A terrorism trial is heading for a New York City courtroom, but it's most likely not the trial you think.

An anonymous jury is to hear a case against Syed Hashmi of Queens, who's accused of providing supplies to al Qaeda fighters, according to the New York Daily News and the a WABC broadcast report. Hashmi will be tried in Manhattan Federal Court. Update: Hashmi pleads guilty, according to an updated story by the Daily News.

While recent cases of suspects linked to terrorism have been making headlines, the pending prosecution of the men charged in connection to the 2001 attacks have received far more attention after the federal government listed Manhattan as a potential venue for the  trials.

The National September 11 Memorial & Museum has enlisted a panel of experts to discuss the 9/11 terror trials and Sept. 11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed. While the views of the speakers may not be shared by the memorial and museum, the institution wanted to provide a forum for these perspectives.

The terror trial discussion is part of the 9/11, Today and Tomorrow speakers series held at the 9/11 Memorial Preview Site at 20 Vesey St. The event exploring the 9/11 terror trials is fully subscribed, but it can be viewed in HD on May 5 online at  http://www.thirteen.org/forum/ thanks to WNET.ORG's THIRTEEN Forum.  On May 19, a counterterrorism expert will breakdown al Qaeda and expose the inner-workings of the terrorist group.

Visit national911memorial.org for more information on upcoming events in the speakers series and the 9/11 Memorial.

By Michael Frazier, Sr. Communications Manager for the 9/11 Memorial

Reserve your seat now for the next event in the 9/11 Today and Tomorrow speakers series.  On May 19, counterterrorism expert Bill Braniff of West Point's Combating Terrorism Center will present Understanding the Enemy: Counterterrorism and al Qaeda.

All events in the series are scheduled to begin at 6:30 p.m. at the 9/11 Memorial Preview Site at 20 Vesey St. in Manhattan. A suggested donation of $10 per person will help support ongoing programming.

Braniff conducts cutting-edge research in counterterrorism and trains law enforcement agencies. His expertise helps U.S. officials combat terrorism with a deeper understanding of how al Qaeda operates.

The speakers series events are being filmed in HD for THIRTEEN Forum. The programs are available online the following week for streaming or podcasting at http://www.thirteen.org/forum/. The debut event in March featured touching 9/11 audio recordings from StoryCorps. If you missed the debut, watch it and other programs here or at WNET.ORG.

The April 28 event in the series that will explore the 9/11 terror trials and Sept. 11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed is fully booked.

The 9/11 terror trials event will be available for online viewing May 5. The terror-trial panel includes noted author Karen Greenberg, who is the executive director of NYU’s Center on Law and Security. Greenberg has studied data on trials of  terror suspects since 9/11.  Joining Greenberg on the panel are Dennis Farrell and New York State Supreme Court Judge Edward McCarty.

Farrell, whose firefighter brother died on 9/11, is a nationally recognized security expert with more than three decades of law enforcement experience. McCarty is a military tribunals aficionado. The judge, who is a retired colonel from the U.S. Army’s Judge Advocate General’s Corps, presides in Nassau County, where he’s a special law professor at Hofstra University.

By Michael Frazier, Sr. Communications Manager for the 9/11 Memorial

I'm in a unique position. I see the arrivals of  most of the guests for the National September 11 Memorial & Museum.

They walk by the receiving desk at the lower Manhattan office on their way for construction updates, oral history appointments or consultations on exhibition design.  As they file pass me at breakneck speed, I'm always left with the sense that they're unaware of how many people who have visited this office, people as deeply involved as they are.

I also experience an abundance of telephone calls from some people whose names I recognize. Some I don't. Well, at least not at first.

One day a man called and  identified himself as Mike before asking to speak with 9/11 Memorial President Joe Daniels. Mike turned out to be New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg.

Sitting at the front desk provides the opportunity to interact with many of these people and to see how all of their work is interwoven.  With six departments and more than 75 employees, the 9/11 Memorial & Museum team is a microcosm for the many professions that come together each week to work on a common goal. Ours is next year's opening of the 9/11 Memorial. The 9/11 Memorial Museum is scheduled to follow a year later.

As the opening dates draw near, I am certain many more faces - both old and new - will pass by the front desk.

By Alicia L. DiCristina, Receptionist to the 9/11 Memorial Museum

They are used to running into burning houses.

Now a group of firefighters from Down Under will run from the coast of Los Angeles to the island of Manhattan in support of the nearly 3,000 victims - including "411 first responders" who died on Sept. 11. The LA-to-NYC run is called the Tour of Duty and consists of a 31-day continuous relay run starting  Aug. 12, 2010 and finishes on the ninth anniversary of the 2001 attacks.

