-lost underwater articles of historical importance. Although its core business is to support the U.S. Navy, Nauticos has a number of other notable ocean discovery successes. These include serving as the Operation Manager for the Discovery Channel's live special on the Titanic as well as the search and discovery of the historic Japanese submarine, I-52, sunk by the U.S. Navy during World War II and believed to be carrying $20 million in gold bound for Germany. The story was featured in the October 1999 issue of National Geographic. Nauticos also discovered wreckage of one of the Japanese aircraft carriers sunk at the Battle of Midway, widely considered the turning point of World War II and located an Israeli submarine, known as the Dakar, which disappeared on its maiden voyage in 1968. In 1999, Nauticos pulled off another archaeological coup, finding the oldest, deepest shipwreck known to man.

Nauticos provides operations and navigation expertise that specializes in deep-ocean search and underwater problem solving. Its deep-sea exploration experts offer extensive experience and unique technologies that significantly reduce search time and lower the cost of at-sea operations. These core capabilities enable Nauticos to find any object on the ocean floor to the deepest depths.

Top