LIVERPOOL, UK.- Imagine you are caught in a terrible storm at sea. A giant wave capsizes your boat and you are washed-up on an uninhabited island. How will you survive? How will you escape? Find out in Shipwrecked, the thrilling new exhibition at the Merseyside Maritime Museum from 15 July 2006 to 20 May 2007.

Shipwrecked is an action-packed exhibition offering landlubbers the opportunity to experience the adventurous life of a castaway. The blockbuster exhibition recreates the sights and sounds of a remote desert island. A combination of specially devised interactives and hands-on experiences, including a wonderful replica of a shipwreck, create an enthralling island to explore. Crackers, a friendly crab who lives on the island lends his experience and expertise to intrepid explorers who want to try living like Robinson Crusoe.

The exhibition opens with the sound and light effects of crashing waves and a violent storm as you arrive on the island. Your first challenge is to search a dark cave for food and fresh water. Learn how the plants and creatures of the island provide essential sustenance for castaways or how you can collect enough dew for a glass of water using only rags and a coconut shell.

Venturing out of the cave reveals an enormous shipwreck in the centre of the island. The large ship and its surroundings is an explorer’s paradise packed with practical survival tips waiting to be uncovered.

Discover how combining flotsam and jetsam and indigenous materials of the island you can build your own shelter from the elements and wild animals. A fascinating display including an Inuit pick-axe made from bone and driftwood and an Australian spear-head made from bottle glass reveals how vital tools can be made from all sorts of natural materials.

Contacting passing ships or aircraft with smoke signals, messages written in the sand or even a message in a bottle could be crucial to your escape from the island. From a conch shell to wireless radio, families can discover the art of communication with limited resources. Use the fun interactives to try out smoke signals or semaphore for yourself.

From the simplest crafts to more complex vessels families can find out how they might build their own boat. An original kayak from the Aleutian Islands in the Pacific and an Aboriginal raft are wonderful boats on display but could they survive the ocean waves? Learn how to build a craft able to endure bad weather, rocky coasts and even shark-infested waters!

Interactive games offer families an insight into how seafarers use compasses, the sun or even stars to position themselves at sea. Real navigational tools are included in the display. The island also contains an under-fives play area where toddlers and young children can sit on a giant starfish and work out how to survive the island through games, song and dance, salvaging from the wreck and beachcombing.

During weekends and school holidays role-players roam the immersive island and delight visitors with tales of survival and adventure, while workshops such as flag-making and bug-tasting keep young castaways and their families entertained.
Shipwrecked is a lively exhibition, which challenges visitor’s imagination and resourcefulness. Those who complete the Escape the Island Challenge are rewarded with a certificate to remember their fabulous adventure.

The exhibition has been developed by Shipwrecked Club, a group of young people aged between 4 to 10, who have met monthly to help exhibition designers make some important decisions including choosing a name for the cheeky crab and will also be involved in choosing images for the marketing campaign.

Vivien Bell, research officer at National Museums Liverpool says 'Having seen how excited Shipwrecked Club members are about the sorts of things in this exhibition, we are confident that Shipwrecked will be great fun for everyone. The club members have given us some good ideas about what to include in the exhibition and how to make it exciting for visitors.'