Touring the 9/11 Museum at Ground Zero

The trip is poignant and personal. You need to go when you're ready - and that's going to be different for each of us.
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At the site of the World Trade Center - there is now a field of trees - with two voids, the footprints of the Twin Towers that are now flowing pools - a memorial titled: Reflecting Absence, designed by Michael Arad.

When I filmed Arad during the construction of the memorial - he told me he imagined a day when the fences would come down and the memorial would be host to families sitting on the grass on a warm summer day. To me - his dream seemed impossible. And yet - his vision was realized. Today the sound of running water brings the somber memorial back to life...

Below the two pools and the 16 acre site is the 9/11 Memorial Museum. A journey back in time. The trip is poignant and personal. You need to go when you're ready - and that's going to be different for each of us.

But it's a journey worth taking - and a conversation worth having. 9/11 was fourteen years ago. Grade schoolers from that day have now graduated college. First responders have died from the dust in the air. Neighborhoods have rebuilt. Restaurants and businesses opened. On one hand It's the story of 2,507 civilians, 72 law enforcement officers, 343 firefighters, and 55 military personnel).

On the other hand - it's all of our stories, and the stories to come.

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The Memorial Plaza. It's Free To Visit (Photo Credit: Steven Rosenbaum)

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The Pavilion. Entry Into The Museum (Photo Credit: Steven Rosenbaum)

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Entering the Museum (Photo Credit: Steven Rosenbaum @Waaywire)

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The Date. September 11th (Photo Credit: Steven Rosenbaum @Waaywire)

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The Tridents (Photo Credit: Steven Rosenbaum)

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The Smoking Hole. A Painful Image (Photo Credit: Steven Rosenbaum)

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No Day Shall Erase You (Photo Credit: Steven Rosenbaum)

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In Memoriam (Photo Credit: Steven Rosenbaum)

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In Memoriam (Photo Credit: Steven Rosenbaum)

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The Last Column (Photo Credit: Steven Rosenbaum)

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We Came As Individuals (Photo Credit: Steven Rosenbaum)

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Sunset On The Plaza (Photo Credit: Steven Rosenbaum)

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