Ground Zero Museum Workshop

I can highly recommend this tour. You get some very good information about what happened.

I wasn't sure what to expect with the museum but the director who was the only authorized photographer at ground zero told the stories through sound and pictures and really helped me remember the tradgedy as well as the human spirit. The insights provided a powerful testimony of the many sacrifices and heart warming stories from the world trade center. A truly wothwhile part of any visit to NYC

This Ground Zero Museum Workshop (GZMW) is a MUST DO activity if you've already done the Statue of Liberty and the Top of The Rock! We are SO glad we took the time to make a reservation beforehand and take the tour. I recommend "taking this tour" first - then going to ground zero - my wife and I are so glad we did it this way. If it's a nice day and you are up to walking 2.5 miles like we were, we walked along the Hudson River from the GZMW to actual Ground Zero, then on to Battery Park after that. The GZMW defies description (but I'll try anyway), you really have to EXPERIENCE it. After an intro by the guide and watching 2 short videos, you take your individual headsets and start looking at over 100 photographs and displays (containing artifacts and personal/business belongings). While you are visually taking it in, you are hearing Gary Marlon Suson (the only Official Photographer allowed at Ground Zero) tell true stories about the people and items you are looking at. The impact it had on us was greater than we had anticipated. Well worth the time and the money!

9/11 is an extremely touchy subject, and any exploration of it should be a somber affair. I found that the tour "guides" -- and I use the term loosely, because they didn't really "guide" anything so much as talk to us about the photographer / proprietor -- were incredibly melodramatic and actually took away from the overall experience. The artifacts on display are quite interesting. Each artifact has with it a narrated description or story, provided over personal headset when you key in the artifact's assigned number. Some of these narrations were very interesting, descriptive, and well-designed. Others were overly dramatic or almost commercial in nature. Still others were so short as to be pointless, added only to say that there was a narration with the item, such as, "this is a photo of a fireman." In all: I wasn't so disappointed as to ask for my money back. However, it felt to me like the museum was put together as a money-making proposition for the proprietor, *not* as a reflection and tribute to one of the most terrible events in modern memory. That disappointed me. If you can ignore the tour-guides, and get past the commercialized feel of some of this, the museum isn't a bad way to spend a few hours; however, I wish we had gone to the actual 9/11 memorial at the former World Trade Center instead.

I believe this museum was a labor of love for all those who died Sept. 11th. The museum reflects an attitude of respect, reverence, and an insight into that terrible day and a tribute so we will not forget!

Absolutely the highlight for us during our recent trip to New York. We visited the museum with our 4 children (10-13). For those of us who remember Sept 11th, it was incredibly moving and thought provoking. For our two youngest children, they did not remember the events of that day so for them it was an education of sorts. Gary and his staff have created an extraordinary place that should be seen by all who visit the city.

At first we thought the museum was quiet small and weren't sure what to expect, but each picture and each artifact had its own story-we were the last one's to leave! We gathered so much information from our short time there-learned much more about what many people went through, especiallty the firefighters. We know people who volunteered and we watched countless hours of television, this musuem gave us a different perspective. Good for those who want to heal and those that want to remember to never take things for granted.

Very personal, emotional experience around the tragedy, and specifically learning about some of the victims, their families, and the ordeal of the rescuers. This museum and it's guides who spoke from the heart also provided insight into the enormity of the devastation and the resulting challenges searching for remains.

I would highly recommend this emotionally packed museum. It is easy to see that all involved in this endeavor have put their heart and soul into it. The photos really paint a picture of what happened on that day and the search that continued for survivors. We were lucky to meet Gary Suson who is the photographer for this amazing collection. Besides viewing the photos, you are able to pick up and hold artifacts from the site. We enjoyed our tour guide who easily answered all our questions and encouraged us to stay as long as we wanted. This museum is even more important now that you really can't get close to the actual 911 site. I would not miss this tour!

The pictures in this exhibit were amazing! Definitely worth seeing!!

Very well thought out, carefully put together, and really made going to the WTC site much more meaningful. At the actual site you cannot see much with all the barricades and draped fencing around the perimeter. It was almost impossible to figure out where the buildings once stood even though we had visited them several times in the past. We did not see written stories or many displays around this very active construction site. My group did not lose a loved one on 9/11, yet really appreciated the opportunity as fellow Americans, to spend special time learning more about that day, entering the time zone of 9/11 and feeling more a part of it, touching a bit of it, and paying respect to all those our hearts have poured out to over the past 8 years. There are comfortable sofas for anyone who wants or needs to sit and view the pictures and artifacts from them and listen to an audio tape explaining each one. The room was small enough that someone sitting on the sofas or in a wheelchair would have adequate access to the pictures/memorabilia mainly hanging on the walls. There were individual audio units to listen to stories about each of the 100+ exhibits. If you are hearing impaired, the video is not captioned and the audio players are not conducive even to those with mild losses. They are not set up with telecoil/induction loop/infra red systems, but you can request a written transcript which is very helpful. If this is the case, I would advise extra time which you might be allowed if you are the last session of the day (1pm?) (that's what we did so my hearing impaired daughter had more time to read the transcript). Dress cool in the summer months as it gets a bit warm in that room, and I highly recommend visiting this wonderful exhibit if you can.

Although I am a life~ long Texan I fell in love with NY and it's people on my first visit in 1997. I come at least once a year so have visited many times. Like much of the world my heart was broken for these people on September 11. I have visited Ground Zero many times and St Paul's chuch many times in the last few years. The photos that you have capture the emotions-confusion, grief, sorrow,peace and so much more. I will always recommend to my friends that visit. It helps us to not ever forget. Thank you. Elaine- Tyler,Tx

I attended the museum workshop with my 16 yr old brother who wanted to see it before he went back to school. We both were expected a large museum, and to our surprise it was not. Although the museum was fairly small, it was very intimate. It shared all of the memories of what happened through picture and artifacts. I would recommend this to anyone. A few more members of my family are already planning a trip to see this.

A poignant tribute to all those involved with 9/11. Bring some tissues but you will hold your head up high when you leave knowing that love and patriotism still exist.

While this museum is small, it is well worth the cost. We brought our two teenage daughters who had only learned about 9/11 previously through conversations, TV and school. Seeing the artifacts, photographs and hearing the transmissions made it real for all of us. The museum is put together nicely. I especially liked how each individual could go at their own pace through the audio tour without losing the rest of your group. Well done Mr. Suson! Thank you so much for all of your efforts and most of all for sharing with the world.