Visitors Share Museum Experiences

On Sept. 11, 2001, Brooke Peace’s teacher collapsed in front of her first grade class after learning that one of the Twin Towers, where her son worked, was hit by a plane. Following her own visit to the plaza this week, Peace said the Museum helped her to understand what she could not 13 years ago.

Some visitors, both young and old, specifically praised the Museum’s educational objective, most notably its benefit for younger visitors who were born after the attacks or too young to comprehend them at the time.

"It was a lot of swallowing hard," said Sheila Christie, of New Jersey. "We knew three people who died."

Her grandson Alexander, who was born a week after the attacks, said that while he has heard snippets and stories about 9/11 at school, the Museum was the most extensive form of education he has received thus far.

A man visiting with his family from Southern California said he visited the Memorial two years ago when the Museum was still under construction. A self-proclaimed "history buff," he called the Museum "phenomenal." Pointing out various landmarks in the surrounding area, he said he showed his children the one tree that he recognized from his last visit. He also praised the Museum’s educational element, adding, "I think when all kids visit New York City, the first thing they should do is come here."

Eliezer Heller, visiting from Maryland on a class trip, said he thought the Museum was "really well done," noting his particular admiration for the structure itself and the placement of pieces of the Twin Towers within it. He said he was also moved by all the pictures of those who perished that day. "It shows you how serious this is," he said.

A group of women visiting from Canada called their experience "unbelievable" and "awe-inspiring." Others said they thought the Museum was "sensitively" and "very tastefully" done.

One man pointed out that all of the personal elements interwoven throughout the exhibits made it easier to relate to the attacks.

"I still have goosebumps," another woman said, pushing up the sleeve on her right arm to reveal them.

By Jennifer Finn, 9/11 Memorial Communications and Digital Media Intern