9/11 Museum’s virtual experience
Set to reopen soon, site of terror attack offers rewarding distanced tours
Years ago during a trip to New York City, we decided to take a look at the new One World Trade Center. The stunning mirrored building was built to replace the twin towers after the 9/11 terrorist attacks, but nothing will really take the place of the two buildings that were iconic in the city for so long. What happened on Sept. 11, 2001, was such a horrible tragedy that we can’t possibly forget. Thinking back, the majority of us can remember our stories from that day: Where we were when we found out, and how old we were. Stories spread about missed connections due to oversleeping or their kids missing the bus to school that forced them to be late for work that day in the twin towers. Loved ones of victims grieved losses.
In a fast-paced world, we sometimes forget at times to stop and think about moments in history like this. We can sometimes get wrapped up in the day to day, but I think it really puts it in perspective when you can ref lect on how a day like this affected so many individuals and their families and how it always will.
At the 9/11 Memorial & Museum at the World Trade Center, when you could physically visit, you could view items found in the wreckage from that day. The most emotional part, in my opinion, was a section where visitors could listen to voicemails and phone calls of people in the towers, or on the flights, calling their loved ones. When I heard that their experiences were going virtual, I wanted to see how the museum was portraying this experience at home for attendees.
After the pandemic struck, the outdoor 9/11 memorial where the towers used to be was temporarily closed. It reopened in July, and is open to the public daily, free of charge. Anyone who decides to explore this part of the museum is required to wear a mask and social distance, along with following the designated entrance and exit.
The museum is set to reopen to the public on Sept. 12, following all guidelines and operating at 25% capacity to give visitors the space to explore the exhibits at a comfortable distance from other people. With the museum implementing reduced capacity, you’ll want to buy your tickets ahead of time online before visiting.
There are also virtual tours available to give people an at-home experience with the memorial. There are a variety of digital experiences, including a guided tour, school group programs and self-guided options.
For the guided aspects, “the guide is leading you, as if we were doing group tours on site, through the memorial telling you the history of the World Trade Center, the day of 9/11, different interesting components of the memorial itself, and stories of victims,” said Olivia Egger, assistant communications manager. Even though it’s over Zoom, the guided tours are informative and cost only $25 per household.
School tours are also available virtually, as the museum is not currently hosting in-person school groups.
“There’s a few different resources and digital offerings that people can use on our website to get that experience, and some of those existed even before they were closed due to the pandemic,” explained Egger.
“If you go to 911memorial.org/explore, this interactive timeline allows you to go through the day of 9/11. We have one about the Ground Zero recovery efforts and then we also have a timeline about the 1993 World Trade Center bombing.” The names of the six victims of the 1993 bombing are also etched into the memorial.
Outside of the guided tour, the interactive museum experience on its website gives you a chance to choose your path through the museum and is free of charge. The video at various points will give you a choice as to which direction you go, giving you a unique museum experience.
“In addition to these interactive experiences that we’ve talked about, there are activities for kids that gently introduce them to the concept of 9/11 with ageappropriate activities,” Egger said. “When we closed temporarily I wanted to think of how we can, first and foremost, carry on our mission to commemorate, educate people, and inspire people, so we wanted to make all of these different offerings easily accessible on our website,” explained Egger.
For more information visit 911Memorial.org/explore.