The tragic story of the RMS Titanic has played out on the big screen, and in musicals, novels, exhibits, documentaries and TV miniseries. Now, it arrives in South Florida as a new immersive experience.

Guests can climb aboard a lifeboat to experience the historic ship’s final moments — and watch from a passenger’s perspective, floating in the dark waters on a star-filled, bitterly cold night, as distress signals were being sent and Titanic disappeared into the ocean.

The experience is called “Titanic: An Immersive Voyage,” and it will be available through Tuesday, March 31, at the South Florida PBS Studios in Boynton Beach.

Guests may know the facts already — that the so-called “unsinkable” ship struck an iceberg and sank in the early morning hours of April 15, 1912, killing more than 1,500 people during its maiden voyage from Southampton, England, to New York City.

But this immersive experience offers an opportunity to take a trip through history: To learn about the ship with 3D views, video animations, life-sized reconstructions and narrative storytelling; view artifacts; and use virtual reality to go 2.5 miles below sea level in a deep-sea submersible to see the wreck site.

Titanic’s sister and rescue ships also get a featured spot in the multisensory journey, which takes from 45 to 90 minutes to complete.

Learn historical facts about Titanic’s crew and passengers during “Titanic: An Immersive Voyage” at South Florida PBS Studios in Boynton Beach. (South Florida PBS/Courtesy)

Fans of James Cameron’s 1997 “Titanic” movie can even pose as passengers in an artificial intelligence photo booth to recreate the “I’m flying” scene between Jack and Rose on the ship’s bow.

This is the third immersive experience presented at South Florida PBS Studios, following presentations on Leonardo Da Vinci and Egyptian pharaohs.

Below, we obtained more details during a Q&A session with Jeneissy Azcuy, chief marketing and education officer with South Florida PBS, that’s been edited for length and clarity.

Q: How did South Florida PBS find out about this experience and bring it here? 

A: Exhibition Hub [based in Atlanta] created the experience. We discovered it at last year’s PBS Annual Meeting, where several staff members were invited to visit the immersive experience and came away impressed. Knowing that PBS had produced excellent programming about the Titanic, with a new documentary from American Public Television scheduled for spring 2026, we saw an opportunity to bring the experience to South Florida. Our research also revealed a compelling local connection — several Titanic passengers had ties to South Florida, making it especially relevant for our community.

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Q: Why is it important to learn about Titanic and keep its history alive, especially in an interactive way?

A: The Titanic represents far more than a maritime disaster. It is a profound human story that offers timeless lessons about hubris, class divisions, heroism and tragedy. By keeping this history alive through interactive experiences, we ensure that new generations connect emotionally with these lessons in ways that textbooks simply cannot achieve.

An immersive approach transforms the Titanic from a distant historical event into a visceral, personal experience. When you’re standing on a replica of the bow, sitting in a lifeboat or exploring the wreckage through VR [virtual reality], the 1,500 lives lost become real people, not just statistics. You begin to understand the human decisions, both wise and catastrophic, that led to that fateful night.

Bowls and glassware are among the artifacts on display in the “Titanic: An Immersive Voyage” exhibit at South Florida PBS Studios in Boynton Beach. (South Florida PBS/Courtesy)

These interactive experiences also illuminate broader themes that remain relevant today: the dangers of overconfidence in technology and the life-and-death consequences of ignored warnings. By engaging with this history in such an immersive way, visitors don’t just learn facts, they develop empathy, critical thinking, and a deeper appreciation for how individual choices and societal structures can shape tragic outcomes. It’s this emotional connection that ensures the lessons of the Titanic continue to resonate and inform how we approach challenges in our own time.

Q: How is the virtual reality experience?

A: The VR aspect of “Titanic: An Immersive Voyage” is truly extraordinary. It takes you on a breathtaking journey to the ocean floor, where you encounter the haunting wreckage of the Titanic resting in the deep. As you explore the sunken vessel, you can observe the ship’s remains in stunning detail before the experience transitions, bringing you back in time to April 14, 1912. Suddenly, you’re aboard the magnificent ship itself, witnessing the tragic events of that fateful night unfold around you.

Descend 2.5 miles below sea level to view Titanic’s wreck site in the VR portion of the new exhibit. (South Florida PBS/Courtesy)

Q: What is your favorite part of the exhibit?

