By Amanda Connelly

For my virtual field trip, I decided to go to The 9/11 Tribute Museum. The 9/11 Tribute Museum is located in New York City, where the Twin Towers were crashed into and knocked down by terrorist on September 11, 2001. The Museum, formerly known as the 9/11 Tribute Center, was created by the non-profit, the September 11th Families’ Association. The main goal of the Association was to unite and support all victims of terrorism. They wanted to do this through representation, communication, and peer support. The Museum connects all people from survivors, those who lost loved ones, and those who just want to learn more about the attacks. Although it is called, The 9/11 Tribute Museum, the Museum not only focuses on the attacks of 9/11 but also the February 26, 1993 bombing at the World Trade Center. The Museum offers multiple exhibits, artifacts, and stories that not only focus on the horrors of those days, but also focuses on the strength, bravery, kindness from people and the community that followed the attacks.

Although I was not alive for the bombing of 1993 and I was only 2 when the attacks happened on 9/11 it still feels very personal to me as it does for many other people. If you were to ask someone where they were on 2/26/1993 or 9/11/2001, they would most likely be able to tell you where they were and what they were doing. I know I was at the JCC on 9/11 and all of the parents/guardians rushed to the school to come pick up their children. It also feels personal because one of the planes that was hijacked crashed in a field in Pennsylvania, the state I am originally from. The plane’s original target was the Nation’s Capital. However, the passengers on Flight 93 showed tremendous bravery by deciding to fight the hijackers and try to retake control of the plane.

At the moment, The 9/11 Tribute Museum has closed its physical location as a result of loss of revenue from the pandemic. As a result, a  lot of the Museum’s physical collection is being moved to The New York State Museum in Albany, NY. There is a petition that people can sign, as well as make donations, to help save and reopen the Museum. If you would like to sign the petition and/or make a donation, I am including a link below where you can do so. 

https://www.change.org/p/save-the-9-11-tribute-museum?recruiter=1257965274&recruited_by_id=f3da5a40-a792-11ec-9729-81ea3aef5636&utm_source=share_petition&utm_medium=copylink&utm_campaign=petition_dashboard