For the 100th anniversary of the Titanic’s sinking, just about every aspect of the storied liner – from safety issues to class differences among passengers – is being explored, analyzed and celebrated. 

But little attention is being given to another group of Titanic travelers: the dogs that made the voyage.

A new exhibit at the Widener University Art Gallery, in Chester, Pa., that opened Tuesday hopes to change that by including stories of the dogs and their owners who sailed on the Titanic, said J. Joseph Edgette, professor emeritus of education and folklorist emeritus at Widener University, who produced and curated the exhibit.

“I wanted to include things that people don’t normally run across,” Edgette said, noting that there were no Titanic-related exhibits that he was aware of that focused on the famed ocean liner’s canine passengers.

“Everybody knows about the iceberg, how the ship went down, and the heroic stories, but it doesn’t go beyond that, yet there are hundreds of other aspects that we need to give attention to,” said Edgette, who based much of his findings on eyewitness accounts of the evacuation, ship’s records and his own research. “Until recently, most scholarship has not covered the dogs.”

Twelve dogs set sail on the Titanic, according to Edgette, although other researchers have come up with differing accounts. Only three survived, he said.

Those that were saved included a baby Pomeranian, owned by Margaret Hays of New York City, who kept the puppy in the cabin with her, Edgette said. When passengers were evacuated, Hays wrapped it in a blanket. Crew members allowed her to get in a lifeboat with the puppy.

Others that lived were Sun Yat-sen, a Pekinese belonging to Henry and Myra Harper (of Harper & Row publishing fame), also of New York City, and a small Pomeranian owned by Elizabeth Rothschild from Watkins Glen, N.Y.

All surviving dogs were small and were kept in the first-class cabins of their owners, Edgette said.

Two of the dogs that perished were owned by William Carter, a coal magnate. Carter’s children were worried about their pets, but their father assured them the dogs were safe and encouraged his children to get in the lifeboats, Edgette said. The family survived, and later received insurance reimbursement from Lloyds of London in the amount of $100 for daughter Lucy’s King Charles spaniel and $200 for son Billy’s Airedale.

Other dogs that died included two Airedales, one named Kitty, owned by John Jacob Astor IV and his wife, and a fox terrier owned by William Dulles, an attorney from Philadelphia.

The exhibit features photos – some authentic, some representative -- of the dogs and their owners. One  photo depicts a group of dogs tied to the rail on the Titanic’s deck, which perished, and another shows crew members walking several dogs.

In addition to the dogs, the exhibit focuses on several Philadelphia-area families who sailed on the Titanic, including the Widener family, for whom Widener University is named. Three Widener family members sailed on the Titanic, but only one survived.

The exhibit also includes displays about the company that built the Titanic, details about the ship, information about the recovery of bodies after the sinking, how local families memorialized members who lost their lives after the tragedy, as well as Titanic’s impact on popular culture.

Free and open to the public, the exhibit runs through May 12.

Correction: In an earlier version of this post, we published several photos from a Widener University Art Gallery exhibit that depict dogs who sailed on the Titanic.

Msnbc.com has learned some images featured on our story and in the exhibit are not authentic, but rather were intended as representations of the breeds on board. Rebecca Warda, collections manager at the gallery, said the exhibit will be updated with signs clearly indicating which images are historically accurate and which are representations.

The photos have been removed from msnbc.com.

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"From Asbury Park to the Promised Land: The Life and Music of Bruce Springsteen" will be on display Feb. 17-Sept. 3 at the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia.

A museum devoted to the bedrock of American democracy will from Feb. 17 through Sept. 3 celebrate a more visceral sort of rock: The music of Bruce Springsteen.

The National Constitution Center in Philadelphia is presenting, “From Asbury Park to the Promised Land: The Life and Music of Bruce Springsteen.”

Originating at the The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum in Cleveland, where the exhibition was featured next to the likes of Elvis and Elton, The Boss will now be rubbing monumental shoulders with George Washington, Benjamin Franklin and Thomas Jefferson.

“No other artist is as steeped in Americana or has better told the story of the American dream than Bruce Springsteen,” said David Eisner, the center’s CEO. “He’s the perfect artist for a center devoted to the robust discussion of American values to feature.”

America has one national anthem, but Americans have dozens, many of them — “Born in the U.S.A.,” “Promised Land,” “Born to Run,” and “The Rising” — composed and performed by Springsteen and the E Street Band. Over the past 40 years, Springsteen has sold more than 120 million albums worldwide and helped define American character as surely as Uncle Sam.

“The only other artists so connected to America are Woody Guthrie and Pete Seeger, but even compared to them he’s fairly unique,” said Jim Henke, curator of The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum in Cleveland. “His songs deal with the struggles as much as the dreams.”

National Constitution Center

The jeans Bruce Springsteen wore on the cover of "Born in the U.S.A."