The core group of running firefighters are from Australia. They've trained for more than 18 months while continue to battle blazes and save lives. They hope their firefighting comrades will join in the run as the relay passes several states, including Las Vegas, Arizona, Oklahoma, Arkansas, New Orleans, Memphis, Washington and Pennsylvania.

Check out the entire route that spans more than 4,600 miles.

The blaze battling Aussies, who are spearheading the coast-to-coast run, traveled to New York City on Monday and gathered a few feet from the Brooklyn Bridge, blocks away from the Tour of Duty finish line. New York City firefighter Bryan Bean met with his Australian counterparts  to chat about the upcoming event and to show solidarity.  He said of the month-long run: "It's a great challenge and this is why we are here."

By Michael Frazier, Sr. Communications Manager for the 9/11 Memorial

Does memory have a lifespan? If so, does it correspond to the life of a person remembering? These may seem like abstract questions, but they have a very practical reality when planning for a memorial museum—an institution that is responsible for extending memory past the lifespan of the victims. The process of translating memory into exhibitions is increasingly subject to academic study, and different approaches are increasingly compared by scholars and museum planners. They are trying to figure out what is specific to the process of exhibition-making in each museum, and what can be generalized from a look at numerous case studies.

At 4:30 p.m., Wednesday, April 21, I will discuss two examples of exhibition making: at the 9/11 Memorial Museum, and at the Illinois Holocaust Museum and Education Center. The first museum commemorates an event that, as we know, is not even ten years past, and I've been involved as senior program advisor, working on exhibitions and public programs. The second museum focuses on an event more than six decades old, and I curated an art collection there that explores the influence of the Holocaust on contemporary memory.

Thinking of the two museums, I’m particularly interested in how this disparity in distance from the focal event changes the approach of exhibition-makers. Since I’ve had the privilege of being involved with both efforts, I'm looking forward to discussing them with a group of colleagues.

The seminar is part of a three-year study of Memory and Memorialization, which is funded by the French Embassy in Washington. Four partner institutions—two museums and two research centers—have been hosting regular seminar and conference sessions to bring different disciplines to a common table: the 9/11 Memorial Museum, Le Memorial de Caen, NYU, and the CNRS, France’s national research center.

The meeting will be held at NYU, 4 Washington Square North, second floor. Join us for the discussion.

Separately, I'm the host of the exclusive webcast series that explores the world before and after 9/11. Please visit national911memorial.org an share in the discussion.

By Clifford Chanin, Sr. Program Advisor for the 9/11 Memorial Museum

Today marks the 15th anniversary of the Oklahoma City Bombing, an act of domestic terrorism that killed 168 people.  A memorial was erected in Oklahoma's capital city  in their honor. In late 2009, 9/11 Memorial President Joe Daniels traveled to that memorial and museum, reviewing the design and discussing lessons learned from creating a memorial museum.  During that trip, Joe and Kari Watkins, the executive director of the Oklahoma City National Memorial & Museum, discussed commonalities shared in the missions and goals of  her organization and the National September 11 Memorial & Museum. Both charities have worked together for the past three years. Both are united by hope.

After 9/11, many survivors and family members from Oklahoma City came to New York City to counsel survivors, family members and recovery workers.

Since it's creation, Oklahoma's memorial and museum has greeted scores of visitors, educating them and helping to preserve the memory of everyone killed. This honorable work hasn't gone unnoticed. President Barack Obama has signed a proclamation designating April 19, 2010, as National Day of Service and Remembrance for Victims and Survivors of Terrorism.

Here's an excerpt of the presidents speech, noting the acts of terrorism that took place in Oklahoma City and the East Coast:

Fifteen years ago, terrorists bombed the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City, killing over 160 men, women, and children, and injuring hundreds more. Even before the dust settled, heroes had emerged. First responders, medical professionals, clergy, relief organizations, local leaders, and everyday citizens stepped forward to help victims and their families. Again, when terrorists struck on September 11, 2001, and thousands of Americans –- and scores of foreign nationals -- perished in New York City, at the Pentagon, and in Shanksville, Pennsylvania, Americans made a historic effort to assist all those affected. The dignity of those who were attacked -- and the courage of those who came to their aid -- reaffirmed the strength of our Nation, and the human spirit.

