The neoclassical National Archives Building with its Corinthian colonnade, seen from Constitution Avenue, Washington, DC

National Archives MuseumPenn Quarter / National Mall

Remembering 9/11

Ended25 August 2026 – 28 October 2026Free

This exhibition has ended.

Current Opening the Vault rotation: unseen US Coast Guard photographs from Ground Zero, plus objects from the moment President Bush learned of the attacks, including the "Don't Say Anything Yet" note.

Museum website

More in Washington, DC

On now All of October 2026

Among the U.S. Coast Guard photographs are clusters of abandoned strollers and food carts in Lower Manhattan, and the North Tower seen before its collapse. The Coast Guard took them during and after the attacks of 11 September 2001, and the museum says the portraits of first responders have not been widely shared before.

The display marks the 25th anniversary and runs in four sections: That Morning, The President Learns, Faces of First Responders and Serving Survivors. It includes the FAA surveillance logbook from the day, recently declassified, which records when airmen realised hijackings were under way. Another section holds the storybook President Bush was reading at Emma E. Booker Elementary School and the cue card Ari Fleischer held up, reading "DON'T SAY ANYTHING YET".

It is a records-based show, so expect documents and photographs rather than large installations. Admission is free, and it is on view until 28 October. Free or $1 timed tickets can be booked ahead, since waits at peak times can exceed an hour.

Editor's pick

A note reading "Don't Say Anything Yet", from the moment President Bush learned of the attacks, beside previously unseen US Coast Guard photographs of Ground Zero. A short vault rotation in the East Rotunda Gallery.

Look for

The FAA surveillance logbook
Recently declassified pages from 11 September 2001 that record when airmen realised hijackings were taking place.
Fleischer's cue card
A White House press secretary's card reading "DON'T SAY ANYTHING YET", from the moment the President learned of the attacks.
Reading Mastery II, Storybook 1
The book President Bush was reading at Emma E. Booker Elementary School when he was told.
Coast Guard photographs of Lower Manhattan
The North Tower before it fell, plus abandoned strollers and food carts on the street.
Faces of first responders
An NYPD officer wiping his eyes, police officers holding hard hats, and a firefighter looking into smoky distance.