The 9/11 Memorial Museum

I was reluctant to visit the newly opened 9/11 Memorial Museum.

I am a board member of an organization called “Women for Women” that hosts the spouses of Ambassadors to the UN in New York. The core of the organization is planning events for these women from all over the world. The spouses are able to meet women from New York, get to know us and hear our stories, as we get to know theirs. The mantra of this group is “The friendship of women as the route to understanding and peace.”

A museum visit to the 9/11 Memorial Museum was planned so that we could all reflect on this tragedy together.

Upon our arrival, we rode the escalators down to the main museum area to see and hear the history of what happened on that terrible day.

Our docent had a lovely, calming voice, and pointed out many important artifacts that were saved, such as the Survivors' Staircase, where people were able to escape from the building. Amidst the artifacts was also a brick from the Pakistani compound where Osama bin Laden lived.

The museum is located below ground because the remnants of the original World Trade Center buildings are still visible from that subterranean vantage point.

The museum is arranged to let one feel the magnitude of what happened on 9/11. There are areas in which one can reflect, view videos that explain the history of the terrorist movement, telling of the first bombing of the World Trade Center and even showing terrorists going through airport security — very chilling.

The mosaic by Spencer Finch, “Trying To Remember the Color of the Sky on That September Morning,” reminds us of the cloudless sky on that terrible day.

Plan to spend at least 2 hours visiting. It is a worthwhile and haunting experience.

For more information, visit www.911memorial.org. The Museum is open daily, 9 am — 8 pm.