National September 11 Memorial & Museum

The National September 11 Memorial is the perfect place to teach kids about that awful day’s events and pay homage to those who died, but you have to go online in advance and reserve passes for timed entry. Two square waterfall-sided reflecting pools, each built within the footprints of the fallen towers, are the memorial’s centerpiece. Around them, bronze panels inscribed with the names of the victims invite reflection, while a grove of swamp white oaks embodies the rebirth of the neighborhood.