A: My favorite part is the immersive show, particularly the experience of sitting in the lifeboat. From that vantage point, you’re drawn into the unfolding drama as you learn about the critical messages being transmitted, some received, some tragically ignored. The experience weaves together the rich history of the ship, its crew and passengers, building a deeper understanding of life aboard the Titanic. Then, as the narrative progresses, you witness the heartbreaking sequence of events leading to its catastrophic end. There’s something profoundly moving about experiencing this history while seated in a lifeboat, which adds an emotional weight and sense of immediacy that makes the story feel incredibly real and personal.

Q: “Titanic” overlaps with the “Egyptian Pharaohs: From Cheops to Ramses II” immersive experience on display through Sunday, March 29. How do you fit each exhibit into the facility?

A: We’ve successfully separated the two experiences by utilizing different sections of our substantially expanded campus. Our recently opened, state-of-the-art Cornelia T. Bailey Cultural Arts Center, an 8,000-square-foot facility, hosts portions of the “Egyptian Pharaohs” experience across its immersive dome, Taylor Performance Hall and Innovation Lab. Our 4,000-square-foot immersive studio hosts the “Egyptian Pharaohs” immersive show.

For “Titanic,” we’ve transformed office space into a museum-style gallery featuring authentic Titanic artifacts, a replica of the ship’s bow for photo opportunities and the VR experience. The immersive voyage itself takes place in one of our studios, complete with a lifeboat where visitors can sit for added realism.

Each experience has its own dedicated entrance: Guests access “Egyptian Pharaohs” through the Bailey Cultural Arts Center, while “Titanic: An Immersive Voyage” is entered through the back of the South Florida PBS Studios.

IF YOU GO

WHAT: “Titanic: An Immersive Voyage”

WHEN: Jan. 30-March 31

WHERE: South Florida PBS Studios, 3401 S. Congress Ave., Boynton Beach

COST: $45 for adults; $35 for seniors, students, military and first responders; and free for guests age 12 and younger (not recommended for children younger than 5)

INFORMATION: southfloridapbs.org/titanic/

The immersive experience also features a replica of the RMS Titanic. (South Florida PBS/Courtesy)

By JESSICA DAMIANO

With record cold gripping much of North America this winter, many who find themselves with an abundance of fireplace ashes are wondering whether they can use them in the garden.

Wood ashes from burned untreated wood can be beneficial for your plants — but with a few caveats.

Ashes contain nutrients like potassium, which supports the overall health of plants, phosphorus, which promotes strong root systems, and calcium, which facilitates plants’ absorption of other soil nutrients.

They also raise soil pH, making it more alkaline. That could be beneficial for folks with naturally acidic soil wanting to grow plants like tomatoes, peppers and eggplants, but it could spell disaster for gardeners who want to grow acid-loving plants like rhododendrons, azaleas or blueberries.

And if your soil is already alkaline — with a pH of 7 or higher — raising it further with ashes would risk interfering with many plants’ ability to thrive.

Despite the alkalinizing properties of wood ashes, they should not be relied on as the sole pH-raising amendment for very acidic soils. Although they can be helpful for borderline soils, it would take a tremendous amount of ash to change soil pH from too low to neutral.

The only way to know your soil’s pH level is to test it either with an at-home kit, which you can buy at garden centers or online, or by bringing a soil sample to your county’s cooperative extension office or master gardener clinic for testing and amendment recommendations.

Armed with this information, you can make an educated decision about whether ashes will benefit your soil and plants.

Here are a few more tips to get you on your way.

Know your wood

Whatever the wood contains will be absorbed by your soil and, in turn, your plants. Avoid using ashes from treated wood or from trees grown in polluted areas, which may contain chemicals and contaminants, such as heavy metals.

Coal ash and charcoal briquette ash should never be incorporated into garden soil because they contain toxins.

A bucket of ash appears by a fireplace at a home in Waitsfield, Vt. on Monday, Feb. 9, 2026. (AP Photo/Carolyn Lessard)

Make necessary preparations

Before spreading, ensure ashes have cooled completely. This can take a week or more.

Sift the ashes through a compost sifter to remove pieces of burned wood and debris. If you don’t have a sifter, you can use an old window screen or make your own by affixing 1/2- or 1/4-inch hardware cloth to a large art frame (or make a wood frame yourself).

