In case you missed it. The National September 11 Memorial & Museum and Google Inc. partnered to produce a stunning third-dimensional landscape featuring the 9/11 Memorial.  The Memorial, which will open next year, can be explored through Google Earth.

Google Earth allows online users to  pan over the tree-filled plaza, flying through a canopy that will shade an eight-acre public park space. They can peek through windows of the museum pavilion and see two seven-story-steel “tridents” that will greet future visitors entering the 9/11 Memorial Museum. Use your mouse to zoom in and see  the intricate detail of each cobblestone along the memorial plaza or pull away and hover over the entire World Trade Center site and lower Manhattan .

Enjoy the above video created by the Google team for the 9/11 Memorial.

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

The 9/11 Memorial is just 472 days away from opening on September 11, 2011. The construction momentum is mounting with the achievement of a new milestone -- 100% of the Memorial's structural steel is now in place.  This steel, weighing more than 8,000 tons, is more than was used to build the Eiffel Tower.  To date, more than 85% of the project's concrete has been poured. The total amount of concrete will be 49,000 cubic yards, equaling twice the volume of the Macy’s building in Herald Square, New York.

About 400 construction workers are on site daily, getting the waterfalls' mechanical pumps installed, waterproofing the Memorial Plaza, and prepping for the installation of hundreds of oak trees starting later this summer.

As seen in the recent aerial photo posted above, the Memorial site is marked by real, visible progress. You can track the project's construction through EarthCam's live webcam.

CBS's 60 minutes recently had a report on homegrown terrorists, American citizens like the recent "would-be Times Square bomber, who have traveled abroad for terrorist training in order to attack  America or its allies."

Recruiting sympathizers is just one page in al Qaeda's war strategy. Learn about other plans and the history and ideology of the terrorist group from counterterrorism expert Bill Braniff, the director of external education at West Point's Combating Terrorism Center.  Braniff is giving a presentation tomorrow, May 19, at 6:30 p.m. as part of the 9/11, Today and Tomorrow speakers series at the 9/11 Memorial Preview Site, 20 Vesey St.  RSVP now for this event.

Braniff conducts cutting-edge research in counterterrorism and trains law enforcement agencies. His expertise helps U.S. officials combat terrorism with a deeper understanding of how al Qaeda operates.

The speakers series events are being filmed in HD for THIRTEEN Forum. The programs are available online the following week for streaming or podcasting at http://www.thirteen.org/forum/. The debut event in March featured touching 9/11 audio recordings from StoryCorps. If you missed the debut, watch it and other programs here or at WNET.ORG.

Video of Braniff's lecture will be available through THIRTEEN Forum on May 26.

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

A 20-foot beam from the remains of the destroyed World Trade Center was greeted with bowed head, tears and prayer when it was recently received at a fire district in Louisiana.

According to a St.Tammany News report by Suzanne Le Breton, Fire District 12 Deputy Chief Steve Krentel has been trying to get a piece of WTC steel for use for a memorial for years. The beam reportedly arrived this month on a trailer, draped in an American flag, "serving as a reminder of the many coffins holding firefighters and other first responders that were laid to rest in the days and months following September 11."

The beam is to be used as a centerpiece for a proposed memorial proposed at the fire station at the intersection of Louisiana Highway 36 and Louisiana Highway 32 in Covington, La., about 42 miles north of New Orleans on the other side of Lake Pontchartrain. The fire district plans to erect the memorial featuring the beam in time for the upcoming anniversary of Sept. 11

The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which is building the National September 11 Memorial & Museum, is seeking proposals from public and city agencies and not-for-profit groups interested in acquiring a piece of 9/11 World Trade Center steel for public display. Tons and tons of WTC steel are being stored at a JFK airport hangar.  Communities across the country are receiving pieces of remnant steel.

Several large pieces of WTC steel will be part of the exhibition experience of the 9/11 Memorial Museum, which is scheduled to open in 2012.