Updates: There's a personal connection between the OKC bombing and the events of 9/11. FDNY Deputy Chief Ray Downey was the city's task force leader for the urban search and rescue team that responded to the Oklahoma City bombing, according to Seth Joseph, an exhibition researcher for the 9/11 Memorial Museum.  Downey, who led other national search and rescue missions, died on 9/11 when the North Tower collapsed at 10:28 a.m.  Read more about Downey and his extraordinary acts of courage here.

Through a CNN report, residents of Oklahoma City reflect on bombing 15 years later.  A somber ceremony in recognition of the anniversary of the OKC bombing is reported by the Associated Press.

By Michael Frazier, Sr. Communications Manager for the 9/11 Memorial

Hundreds of tons of remnant steel from the 2001 World Trade Center disaster has arrived home. That home may not be where you think.

According to an Associated Press report by Joann Loviglio, more than two dozen flatbed trucks loaded with 500 tons of WTC structural steel has arrived in Coatesville, Pa., where the massive supports called "steel trees" were made more than four decades ago, forged by Lukens Steel Co. in 1969. The steel framed the perimeter of the 110-story twin towers' first nine floors and lobbies before the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks destroyed the skyscrapers. Now two mammoth waterfalls that are part of the 9/11 Memorial are being built within the original footprints of the towers. The eight-acre memorial opens next year.

Update: The Reporter provides heartfelt video and telling pictures of the WTC steel "homecoming."

Scott Huston, a descendant of the Lukens family and president of a Coatesville historic preservation group, told the AP:

"It's our goal to honor those who lost their lives on 9/11, as well as the steelworkers who created the steel for these monumental buildings."

The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which is building the National September 11 Memorial & Museum, donated the steel supports to the Pennsylvania town. The Port also is seeking proposals from public and city agencies and not-for-profit groups interested in acquiring a piece of 9/11 World Trade Center steel for public display. Tons and tons of WTC steel are being stored at a JFK airport hangar.

Several large pieces of WTC steel will be part of the exhibition experience of the 9/11 Memorial Museum, which is scheduled to open in 2012.  The well-known 58-ton Last Column, recovered from ground zero, has already been installed at the site as construction on the museum continues.

By Michael Frazier, Sr. Communications Manager for the 9/11 Memorial

The Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum is trying to bring a space shuttle to New York City to have it prominently displayed alongside The USS Intrepid on the city's west side. The museum supported the National September 11 Memorial & Museum in getting the word out to vote in favor of much needed funding from the Members Project.  Now the 9/11 Memorial is lending its support to another institution. Log on to shuttle2nyc.com for detail.

By 9/11 Memorial Staff

The old logo for the 9/11 Memorial seen at headquarters.

The new 9/11 Memorial logo that replaced the older one.

Leading design firm Landor, which worked on branding for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, created this new 9/11 Memorial logo. It was first used in

signage for the 9/11 Memorial Preview Site, 20 Vesey St., in Manhattan, where  visitors  can learn more about the future National September 11 Memorial & Museum. The new logo also served as a style guide for The MEMO blog and the redesign of our web site. There was quite a bit of debate on what words to include and what colors to use for the logo. In the end,  we are very proud of what the new logo represents.

By Michael Frazier, Sr. Communications Manager for the 9/11 Memorial

9/11 Memorial Museum Director Alice M. Greenwald presented elements of the museum's exhibition space today for the LMDC board. The board approved $2.29 million in funds that will help support the planning and development of specific elements of the museum’s primary exhibition that's related to 9/11 events. A core component of the exhibition will feature firsthand accounts using audio recordings, including oral histories and testimonies. The stories will convey the extraordinary response, the resilience of New York City’s residents and the experience of being in lower Manhattan after the attacks. These stories will also show the continuing impact of 9/11, rebuilding and renewal. Update: NY1 News reports release of new images. Here's the Associated Press news report published in the Staten Island Advance newspaper.

WCBS' veteran radio reporter Rich Lamb chatted with 9/11 Memorial President Joe Daniels about the museum and its future exhibitions.  Click here to listen.

One of the ways these compelling stories will be told is through exhibits using multimedia presentations. Components of the "introductory exhibit" will include a  soundscape of recordings from people remembering where they were on 9/11. As visitors walk through this exhibit, they will experience personal stories told by people from across the globe. The"Vigils and Gatherings" presentation will include a display recalling the spontaneous public gatherings and vigils immediately following the 9/11 attacks.

Image A, courtesy of Local Projects, shows a mock-up of recovery footage projected on a WTC steel "trident." Image B, courtesy of Thinc Design with Local Projects, shows the "Vigils and Gatherings" display.

By Michael Frazier, Sr. Communications Manager for the 9/11 Memorial