They were too young to remember September 11, 2001. But the lessons of that day will stay with them.
The 9/11 Memorial & Museum has now reached 20 million students nationwide through its educational programs about the deadliest terrorist attack on US soil. None of those students were alive when the attacks happened.
The nonprofit marked the milestone after students in all 50 states participated in its annual digital learning program commemorating the 25th anniversary of 9/11, officials announced Wednesday.
“We have a sacred obligation to remember what happened on 9/11 — and to ensure future generations never forget,” Beth Hillman, president and CEO of the 9/11 Memorial & Museum, said.
“Twenty-five years since September 11, 2001, we remain committed to providing educators with the tools needed to share these vital stories and offering students new ways to grasp how 9/11 continues to shape our world.”
The museum said it reached the landmark figure as an estimated one-third of the US population was either born after the terrorist attacks or was too young to remember them firsthand.
Those 20 million children have encountered artifacts preserved at the museum, visited the memorial site or learned through virtual programs and classroom lesson plans made available to teachers since the organization was established.
This year’s Anniversary Digital Learning Experience helped drive the milestone. About 1.5 million students from every state took part in the program.
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Participation rose 50% from the previous year. Students watched a free, 35-minute on-demand film featuring firsthand accounts of the attacks and their aftermath, then had access to a live chat with museum staff throughout the day.
As each new class of students grows more distant from September 11, educating younger generations has become an increasingly important priority for the museum.
The museum estimates that about 25% of the 142 speakers at this year’s remembrance ceremony were either too young to remember the attacks or had not yet been born. The speakers read the names of loved ones and others killed in the 9/11 attacks and the 1993 World Trade Center bombing.
Earlier this month, the City Council announced a $1 million scholarship fund to help the 9/11 Memorial & Museum broaden its educational outreach. Most of the funding will support free field trips for the city’s 20,000 public school eighth graders.
An audio-guided visit can cost more than $23 per student, but the experience offers a direct connection to history: students can hear victims’ final calls to loved ones, view the burned remains of FDNY rescue engines and see the thousands of names engraved around the reflecting pools.
Michael Bloomberg, the 9/11 Memorial & Museum’s chairman and a former New York City mayor, also pledged to match donations to The Never Forget Fund, up to $25 million, in recognition of the anniversary.
“From the very inception of our organization, our mission to commemorate, educate, and inspire has been central,” Noah Rauch, the museum’s senior vice president for education and public programs, said.
“As a new generation comes of age with no memory of 9/11, we’re continuing our efforts to reach new audiences through innovative, age-appropriate educational programming.”
