They’re too young to remember, but they’ll never forget.
The 9/11 Memorial & Museum has educated 20 million students across the nation about the largest terrorist attack on US soil — all of whom were not alive when the tragedy occurred.
The museum reached the incredible milestone after students from every single state tuned into its annual digital learning experience on the 25th anniversary of the attacks, the nonprofit announced Wednesday.
“We have a sacred obligation to remember what happened on 9/11 — and to ensure future generations never forget,” said Beth Hillman, president and CEO of the 9/11 Memorial & Museum.
“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 9/11 Memorial & Museum announced this week that it reached the milestone at a time when an estimated third of the American population was either born after the terror attack or was too young to recall the horrors firsthand.
That’s 20 million children who have walked through artifacts kept at the museum, or learned about the hallowed space through virtual programming and lesson plans provided to teachers since the organization was founded.
The milestone was reached thanks to a big boost in the museum’s annual Anniversary Digital Learning Experience, which roughly 1.5 million students across all 50 states tuned into this year.
That’s 50% more kids than the prior year who utilized the free 35-minute on-demand film featuring first-person accounts from the attacks and their aftermath, plus a live chat with museum staff throughout the day.
Educating the next generation has become a major focus for the museum over the past year as more and more students become further and further removed from Sept. 11.
Roughly 25% of the 142 speakers at this year’s remembrance ceremony who read the names of their loved ones and others who perished in the 9/11 attacks and the 1993 World Trade Center bombing were too young to remember the tragedy or weren’t born yet, the museum estimates.
The City Council announced earlier this month that it was investing an incredible $1 million scholarship fund to help the 9/11 Memorial and Museum expand its program, with most of the cash being dedicated to fund free field trips for the city’s 20,000 public school eighth graders.
Each audio-guided field trip can cost upward of $23 per student — a cost that is priceless when it comes to hearing the victims’ final calls to loved ones, seeing the charred remains of FDNY rescue engines and feeling the thousands of names etched into the reflecting pools.
Additionally, 9/11 Memorial & Museum Chairman and former Mayor Michael Bloomberg revealed he would match all contributions to The Never Forget Fund, up to $25 million to mark the anniversary of the tragedy.
“From the very inception of our organization, our mission to commemorate, educate, and inspire has been central,” said Noah Rauch, senior vice president for education and public programs at the 9/11 Memorial & Museum.
“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.”