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

Even from thousands of feet in the sky, the two acre-sized 9/11 Memorial pools can be made out.

Photographer Joe Woolhead routinely snaps pictures (like the one above) of the construction progress at the World Trade Center site. Find more of his photos here or visit www.national911memorial.org.

The Memorial is on track to open in 2011. The memorial pools are fully framed in steel, while nearly 100 percent of the steel for the project has been installed.

More than 60 percent of concrete has been poured. When construction’s completed, the total amount of steel will equal 8,151 tons – that’s more than what was used to build the Eiffel Tower.

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

In case you missed it. Children from across the globe handmade most of the 3,000 heartfelt gifts that make up the one-of-a-kind “Dear Hero” collection, which is comprised of poignant letters, heartfelt drawings and other tokens of gratitude delivered to firehouses across New York City after the 2001 terrorist attacks.

The items were sent to the city's fire companies and firefighters as a show of gratitude, and to recognize their heroic efforts and sacrifice.  On 9/11, 343 members of the city's Fire Department were killed.

Tanya Hoggard, a Delta airlines flight attendant who volunteered at the World Trade Center during the recovery,  is behind the collection of the items. She began preserving them in early 2002 as fire stations began dismantling displays of the letters and drawings. Hoggard named the tokens the Dear Hero collection because that was often the salutation used by children in their notes and letters. The collection has been stored in Cincinnati, Ohio, and has returned  to New York City after nearly nine years.

The National September 11 Memorial & Museum recently acquired the items and have added them to the permanent collection.

"For me, this is what I've been waiting for," Hoggard recalled. "Ideally, there will be a person who can one day show his or her own child what they sent to a rescue worker after 9/11."

In addition to numerous letters and artwork from children, the items include a U.S. flag fashioned from paper and $1 bills, ceramic angels, decorative quilts and a large wreath covered with dozens of small white teddy bears. Some items came from abroad, such as a flag signed by residents of Italy, a banner from Pakistan and a string of 1,000 origami cranes from Japan symbolizing world peace.

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

The 9/11 Memorial welcomes visitors and the city's residents to take a walk of remembrance through a commemorative self-guided tour of lower Manhattan.  A rich history exists in downtown and the 9/11 Memorial is providing a guide to easily find local landmarks associated with events of September 11, 2001. Tourists can also learn about the history and future of the 16-acre WTC site.

Called the 9/11 Commemorative Tour around the World Trade Center, the guide takes you to  points of interest like the 9/11 Memorial Preview Site at 20 Vesey St.

Not far from the Preview Site, take a walk over to the rebuilt 7 World Trade Center building,  250 Greenwich St. The original 7 WTC skyscraper was the last building to fall on 9/11 and the first to be rebuilt, opening in 2006.  In the park in front of 7 WTC, find the "Balloon Flower (Red)" sculpture by artist Jeff Koons. Nearby, check out the cross-shaped steel beam at Church Street between Vesey and Barclay streets. The so-called WTC Cross was found amid the rubble of the WTC site two days after 9/11. When recovered, it became a symbol of hope, faith and healing for many rescue and recovery workers searching for human remains.

Along the tour route, there is also St. Paul's Chapel and the Bell of Hope, both at 209 Broadway; the Trinity Root, Broadway and Wall Street; The Koenig's Sphere at Battery Place in Battery Park;  The Tribute WTC Visitor Center, 120 Liberty St., and more. This walking tour will provide a gateway to remembrance as well as show the rebirth of an important community.

The self-guided tours will be available for sale at the 9/11 Memorial Preview Site in the coming weeks. More information soon.

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

Donning a hard hat, blindingly bright safety vest and dark shades concealing his eyes, 9/11 Memorial Project manager Ron Vega scaled a section of the outside wall of the north pool of the 9/11 Memorial at the World Trade Center construction site.

"Soon the plaza will come up to here," he said, making a chop motion at the height of his knees before adding, "And this is where the names will be located."

