Tunnel to Towers 9/11 Never Forget Mobile Exhibit returns to Commack High School for 25th anniversary remembrance
Students and community members to explore immersive exhibit honoring Sept. 11 heroes and educating a new generation about the attacks' lasting impact.
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The Tunnel to Towers Foundation's 9/11 Never Forget Mobile Exhibit returns to Long Island this week, making a stop at Commack High School as the community commemorates the 25th anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.
District officials said the traveling exhibit's visit marks only the second time the mobile museum has appeared on Long Island, with both visits taking place in Commack. The district previously hosted the exhibit in July 2021 ahead of the 20th anniversary of 9/11.
The exhibit provides students and community members with an immersive educational experience featuring artifacts, digital storytelling and firsthand accounts connected to the attacks and the sacrifices made by first responders and military service members.
"It's an incredible experience," said Commack Superintendent Dr. Jordan Cox. "It's just about the experience for our children to be able to educate them on what happened 25 years ago. It's something that they'll remember forever."
Cox said the exhibit aligns with the district's commitment to connecting classroom lessons to real-world experiences.
"With this vehicle, the Tunnel to Towers Foundation coming out here, our students are actually going to be able to get in there and not only learn about the experience in the classroom, but feel that experience in this exhibit," he said.
Commack School District Clerk Debbie Virga, who helped coordinate the exhibit's return, said the program is especially meaningful because all their students were born years after the attacks.
"It means so much to have the education part of this museum, this exhibit, to teach our children who weren't even born then, the impact of what 9/11 did to this country," Virga said. "I made a promise in 2001 to never forget, and we will never forget in Commack."
In addition to artifacts, the exhibit features retired FDNY chiefs and lieutenants who share personal accounts of their experiences on Sept. 11, helping students better understand the courage and sacrifice displayed that day.
Billy Puckett, the mobile exhibit's field manager and ambassador, said educating young people remains a central mission of the program.
"It's history," Puckett said. "Across the country, you run into people who say this is not their history, but it is. It's 100% their history. We can't forget."
Th newly redesigned exhibit is fully enclosed, allowing it to operate year-round and showcase additional artifacts in a larger space than its predecessor.
Following the opening ceremony on Wednesday, Oct. 15, students are scheduled to tour the exhibit Oct. 16. The exhibit will also be open to the public from 2 to 4 p.m. Oct. 16 and from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Oct. 17 at Commack High School.
