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National September 11 Memorial & Museum facts for kids
"9/11 Memorial" redirects here. For other memorials, see Memorials and services for the September 11 attacks.
| National September 11 Memorial & Museum |
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The National September 11 Memorial and Museum in Lower Manhattan
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| General information | |
| Status | Open |
| Type | Memorial and museum |
| Location | 180 Greenwich Street, New York City, NY, 10007, U.S. |
| Coordinates | 40°42′42″N 74°0′49″W / 40.71167°N 74.01361°W |
| Construction started | March 13, 2006 |
| Opening | Memorial: September 11, 2011 (Dedication and victims' families) September 12, 2011 (Public) Museum: May 15, 2014 (Dedication and victims' families) May 21, 2014 (Public) |
| Height | |
| Roof | Memorial: The footprints of the Twin Towers are underground. Museum: Pavilion is from 66 to 75 feet (20 to 23 m) high. |
| Design and construction | |
| Architect | Michael Arad of Handel Architects Peter Walker and Partners Davis Brody Bond Snøhetta |
| Engineer | Jaros, Baum & Bolles (MEP) |
| Structural engineer | WSP Global BuroHappold Engineering (Museum) |
The National September 11 Memorial & Museum is a special place in New York City. It helps us remember the terrible September 11 attacks of 2001. These attacks killed 2,977 people. It also remembers the 1993 World Trade Center bombing, which killed six people.
The memorial is built where the Twin Towers once stood. These towers were destroyed during the 9/11 attacks. A non-profit group runs the memorial and museum. Their job is to raise money and keep this important place going.
Right after the attacks, people started planning a memorial. They wanted to honor the victims and the brave rescue workers. An architect named Michael Arad and a landscape architect named Peter Walker created the winning design. Their idea was a peaceful forest of trees. In the center, there are two large reflecting pools. These pools mark the exact spots where the Twin Towers used to be.
Construction on the memorial and museum began in August 2006. The memorial was officially opened on September 11, 2011. This was the tenth anniversary of the attacks. It opened to the public the next day. The museum opened later, on May 21, 2014.
History of the Memorial
Planning the Design
The National September 11 Memorial & Museum is a non-profit group. It was created to raise money and manage the building of the memorial. In 2003, a competition was held to design the memorial. Many people from all over the world sent in their ideas.
On January 6, 2004, the design called Reflecting Absence was chosen. It was created by Michael Arad and Peter Walker. This design features a field of swamp white oak trees. There are also two large, sunken pools. These pools are in the exact spots where the Twin Towers stood.
The park area is at street level, above the museum. The names of all the victims are written on the edges of the pools. This includes those who died at the Pentagon, on the planes, and in the 1993 bombing. The names are placed in a special way, next to people they knew.
Building the Memorial
Construction on the memorial began on March 13, 2006. Some families of victims wanted the memorial to be built above ground. However, the chosen design placed the main pools below street level. The memorial foundation said that most families agreed with the design.
In July 2008, a special piece of history was moved into the museum. It was the Survivors' Staircase. This staircase was used by many people to escape on 9/11. By August, the main foundations were finished. On September 2, the first steel column for the memorial was put in place.
Workers planted trees on the memorial plaza in August 2010. These are swamp white oaks, which can grow very tall. They live for hundreds of years. There is also a special tree called the "Survivor Tree." It is a callery pear tree that lived through the attacks.
By early 2011, most of the memorial was finished. The waterfalls in both pools were tested daily. On September 12, 2011, the memorial opened to the public. It was surrounded by construction for other World Trade Center buildings for a while. But the fences were removed in May 2014. More than a million people visited the memorial in its first three months.
Construction progress
Construction progress (left to right): January 2008, January 2009, July 2010, December 2010, June 2011, August 2011, February 2012
Memorial Design
National September 11 Memorial & Museum in the new World Trade Center complex
The design for the memorial is called Reflecting Absence. It was chosen in January 2004. It features two large pools, each about one acre in size. These pools have the biggest man-made waterfalls in the United States. They are located where the Twin Towers once stood. The pools show the great loss of life and the empty space left by the attacks.
The sound of the waterfalls helps to block out city noise. This makes the area a quiet place for reflection. More than 400 swamp white oak trees fill the plaza. They add to the peaceful feeling of the site.
The Survivor Tree
A special callery pear tree was found in the rubble after the attacks in October 2001. It was later named the "Survivor Tree." When it was found, it was badly burned. But it still had one living branch. This tree had been planted in the 1970s near the World Trade Center buildings.
The tree was moved to a nursery in the Bronx for care. Many people thought it would not survive, but it began to grow new leaves. The memorial team wanted to include the Survivor Tree in the design.
In March 2010, the tree was replanted after a storm. It was not seriously damaged. Mayor Michael Bloomberg said, "Again, we and the tree refused to give up." The Survivor Tree has become a symbol of hope and new beginnings. It reminds everyone of the human spirit to keep going.
In December 2010, the 30-foot-tall tree was brought back to the World Trade Center site. It is now a very important part of the memorial.
Memorial Glade
In May 2018, plans were shared for a path called the "memorial glade." This path honors the first responders who became sick or died later. They got sick from breathing in harmful dust at the World Trade Center site.
The path is on the southwest side of the memorial plaza. It is where a temporary ramp was used by first responders during the cleanup. The path includes six large, rough stones. These stones look like they were violently pushed out of the ground. They show strength and resistance. Some pieces of debris from the original World Trade Center are also placed along the path. The glade opened on May 24, 2019.
The Sphere Sculpture
The Sphere is a large bronze sculpture by German artist Fritz Koenig. It was made for the old World Trade Center in 1971. It stood in the plaza until the September 11 attacks. The sculpture was damaged but survived the attacks. It was moved to Liberty Park, next to the Memorial, in 2017.
The Museum at the September 11 Memorial
The September 11 Museum opened to the public on May 21, 2014. It has more than 40,000 images and 14,000 objects. It also has over 3,500 recorded stories and 500 hours of video.
Museum History and Design
The museum is built about 70 feet underground. You enter it through a special building designed by Snøhetta. This building looks like it's partly collapsed, reminding visitors of the attacks. It also holds two "tridents" from the Twin Towers.
The museum shows many objects from September 11, 2001. These include steel pieces from the Twin Towers. One important piece is the Last Column. This was the very last piece of steel to leave Ground Zero in May 2002.
One of the museum's walls is part of the original slurry wall. This wall held back the Hudson River and stayed strong during the attacks. Other items include damaged emergency vehicles, pieces of metal from all seven World Trade Center buildings, and recordings from survivors. There are also 911 calls, pictures of all the victims, and photos of the damage.
The museum is designed to help people remember without causing too much sadness. Counselors were available when it first opened. This was because many visitors might have found it very emotional.
The Huffington Post newspaper wrote that "walking through the museum is like being taken back to the chaos and sadness of 9/11."
Other 9/11 Memorials
Besides the main memorial at Ground Zero, many other memorials have been built. Communities across the United States have created them. Many of these memorials use pieces of steel from the Twin Towers. These pieces were given out by a special program. Over 1,000 pieces of World Trade Center steel have been shared.
See also
In Spanish: National September 11 Memorial & Museum para niños