The current plaza of the memorial will be raised six feet, allowing future visitors to walk up and touch the bronze panels bearing names of the nearly 3,000 victims of the 2001 and 1993 terror attacks. The names are inscribed in such a way to allow light to shine through. The panels will rim the memorial, marking waterfalls that drop 30 feet into reflecting pools.

Over the past few months, progress has been steady on the memorial, which opens in the fall of next year. The two signature pools - both roughly an acre in size - are fully framed in steel. Much of the needed concrete has been poured and installation of the granite is underway. Hundreds of trees are being stored at a New Jersey nursery and will be planted at the site in the coming months.

Ron assess the progress and what work remains at the eight-acre site, which contains the National September 11 Memorial & Museum.

"We are making leaps and bounds," he said.

In the coming months, more concrete will be added to the memorial plaza to raise it six feet, allowing future visitors to walk up to the edge of the pools and touch the bronze panels bearing the names of the nearly 3,000 victims of the 2001 and 1993 terror attacks.

The plaza will serve as a green roof for the 9/11 Memorial Museum, which is taking shape seven stories beneath the memorial. The trees will be planted on the plaza in a suspended paving system that will contain soil and provide the foundation for a watering system.

Ron finished up for the day and headed back to the 9/11 Memorial headquarters nearby, where more work waited for him.  He walked off the 16-acre site that for years has been known as ground zero. Now it's a site being transformed into a national memorial and unique park space in lower Manhattan for the city's residents and visitors expected from around the world.

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

Despite the slumped economy, four leading accounting firms have donated a total of $4 million to the National September 11 Memorial & Museum.

Deloitte, Ernst & Young, KPMG and PricewaterhouseCoopers each pledged $1 million to help build and sustain the 9/11 Memorial.

These four accounting industry leaders join more than 170,000 individual contributors from all 50 states and 35 countries. The memorial will open in 2011 on the 10th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks. The museum is scheduled to open in 2012. Both are under construction at the World Trade Center site formerly known as ground zero.

Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who serves as 9/11 Memorial chairman, said: “These gifts are helping to generate the momentum we need to ensure that the Memorial opens next year. The firms have set a tremendous example of corporate citizenship even during a trying economic climate. With the tenth anniversary of the attacks coming up next year, now is the time when everyone should get involved in ensuring the memory of 9/11 is not forgotten.”

The 9/11 Memorial will honor and remember the nearly 3,000 innocent victims of the September 11, 2001 and February 26, 1993 attacks.

“When we open the Memorial on the 10th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, we hope as many individuals, corporations, and industries as possible will be able to say they were a part of building the nation’s memorial to that terrible tragedy," 9/11 Memorial President Joe Daniels said. "We are enormously grateful to our Board Member Sam DiPiazza, Global CEO of PricewaterhouseCoopers International, for working with his industry colleagues to make these gifts possible. ”

Continued fundraising is needed for programming in the 9/11 Memorial Museum and providing a financial base for long-term operational needs. Find out how you can support the memorial and museum.

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

The 9/11 Memorial is opening next year.

The National September 11 Memorial & Museum could use your help with paving the way to remembrance and hope by sponsoring a cobblestone as a gift on Mother's Day and Father's Day.

Cobblestones will line the memorial plaza at the World Trade Center. Gift orders must be placed May 6 to receive a special cobblestone gift card in time for Mother's Day and by June 17 to receive a gift card in time for Father's Day.

The memorial plaza cobblestones will line the paths of the memorial plaza, a beautiful landscape that will surround the memorial pools. The memorial glade cobblestones will line the memorial glade, a beautiful clearing within a grove of trees that will be used for special ceremonies and gatherings.

Out of respect for the victims of the September 11, 2001 and February 26, 1993 attacks, the cobblestones will not be inscribed with donor names. The names of the nearly 3,000 victims of the 2001 and 1993 attacks will rim the two acre-sized pools of the 9/11 Memorial.

Electronic kiosks will be located on the plaza so donors can locate sponsored cobblestone.

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