Springsteen also differs from other artists, Henke said,  in that he had an innate recognition that he was doing something that was transcending the music.

“He saved everything,” Henke said. “So we have the Fender guitar featured on the cover of ‘Born to Run.’ We have the jeans he wore on the cover of ‘Born in the U.S.A.’ The exhibit is a very comprehensive look at his life and his career going clear back to his childhood.”

Eisner, whose favorite album is the stark “Nebraska” from 1982, said he’s been particularly pleased to thumb through the lyric notebooks.

“His penmanship on things like set lists is very hurried, but with the lyrics you can tell he was almost reverential with the words he was composing to songs like ‘Jungleland,’ ” Eisner said.  “It’s also fun to see some of the changes he made from before recording the songs."

With Springsteen playing shows in Philadelphia on March 28 and 29, Eisner is besieged by friends who are begging for any hint that The Boss will come to the exhibit.

Henke said it happened in Cleveland.

“I called up his assistant and said the show was closing and we’d be happy to give him a private tour,” he said. “He said that wasn’t necessary. So on the very last day of the Springsteen exhibit, on a packed weekend, many fans were treated to seeing the Bruce Springsteen exhibit with Bruce Springsteen himself. And he couldn’t have been nicer.”

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Chris Rodell is a Latrobe, Pa., freelance writer who blogs at www.EightDaysToAmish.com. Read his 2009 Springsteen album-by-album blog retrospective here.

Eric Ryan / Getty Images Contributor

Fame can touch just about anything, including food. To see a leftover crumb from Pete Doherty, head to the Old Boatstore.

It doesn't exactly have the "ooh" factor of a Lucille Ball caricature hanging on Sardi's wall. It does, however, inch toward the "eww" factor of, say, a faded 34C underwire tacked up on the ceiling of a dive bar. What is it? Just a wee crumb of a toastie eaten by the Libertines co-frontman Pete Doherty.

That's right. There's a museum where you can view the dried-out crust of a British pop star's cheese, tomato and pesto panini that he ate at a cafe in a Cornish seaside village. Owners Michael and Francesca Bennett wanted to commemorate the visit of celebrities to their seafront cafe, the Old Boatstore. When photographer David Bailey visited, the couple told the BBC, they were so excited they decided to keep a bit of the sandwich he'd consumed. The Museum of Celebrity Leftovers grew from there.

Now, when you visit Kingsand in the U.K., you can view about 20 "artifacts" sealed under tiny glass domes and kept on a bright blue shelf hanging on the cafe wall -- the museum's entire collection. Ogle actress Mia Wasikowska's wedge of zucchini. Examine the end of comedian Hugh Dennis' ice cream cone. Ruminate over retired BBC weatherman Craig Rich's pasty crust.

No preservatives have been added to the remains, and Michael Bennett assured the BBC that none of the exhibits seem to be getting moldy, just dried and shriveled.

The Bennetts have owned the cafe for nine years and serve mainly vegetarian fare with locally sourced seafood when available. So don't expect to see a bite of Prince Harry's burger anytime soon. However, Charles and Camilla have paid a visit. The Museum of Celebrity Leftovers has a tiny silver crown adorning the glass dome protecting Charles' relic: a teensy crust of bread pudding.

It's unlikely that the Prince of Wales and Duchess of Cornwall came just to see the odd exhibit, as the display of food waste is more kitschy than captivating. It may, however, have some competition for the world's most underwhelming excuse for a museum. Consider the Asphalt Museum with its chunks of tar at Sacramento State College in California. Or the Barbed Wire Museum in LaCrosse, Kan. And you might just get "sucked in" -- their pun -- at the Vacuum Museum along Route 66 in Missouri. (For more, see our list of the world's weirdest museums.)

No reason to cross the Hermitage or Smithsonian off your must-see list just yet. En route between the two, you might want to stop in the Old Boatstore for a bite to eat. Who knows who may be seated next to you.

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Elvis Presley Museum Düsseldorf

Elvis is shown in front of the castle gate in Bad Nauheim, Germany, in June 1959. He was stationed at Friedberg, Germany, while serving in the U.S. Army but maintained an off-base residence in Bad Nauheim.

For Elvis Presley fans, 2012 promises to be a good year. There are exhibits, tours, special events, concerts, promotions and celebratory cruises in the works to commemorate the 35th anniversary of the King’s death, who would have celebrated his birthday on Jan. 8.

And a new museum housing a large private collection of memorabilia opened to the public last month in Düsseldorf, Germany. The Elvis Presley Museum Düsseldorf is possibly one of the largest such collections outside of the United States, according to the museum.

“People love it. They all go out with a big smile on their faces,” said Andy Schroeer, one of three collectors who founded the museum, which has already welcomed visitors from Europe and the United States.

