A few weeks ago, NAHS students had the opportunity to visit the National 9/11 Memorial and Museum. Students were chaperoned by Mrs. Ingannamorte, Mrs. Branco, Mr. Savage, and Mr. Marck. Before arrival, teachers reminded the students that the National September 11 Memorial and Museum is a place of remembrance, and should be treated with respect. As we arrived, we were allowed to explore different parts of the museum.

The historical exhibition has three parts: the Day of 9/11, Before 9/11 and After 9/11. The exhibition explores the background leading up to the events and examines their aftermath and continuing implications. The memorial exhibition, which is named In Memoriam, commemorates the lives of those who perished on September 11, 2001 and February 26, 1993 and provides visitors with the opportunity to learn about the men, women and children who died. Foundation Hall is a room of massive scale, which houses both the last column and the slurry wall.

Although I found the main exhibitions very interesting, my favorite part of the trip was having the opportunity to see the memorial that occupies “eight of the 16 acres at the World Trade Center, the Memorial is a tribute to the past and a place of hope for the future.” Despite all of the talk of how immense the twin memorial pools really are, one can never truly understand until they see it in person. In fact, one can see the walls of the pools from the underground museum! According to the 9/11 memorial website, “The nearly 3,000 names of the men, women, and children killed in the attacks of September 11, 2001 and February 26, 1993 are inscribed on bronze parapets surrounding the twin Memorial pools.” In addition, the victims are honored on their birthday by placing a white rose into their names. Most of us who were on the trip do not have any memories of 9/11, but after this trip we gained a whole new understanding of what happened on that tragic day.