Written By Vegetarian TravelingMom Thursday, September 22, 2011 13:17
As the Freedom Tower rises in lower Manhattan, the adjacent National September 11 Memorial opened September 12. The museum opens in 2012. The minimalist design took a cue from the Vietnam Memorial in Washington, DC; it has every victim’s name etched in stone, and some visitors do rubbings of the names of their loved ones.
Two pools, one representing the North Tower, and one the South, have water cascading down 30 feet, and disappearing down a black hole. They seemed to represent the way the towers themselves collapsed.
You can search for a name online, or at a kiosk at the site; you will get the victim’s location, and a brief description of the person.
The free memorial requires tickets, which you have to reserve online. Although the tickets are timed, you can show up after the time you have reserved, so don’t worry if your kids sleep in and you get a late start.
If you want to bring your children, prepare them for the site, where they might see people sobbing, especially their own parents. Anyone even remotely affected by 9/11 will surely be moved to tears.
The memorial has stone benches where you can sit and reflect; let small kids know that they cannot run around and play on the grass. You also can’t throw anything into the pools. My teens, who were in elementary and preschool on 9/11, found the memorial incredibly moving, and soothing.You have to go through an airport-style screening (though you don’t have to remove your shoes) and show your passes 4 or 5 times before you enter the memorial.
Until the museum opens, there are no bathrooms or drinking fountains, but you can find plenty of facilities nearby.
After the exit, the visitor center has artifacts from the towers, and a video with interviews from survivors and victims’ families. There are also NYC Fire Department sweatshirts and 9/11 I love NY t-shirts. I had mixed feelings about a gift shop, but all the security measures are expensive, and if you are going to buy a NYC souvenir, you might as well buy one here and support the museum.
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