Don’t overdo it

If you obtained dosing recommendations with your soil test, follow them precisely. Otherwise, apply no more than one 5-gallon bucket of ash, roughly 20 pounds, to a 1,000-square-foot area of garden per year. This limit should allow plants to reap the nutritive benefits of ash without adversely raising the soil’s pH. Retest annually before reapplying.

You can also sprinkle similar proportions of ash over the lawn or add it to compost.

Leave time between application and planting

In winter, apply ashes to bare soil (without snow cover) on a windless day. Moisten well with a gentle shower stream to facilitate absorption and prevent ashes from blowing around.

Springtime applications to prepared beds should be made no less than two weeks before planting time. Work ashes 4-6 inches deep with a stiff-tined metal garden rake.

Dispose of the excess cautiously

Avoid disposing of an abundance of ashes by dumping them in a corner of the yard. Large amounts can severely damage your soil, pollute groundwater, and lower the pH of nearby water sources, harming fish and other wildlife.

Instead, allow ashes to cool in the fireplace or stove for several days before collecting them into a metal bucket. Buried embers may still be burning, so take care and wear gloves.

Cover the bucket and place it outdoors, away from the house, porch, deck and other structures, for about a week. When you are certain they are completely cooled, bag the ashes and place them in the trash.

Jessica Damiano writes weekly gardening columns for the AP and publishes the award-winning Weekly Dirt Newsletter. You can sign up here for weekly gardening tips and advice.

For more AP gardening stories, go to https://apnews.com/hub/gardening.

By DEE-ANN DURBIN, Associated Press Business Writer

Cocoa prices have fallen nearly 70% since last Valentine’s Day, but that won’t make heart-shaped boxes of chocolate or even chocolate Easter bunnies more affordable this year.

FILE – A man passes a Fannie May chocolate shop in downtown Chicago on Valentine’s Day, Feb. 14, 2021. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh, File)

Chocolate prices at U.S. retail stores rose 14% between Jan. 1 and the first week of February compared to the same period last year, according to market research company Datasembly. That’s on top of a 7.8% increase for the same period in 2025.

Europe has seen even steeper price increases. In Germany, chocolate prices rose 18.9% in 2025, according to government figures.

Here’s what caused the price of cocoa futures to rise and then fall — and why that may not be reflected in the prices customers are paying.

Cocoa, climate and cost

Cocoa prices more than doubled in 2024 due to insufficient rainfall and crop diseases in West Africa, which supplies more than 70% of the world’s cocoa. Cocoa, which is made from the dried beans of the cacao tree, is the main ingredient in both dark and white chocolate.

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Weather conditions have improved since then in Ivory Coast and Ghana, and cocoa production is increasing in Ecuador and other countries, according to an analysis by J.P. Morgan. The resulting supply increase is one reason cocoa prices are coming down.

But they’re also dropping because of lower global demand. Chocolate getting more expensive has turned off consumers, so manufacturers have cut the amount of chocolate they use or shifted to other products like gummy candies to keep prices in check, said Chris Costagli, a food thought leader at the market research company NIQ.

In the U.S., annual retail sales of chocolate rose 6.7% in 2025 compared to the prior year, largely because of price increases, according to NIQ data. But the number of individual products sold was down 1.3%, as consumers bought less chocolate overall.

Tariffs on treats

The Trump administration’s tariffs were another reason U.S. chocolate prices increased last year.

The administration put a tariff averaging 15% on cocoa-producing countries last February, which raised the price of U.S. cocoa imports, according to the U.S. Federal Reserve.

In November, the administration removed tariffs on cocoa and other commodities that can’t be grown in the U.S., including coffee, spices and tropical fruit.

But tariffs of 15% or more on products from the European Union, including chocolates, remain in place.

What goes up… may stay up

So far, declining cocoa prices haven’t necessarily let chocolate lovers pay less.

Costagli compares the situation to gas prices. Even when the cost of oil goes down, prices at the pump don’t immediately follow because companies need to use up the oil they bought at a higher price.

Chocolate makers like The Hershey Co. have long-term contracts that may require them to pay more than current cocoa prices. The market also is volatile; companies know that another bout of poor weather or a surge in demand could make cocoa prices surge again.

But Costagli said companies also watch shoppers’ reaction to prices.

“If the customer is still willing to pay that higher price point, do we really take the price down?” he said.

