9/11 Memorial, New York City

The infinity pools are worth seeing. A lot of emotion here and a very worthwhile experience. Not a place for super young children as the reverence makes it quiet here. Preteens and teens will be affected deeply and so be aware of the amount of heavy hearts which come from seeing this location. It was interesting as I brought my 9 year old who did not know much about 9-11. Most of the time was educating him on what happened, how it happened, what rescue efforts went on and why people died. It was so worth the effort of telling him about this tragic site.

We have been coming since the lines started forming. The progression from lines to see the pools to lines for the museum was an interesting one. The area is beautiful. The museum is a must see, but set aside a half of a day to do this. And I highly recommend the guided tour. You walk right in, meet up with your group and take a tour with a museum guide who has a scripted dialogue which is quite well done. There is so much information that this is the best way to go...and you are not waiting out in the weather in a line.

This place is a must see. My husband and I were both old enough to have our own memories of that day, but to see names and faces and hear stories of those who passed that day made the experience so much more real. Make sure you bring your tissues, because it definitely is a tear provoking museum. We want to bring our future kids here one day to help them understand what happened, and why hope and freedom are so important. Be sure to watch the movie they have, it was interesting and gave a good political view on 9/11.

**TIP** The Memorial is FREE, I thought it was actually part of the Museum combo and had a price to it. So just for those who might be wondering or not (It happened to me). **TIP #2** If you buy your tickets online and it says you have to print them, you can actually show them at the museum entrance. I didnt have to print mine. The memorial is a sight to see, very beautiful and quite powerful when you think about it all. I saw it during a very sunny day and it was great but have also seen pictures at night and it looks spectacular with the lights on. The Museum on the other hand is very informative and powerful in terms of how it will make you feel. They have LOADS of information and things to look at, you can speed rush through it in about an hour and a half but to properly look at everything, it's more like 2 hours and a half. There is a guided tour which you can purchase once inside but it's not needed.

A must for anyone visiting Manhattan. I recommend coming early because it gets very busy and the lines start forming fast. I was amazed at how big the museum actually is. Also, be prepared to hear and see some disturbing but knowledgeable facts of what transpired that day, many people started shedding tears at a few of the exhibits (staff supplied tissue boxes). However, overall I enjoyed the memorial and museum and would go back again. BTW....the white roses that staff place on the victims names around the memorial indicate it was their birthday that day.