Jim Wojdyla Says Titanic Exhibit Flooded on 114th Anniversary
A titanic exhibit at the Volo Museum flooded on Wednesday, April 15, the 114th anniversary of the ship’s sinking. Jim Wojdyla, the museum’s marketing director, called the timing “almost paranormal” as staff moved to protect valuable items inside the exhibit.
Volo Museum Floods Again
The museum, in the Chicago suburb of Volo, said this was the second flooding incident in three years. Brian Grams, the curator, said, “This building has never had water, not a drop,” before adding, “Once we put in a Titanic exhibit, it took on water. Twice.”
That line reads like gallows humor, but the operational point is simple: the museum’s only permanent Titanic exhibit in Illinois was not just dealing with standing water, it was dealing with how to shield objects already inside the display. Staff said they protected the valuable items after discovering the flood.
April 15 Timing
Thunderstorms passed through the area the night before the flood, and the museum shared a still image from security footage showing water leaking into the exhibit while a maintenance worker addressed the issue. In a Facebook caption, the museum wrote, “You can't even make this up... This is not staged,” a line that captures the odd timing without changing the practical problem in front of staff.
Wojdyla said, “The irony of any Titanic exhibit flooding is strange enough, but the fact that ours flooded on the exact anniversary of the Titanic's sinking is more than ironic.” He described the incident as “almost paranormal,” while Grams suggested the exhibit could be “haunted.”
Water Entry Search
Staff said they did not find any points of entry for the water that flooded the exhibit, which leaves the museum with a maintenance problem rather than a one-off cleanup story. The flood happened at a site that had already flooded on the day the exhibit opened, so this is now a repeated issue, not an isolated one.
For visitors, the immediate takeaway is that the exhibit remains a fragile part of the museum’s draw. The timing on April 15 may have grabbed attention, but the more important fact is that the institution is now coping with its second flood in three years inside the same permanent display.