Mondelez International, which owns chocolate brands like Oreo, Cadbury and Toblerone, raised its prices by 8% globally in 2025 to counter higher cocoa costs.

In Europe, the company hiked prices by even more and saw a significant decrease in the amount of its products sold. As a result, Mondelez lowered prices this year in some markets, including the United Kingdom and Germany.

“We have learned that certain price points are very important, and so we have adjusted already to put our products at the right price point,” Mondelez Chairman and CEO Dirk Van de Put said during a February conference call with investors.

Van de Put said Mondelez didn’t plan immediate price cuts in North America, where both its price increases and its sales volume losses were more moderate.

Trading up … or down

Two segments of the chocolate market grew in the U.S. last year: value brands and super-premium brands, Costagli said.

The expanded interest in higher-end chocolate may seem surprising if consumers balked at paying more for a Snickers bar or a pack of Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups. But the companies behind super-premium lines like Ferrero Rocher, Justin’s and Lindt Excellence were less aggressive about instituting cocoa-related price increases since their products already were more expensive, Costagli said.

As mainstream chocolate makers like Hershey and Mars raised prices, some customers decided they’d just spend a little more, he said.

“It’s given the aspirational shopper that little push they need to trade up. If they wanted a better product, if they wanted better experience, better product characteristics, organic, fair trade, whatever it might be,” Costagli said.

On the flip side, value brands — think Whitman’s or some store-brand chocolates — also sold more products in the U.S. last year as price-conscious shoppers traded down from mainstream brands.

“The savings you get by trading down is actually greater than it used to be,” Costagli said. “So from an aspirational perspective, it’s easier to trade up, and from a financially insecure perspective, it saves you more to trade down.”

With Valentine’s Day on the way, it’s time to start planning your food and beverage-based wooing strategies — and for many, that involves two quintessential symbols of romance: chocolate and wine. But how do you make sure you pick the right wine and chocolate to pair together?

We asked two experts to weigh in: Jennifer Sahara, winemaker and owner at Sakura Winery, and Larissa Milano, owner of Bluebirds Chocolate, both based in Livermore, California. They’d just personally tested the wine and chocolate combinations they planned to share with the participants of a class.

“The number one thing I always tell people is to either go to a higher-end shop or go to a chocolatier, if possible,” Milano says. People should also look for chocolate that has cocoa butter listed in the ingredients, she says.

When it comes to pairing chocolate with white wines, look for a milk chocolate, and consider picking a buttery white wine to marry with a nutty chocolate, since the fattiness in the nuts plays well with the buttery notes, she says. For rosé wines, white chocolate with strawberry or fruity notes makes for a great combination.

And for red wines, lighter reds can work well with both milk and dark chocolate. However, she says, people should be careful about mixing bolder, stronger red wines with bold, dark chocolate, because both contain tannins, which can be bitter. Opting instead to pair a bold red wine with a sweeter chocolate provides a better flavor balance, she says.

That approach fits with Sahara’s pairing strategy as a wine expert.

“With wine, there’s the contrasting pairing, and then there’s the complementary. When they’re both bold, doing the contrasting one is good — it brings out something in both things,” Sahara says.

Specific pairings they’d just tested out — and readily approved — included a pinot grigio with milk chocolate and pistachio, petite verdot rosé with white chocolate and strawberry ganache, and a late-harvest tempranillo — a dessert wine that’s not quite as sweet as port, she says. Because the wine is on the sweet side, it can be paired with a dark chocolate that’s not quite as sweet — like a 70% cacao chocolate, she says.

Additionally, spicy chocolates tend to go well with earthy, peppery wines. “It really complements and adds to the complexity of the wine,” Sahara says.

At Bluebirds Chocolate in Livermore, owner Larissa Milano prepares an array of chocolates, including a wine-pairing bonbon box, which includes milk pistachio, double dark raspberry, dark cherry pistachio, dark almond and dark ganache flavors. Done right, combining the right bite with the right wine is evocative of the scene in “Ratatouille” in which Remy creates sensory magic by combining different flavors into one mouthful, she explains. “You can see and feel the marrying of the flavors, and it’s a really cool experience.”

“We pair food and wine so much,” she adds, “chocolate sometimes gets missed. I would love for more people to play with different types of chocolate and wine.”

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