9/11 Memorial President Joe Daniels in an interview this morning on WOR newstalk radio detailed progress on the memorial and plans for the Sept. 11 opening later this year.  Daniels also spoke to WOR host John Gambling  on reasons for including the Sept. 11 hijackers in the 9/11 Memorial Museum, making it clear that the terrorists' sole purpose would be to provide historical context. 

Here's a portion of the exchange between Daniels and Gambling. Click here to hear the entire interview.

Gambling:  "In the museum, I agree, they (9/11 hijackers) absolutely have a place that is important in this story . . . the narrative of what happened that unfortunate day, and days and years afterwards, but how about in the memorial section?"

Daniels:  "They certainly will not be in the memorial section. I recognize this is a tough issue because this is a site where so many people were murdered. It's a site where 40 percent of all the family members never got a stitch of human remains back from their loved ones so it is a sacred site. At the same time, our mission in the museum is also to educate. The future generations that are growing up now - my son, 7 years old, ask me, 'Why did it happen?' And including the terrorists, their images, which will be evidence photo images from the FBI . . . these are criminal mug shots essentially. It's just a part of the story and we're going to do it in a way that is sensitive to families that are coming. It won't be near the memorial exhibition, but it will be in the museum."

By Michael Frazier, Sr. Communications Manager for the 9/11 Memorial

The 9/11 Memorial has just recently announced a featured partnership with Broadcastr, a new social-media platform for location-based audio. Selections from the 9/11 Memorial Museum’s permanent archive of oral history and remembrances will be regularly updated and available on the site’s growing network.

 Broadcastr allows users to create and share recordings on an interactive map. Anyone can use the web app to hear Sept. 11 stories from anywhere in the world. Visitors can also use the “Geoplay” feature of the mobile app to take a guided walk of the World Trade Center site, while the voices of first responders, family members, and witnesses stream into their headphones based on their physical location.

 The 9/11 Memorial is thrilled to partner with Broadcastr and have such a powerful tool at its disposal. Visit broadcastr.com to hear a preview and sign up for an early invite.  Broadcastr will open to the public on Feb. 8.

By 9/11 Memorial Staff

After $9.5 million in donations, eight years of filming, and countless hours of interviews, Project Rebirth will debut on Jan. 21 at the Sundance Film Festival in Utah. The Battery Broadsheet reports that the feature length film, “Rebirth,” is ready to begin its “long term mission of educating people about grief and trauma through a real-life historical record.”

In addition to chronicling the construction progress of the World Trade Center site with time-lapse photography, the film follows the lives of nine Sept. 11 survivors, guiding the audience through their personal stories of growth and grieving since the attacks.

 Project Rebirth Executive Director Caitlin Olsen, a former 9/11 Memorial staff member,  has a vision for the feature film and hundreds of hours of footage. "We want to better train our first responders, volunteers and professionals for more resiliency, to help them understand the grief they are dealing with and make them more resilient in the face of the experience," says Olsen. 

An exclusive segment of the film can be seen now at the 9/11 Memorial Preview Site, on 20 Vesey St. between Church Street and Broadway.

By 9/11 Memorial Staff

Only days remain to vote for the 9/11 Memorial  to win $200,000 in funding through Members Project. Casting a vote has never been easier.Log onto Facebook, make your voice heard and vote to help the 9/11 Memorial win this crucial funding.  You can also become Facebook friends of the 9/11 Memorial and vote at the Memorial's page.  Act now. Every vote counts.

By 9/11 Memorial Staff

Watch the latest video at video.foxnews.com

Veteran anchor Shep Smith is back in this latest clip from the Fox News series, Rise of Freedom. Santiago Calatrava, the Spanish architect who designed the planned transit station at the World Trade Center site, takes us through his studio. Connecting 13 subway lines and the Path, the Calatrava station will become the central hub for thousands of New Yorkers traveling through Lower Manhattan. The station is scheduled to open in 2014.

By 9/11 Memorial Staff

Staff photographer Amy Dreher snaps a lot of pictures at the World Trade Center site, documenting the construction progress of the 9/11 Memorial. Amy also trains her lens on the smaller pieces that may be overlooked with a project of this magnitude. Through “The Lens: Viewing the 9/11 Memorial,” readers of The MEMO blog can share some of the unique vantage points captured by Amy.