Slideshow: The life of Elvis Presley

The approximately 1,500 items that form the permanent collection reflect Presley’s professional and personal life, and include writings, letters, photographs, records, jewelry, furniture, clothing and documents, like the performing artist’s first order for a single and his transfer papers from Sun Records to RCA Victor in 1955 for a fee of $40,000, “an astonishing amount at the time and a move that contributed to his becoming a superstar,” the museum said in a statement.

A number of items never before been shown in public will be on display for the first time, Schroeer said, like the signed shirt that Elvis donated in 1959 to the German magazine BRAVO for a contest.

The winner kept the shirt unopened in the original package for more than 30 years. "He was no Elvis fan and was kind of disappointed when he learned that he had won the Presley Sports shirt," Schroeer said.

By 1958, Elvis had a promising musical and acting career but joined the Army after receiving his draft notice and served active duty in Germany until 1960. The museum owns many items from that period.

The exhibits are intended “to show the more private side of Presley’s life,” Schroeer said. “There are really no big stories.” For example, the records Presley had shipped from the U.S. to Germany reveal his personal taste in music at the time, which was a mix of gospel and other spiritual music, as well as rock 'n' roll. “Elvis was very much into the Jordanaires. He loved those guys to death.” Also included are personal notes Presley made in “The Prophet,” by Khalil Gibran, his mother’s journal entries and the personal appointment book he kept in 1959 in Bad Nauheim, Germany.

J. Keilwerth / Elvis Presley Museum Düsseldorf

At left, Elvis' black Isana Guitar with case and amplifier. At right, the bicycle he received at the age of 13.

Displayed items do not have explanatory text next to them, as visitors come from so many different countries that text would need to be in many languages, which would take away from the experience, Schroeer said. Rather, visitors are given a listing of items with text in their own language.

The idea for the museum came about 10 years ago. Schroeer and the other two collectors, Oskar Hentschel and Michael Knorr, who have been friends since meeting at a local Elvis Presley fan club in the mid-1980s, wanted a home for their collections and the ability to share them with a larger audience. But each started his collection independently.

Schroeer began collecting in 1975 at age 10 when he received “Elvis Forever,” a double LP for Christmas. “Elvis could drive fast cars ... he was like a personal hero. You wanted to own something he held in his own hands,” recalled Schroeer, who wrote “Private Presley: The Missing Years – Elvis in Germany,” with his fellow collectors.

About 600 items will be exhibited at a time, but the collection will rotate regularly. Beginning Jan. 8, which would have been the King's 77th birthday, the museum will feature live music and new items, including a gold record on loan for four months that was engraved with Presley’s name misspelled — Presly instead of Presley — which was kept by the engraver after the mistake was discovered, Schroeer said. Photographs of the new and original gold records will also be on view.

J. Keilwerth / Elvis Presley Museum Düsseldorf

Elvis' favorite shirt in 1957, monogrammed with his initials, EP. In background, a Sun Records advertisement in the Nov. 26, 1955, Billboard Magazine for his single, "I Forgot to Remember to Forget."

It’s all for a simple goal, Schroeer said. “To keep the memory of Elvis Presley alive. That’s what people appreciate.”

Scott Williams, vice president of marketing and media for Elvis Presley Enterprises, said the opening of a new museum featuring Presley memorabilia was not unusual. “There is not a country where there isn’t some Elvis activity going on. There are fan clubs all over the world; that’s one of the ways fans celebrate their love for Elvis.”

Williams said much of the reason is due to the performer’s broad appeal. “He was a one-of-a-kind entertainer,” whose personal story of working his way up from poverty, as well as his musical range, provide “something to relate to, no matter what your tastes are.”

“Every year is a big year for Elvis,” Williams said, “but for whatever reason, the 5th year benchmarks have become historically larger.” Graceland in Memphis is planning a year-long series of activities to honor the 35th anniversary of the late singer’s death, which will kick off with an annual birthday celebration Jan. 5-8, followed by a cruise from Jacksonville, Fla., to Nassau, Bahamas, on Jan. 12-16. “It’s an entire ship of Elvis fans,” said Williams. “It’s nothing but Elvis.”

There will also be new exhibits, touring tribute concerts and “the largest exhibit outside Memphis of Elvis artifacts” will take place in
Sao Paulo, Brazil, in 2012 featuring hundreds of items on loan from Graceland, including the performer’s gold phone and red MG, Williams said.

If you go
The Elvis Presley Museum Düsseldorf, presented in conjunction with the Official German Elvis Fan Club, can be visited daily in the historic old town center.See www.elvis-duesseldorf.de.

For information about hotel and travel packages in Düsseldorf, home to the “longest bar in the world” (260 bars, pubs, and breweries in under a mile, according to the city’s tourism office), see www.visitduesseldorf.de.

For more information about Graceland-sponsored celebrations, visit www.elvis.com.

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