As
New Year’s resolutions go, I’m off to a good start. Even though I’ve
eaten five cookies today and I haven’t been to the gym once this week,
I did visit the Oklahoma City National Memorial.
That means I’m right on track because in January, rather than focusing
on reducing my waistline, I vowed to expand my travel horizons. I made
a list of 10 goals for Oklahoma sight-seeing, and first on my list was the memorial museum.
According to Nancy Coggins, the Oklahoma City National Memorial
Director of Marketing and Communication, thousands of people visit the
memorial museum every month, including someone from every state and an
average of 35 countries. Despite these impressive numbers, only 20% of
the museum’s monthly visitors are Oklahomans. But Coggins says we
shouldn’t be too hard on ourselves. People all over the world are
reluctant tourists in their own backyards, and, in this case,
Oklahomans have the added burden of healing from the bombing of the
Murrah Building.
“Because
the event is so personal to us as Oklahomans, many people feel it is
still too difficult for them to get through,” she said. “Time helps,
and the percentage [of local visitors] grows
every year.”I think “personal” is a good way to describe not only the event, but the museum as a whole. I wouldn’t be
surprised
if even foreign visitors felt the museum’s effects in much the same way
we feel it, thanks to its concept and the incorporation of multimedia.
From the moment you enter the exhibit, you are walking through a day in the life of Oklahoma
in 1995—a day that just happens to be April 19. You see the front pages
of the day’s newspapers, you hear the sounds of daily life, and at
exactly 9:02am you hear a devastating explosion.
I
was a student in southwest Oklahoma at the time of the bombing and I
didn’t know anyone who was directly affected by it. Over ten years
after the event, my awareness of it and of the memorial has dimmed
in the light of familiarity. I can’t imagine how distant the bombing
must seem for today’s children who have no memory of it whatsoever.
What a challenge to build a museum that is as alive for them, and for
future generations, as it is for those of us who
remember 1995.
According
to Coggins, this challenge is at the very core of the memorial’s
mission. She hopes that families will visit the museum and talk to
their children about the messages it contains—messages about nonviolent
conflict solutions, the impact of individual actions on the lives of others, and the importance of personal responsibility.
Coggins says the museum is best suited for children 10 and older, although
engaged parents can make the experience suitable for a younger child,
depending upon the child’s temperament and level of development.
The
museum tells the story of April 19 through a number of video
testimonies and artifacts, but it doesn’t stop there. The documentation
continues throughout the rescue efforts and into the subsequent
investigations and trials of Timothy McVeigh and Terry Nichols.
Most importantly, the museum emphasizes the good that came out of the
tragedy—the way the country (and the world) pulled together with
gestures of good will.
What better way to start your year than with a dose of Oklahoma pride and a living history lesson for the whole family?
Chelsey Simpson is an editor who lives in Edmond with her husband and her miniature schnauzer, Ellie.
Posted on Monday, February 25, 2008
by Sarah Taylor
filed under