TERROR

Silent rooms, tissues, counselors help ease the emotional pain for visitors to 9/11 museum

Associated Press
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FILE - In this May 15, 2014 file photo, a quote from Virgil fills a wall of the museum prior to the dedication ceremony at the National September 11 Memorial Museum in New York. The museum was designed with the psychological well-being of the public in mind. But behind the wrenching sights and sounds of the National Sept. 11 Memorial Museum lies a quiet effort to help visitors handle its potentially traumatic impact, from built-in tissue boxes to a layout designed to let people bypass the most intense exhibits if they choose. (AP Photo/The Star-Ledger, John Munson, Pool) (The Associated Press)

FILE- In this May 15, 2014 file photo, a steel beam from the World Trade Center stands at the center of Foundation Hall where the dedication ceremony will take place at the National September 11 Memorial Museum 2014 in New York. With consideration given to psychological well-being of museum patrons, the museum is designed to accurately show the events of September 11, 2001, while giving those patrons who may be too sensitive ample warning to avoid some of the more graphic exhibits. (AP Photo/The Star-Ledger, John Munson, Pool) (The Associated Press)

FILE- In this May 14, 2014 file photo, steel from the World Trade Center north tower floors 97 and 98, left, is displayed at the National Sept. 11 Memorial Museum in New York. The museum was designed to accurately depict the events for September 11, 2001 while not making the presentation intolerable for the public. One designer who helped create the exhibits says “there’s a lot of thought given to the psychological safety of visitors.” (AP Photo) (The Associated Press)

There are prominent videos of the twin towers collapsing, photos of people falling from them and voice mail messages from people in hijacked planes.

But behind the wrenching sights and sounds of the National Sept. 11 Memorial Museum lies a quiet effort to help visitors handle its potentially traumatic impact. American Red Cross counseling volunteers will even standing by as it opens to the public Wednesday.

One designer who helped create the exhibits says "there's a lot of thought given to the psychological safety of visitors."

There are built-in tissue boxes and a layout designed to let people bypass the most intense exhibits if they choose. Discreet oak-leaf symbols denote items connected to the dead, and images of falling victims are in an alcove with a warning sign.