9/11 Museum unveils exhibition for generation too young to remember the attacks: 'Called everybody to lead'

The 9/11 Memorial and Museum is marking the 25th anniversary of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks by unveiling a new exhibition exploring the legacy of service inspired by that day and preserving its history for the next generation.

In Their Honor: 25 Years of 9/11 Inspired Service highlights how 9/11 inspired thousands of Americans to serve their communities and country in the years that followed.

"So many people who visit the museum or who are interested in learning about 9/11 are too young to remember themselves, and one of the stories that they don't necessarily realize when they start to encounter the history of 9/11 is how much it changed the arc of people's lives," 9/11 Memorial and Museum President and CEO Elizabeth L. Hillman told Fox News Digital.

The exhibition features artifacts, interactive displays, and firsthand accounts from those who turned the tragedy into a lifetime of service, including military members, first responders, volunteers, educators and victims' families.

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A boy points towards the center of the reflecting pool at the National September 11 Memorial Museum in New York on Sunday, Sept. 11, 2022. (Bonnie Cash/UPI/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

Hillman said the exhibition's "signature artifact" is Feathers of the Phoenix , a 15-foot papier-mâché sculpture created by children who lost loved ones on 9/11 while attending America's Camp.

"The reason I think that's the best artifact to talk about the entire exhibition is that those young people have grown up, and the exhibition is about what they decided to do in the wake of that loss they suffered on 9/11," she said.

Outside the exhibition, the museum also offers a free digital learning experience with a 35-minute film featuring six personal stories. One story follows brothers James and Patrick Dowdell, whose firefighter father was killed responding to the Sept. 11 attacks, inspiring James to join the Fire Department of New York and Patrick to serve in the U.S. Army.

"I think that first-person storytelling is the way to reach young people," Hillman said.

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With more children growing up with no memory of 9/11, Hillman said the museum tailors its educational resources by age and recommends tools like "Sesame Street's" post-9/11 episodes to help families discuss the attacks.

"There are age-appropriate materials that change over time for what students are ready to understand," she said.

Hillman said the museum is preparing the next generation to carry forward the lessons.

"We need to reach the people who are becoming teachers, who are becoming firefighters, police officers, members of the Armed Forces, and help them understand what it was to come together after 9/11 and develop a response to a catastrophe that we did not anticipate," she said.

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Two flags flutter on a fence in front of Lower Manhattan and One World Trade Center at the Tear Drop 9/11 Memorial at sunset on June 13, 2026, in Bayonne, New Jersey. (Gary Hershorn/Getty Images)

Twenty-five years later, Hillman said the museum's mission is more important than ever.

"It really called everybody to lead," she said. "I think that's different now than what it has been at previous points in time when we were closer to the attacks and not 25 years away."

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The exhibition opens to the public on Sept. 12.