Schools
High School Creates 9/11 Tribute Museum
Faculty from the Bayport-Blue Point High School put together an exhibit in the gallery showcasing items about Sept. 11.
The high school social studies department at the constructed a mini museum featuring artifacts and books from Sept. 11 displayed in the school’s lobby on Monday.
The exhibit will be open all week during school hours as social studies teachers take their students in to explore after teaching a short lesson on the historical attacks.
John Limperatos, the social studies department chairperson, said the museum was a way for teachers and students to remember the day and learn about it, appropriately on the event’s tenth anniversary.
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Quoting former Mayor Rudy Giuliani, he said: “September 11th is not just history, it’s reality. It’s another reminder of how dangerous and how complex our world is and the threat we face is still very much present.”
The idea originated from Sean Meade, a high school social studies and European history teacher. He wanted to recognize the tenth anniversary to pay tribute to the nearly 3,000 people who perished and their families, Limperatos said.
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The exhibit, with four big televisions re-running Sept. 11 newscasts and documentaries, featured dozens of original items. Newspapers and magazines from that day were laid out on tables, all with the same heart-wrenching image of the towers burning or Osama bin Laden’s face. Though it has been 10 years, the papers were still in mint condition and barely yellowed from age.
Limperatos contributed an immense amount of books on the subject. “About 75 percent of the books are from my own collection,” he said.
However, Limperatos said one artifact stood above all others: the large glass shard taken directly from one of the towers.
“It’s a very small, but vivid reminder of the complete destruction and chaos that transpired that day,” he said. “You would never think that one piece of glass has that meaning, but in retrospect, it does.”
Dr. Timothy Hearney said it was the first year doing this kind of exhibit for Sept. 11, but students can come in and learn about it, while writing their own reflections.
On each side of the exhibit laid a blank book where students can express feelings, prayers or what they remember from that day.
The poem on the middle of the exhibit's center display said it all.
“So for as long as we live, they too shall live, for they are a part of us, we will remember them.”