Special of the day:  Investigate the scrawl on this piece of paper and you'll find food requests for breakfast - or lunch -  most likely for construction workers at the World Trade Center site.  

By 9/11 Memorial Staff

While the iPhone's alarm clock is experiencing some technical difficulties, the powerful "Explore 9/11" app showcases the smartphone's brilliant display, full audio range and its accurate GPS system.

The National September 11 Memorial & Museum created the Explore 9/11 app as a guide to understanding 9/11 through the eyes of witnesses.

Download the app now for free at Apple’s App store. Features include:

Tour

A seven-stop walking tour of the area around the World Trade Center, accompanied by photos and audio narration. The events of the day and its aftermath are told by first responders, rescue workers, volunteers, and those who lived and worked in lower Manhattan on 9/11. The tour begins at the 9/11 Memorial Preview Site, 20 Vesey St.. While the tour is best experienced on site, the content can be accessed from anywhere.

Explore

View images of 9/11-events taken nearby wherever you are. Includes an Augmented Reality mode in which photos are overlaid on the camera view. All photos were contributed to the museum by survivors and witnesses through 911history.org.

Timeline

An interactive timeline of the day’s events and aftermath. Includes links to witness photos taken during these time blocks.

To report any issues with the app,  please email app@national911memorial.org for support.  

By 9/11 Memorial Staff

Rachel McPherson is the founder and executive director of the Good Dog Foundation, a New York City-based pet therapy organization. Rachel trains therapy dogs and brings them to patients in need. Cancer survivors and the elderly have all benefited from the pets who aid in the healing process. But after 9/11, the caring canines would play a role in consoling people emotionally burdened by the events of the attacks.

 After Sept. 11, the Good Dog Foundation worked with community members and distraught family members at the Pier 94 Family Assistance Center. Fidel, the small Papillon, made an impact on patrons at the assistance center and on family members who returned to the site. Listen to Rachel talk about the role therapy dogs played on the days after 9/11. Also, take a look at Rachel's book, Every Dog Has a Gift.  Dogs are more than just man's best friend.

By 9/11 Memorial Staff

Of the items that remained from the wreckage of the World Trade Center, identification cards of personel were some of the most prevalent.  Salvaged by recovery workers and forensic experts from the Fresh Kills landfill, a recovered ID badge was often the only evidence that someone had been in the WTC complex on Sept. 11. Authorities went to great lengths to return IDs to victims’ families and survivors.

Some who hastily evacuated the towers on 9/11 left their photo ID badges behind. Christopher Briggs Young, a temporary employee for Marsh & McLennan Insurance Company and one of the last to escape the North Tower before its collapse, retained the visitor pass that was issued at 8:30 a.m. on the morning of Sept. 11. Young was on his way to deliver a box of meeting materials to the 99th floor when he was trapped, alone, in an express elevator.  After a half an hour, the collapse of the South Tower triggered a power failure that disabled the motor keeping the elevator doors sealed. Young extricated himself from the elevator and escaped from the building, running as the North Tower crumbled behind him. Learn more about other stories online.

The National September 11 Memorial & Museum is interested in acquiring World Trade Center ID badges and learning the individual stories associated with each. Please contact collections@sept11mm.org if you wish to donate one to the permanent collection.

By Jan Ramirez, Chief Curator for the 9/11 Memorial Museum

Bring out your friends. Bring out the co-workers. Hockey is always on, and so is the fun. Stone Street Tavern in the Financial District is welcoming to all patrons, accommodating to your rough day at work or your latest bonus.  A recent supporter of the national 9/11 Memorial's Signs of Support campaign, Stone Street Tavern is a true staple.

Enjoy the patio on steamy, summer afternoons, or warm up inside with a fine ale during the winter months.  Take a stroll down historic Stone Street for a bite and a brew, and you will not be disappointed. We’d like to thank them not only for their tremendous service and good cheer, but their support to the National September 11 Memorial & Museum--rallying around a cause so vital to New York and the nation. Join us in recognizing Stone Street Tavern as an avid supporter of the 9/11 Memorial and Museum.

By Norm Dannen, Public Affairs Associate