NEW YORK – President Barack Obama attended a dedication ceremony in lower Manhattan on Thursday for the official opening of the 9/11 museum, calling the building a place of "healing and of hope". The museum features a raft of exhibits, including half-destroyed fire trucks from the collapse, a wall with the faces of the victims that perished in the attacks, part of the original structure of one of the towers and a segment of one of the airplanes that slammed into the buildings on that September morning in 2001.
Addressing a crowd that included family members of the victims, rescuers and survivors of the terror operation, Obama said: "It's an honour to join in your memories, to recall and to reflect, but above all to reaffirm the true spirit of 9/11 - love, compassion, sacrifice - and to enshrine it forever in the heart of our nation. Like the great wall and bedrock that embrace us today, nothing can ever break us. Nothing can change who we are as Americans."
Before the ceremony, Obama toured the museum alongside his wife, Michelle, former President Bill Clinton, Former first lady Hillary Clinton and former New York mayor Michael Bloomberg. The museum is the latest additional to a site that already includes a memorial plaza, which opened in 2011. The entire site cost $700 million to build.
9/11 Museum Opening
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NEW YORK, NY - MAY 15: US President Barack Obama is accompanied by former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg as he tours the National September 11 Memorial & Museum on May 15, 2014 in New York. (credit:Getty Images)
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NEW YORK, NY - MAY 15: Two people embrace while gathered on the plaza of the National September 11 Memorial to watch the telecast of the dedication ceremony for the museum at ground zero May 15, 2014 in New York City. (credit:Getty Images)
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NEW YORK, NY - MAY 15: Visitors watch a screen projection of the dedication ceremony for the National September 11 Memorial Museum at ground zero May 15, 2014 in New York City. (credit:Getty Images)
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NEW YORK, NY - MAY 15: Attendees watch a video of images during the opening ceremony for the National September 11 Memorial Museum at ground zero May 15, 2014 in New York City. (credit:Getty Images)
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NEW YORK, NY - MAY 15: Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani introduces 11 members of the FDNY and Port Authority during the opening ceremony for the National September 11 Memorial Museum at ground zero May 15, 2014 in New York City. (credit:Getty Images)
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NEW YORK, NY - MAY 15: The last column recovered at the World Trade Center site is the center piece at the opening ceremony for the National September 11 Memorial Museum at ground zero May 15, 2014 in New York City. (credit:Getty Images)
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NEW YORK, NY - MAY 15: New York Governor Andrew M. Cuomo speaks during the opening ceremony for the National September 11 Memorial Museum at ground zero May 15, 2014 in New York City. (credit:Getty Images)
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NEW YORK, NY - MAY 15: A woman wears a photograph of a victim of the September 11 2001 attacks on the World Trade Center around her neck during the opening ceremony for the National September 11 Memorial Museum at ground zero May 15, 2014 in New York City. (credit:Getty Images)
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NEW YORK, NY - MAY 15: Florence Jones, who was working on the 77th floor of the World Trade Center South Tower when Flight 175 struck, delivers her remarks during the dedication ceremony in Foundation Hall at the National September 11 Memorial Museum at ground zero May 15, 2014 in New York City. (credit:Getty Images)
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NEW YORK, NY - MAY 15: Invited guests listen as U.S. President Barack Obama speaks during the opening ceremony for the National September 11 Memorial Museum at ground zero May 15, 2014 in New York City. (credit:Getty Images)
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NEW YORK, NY - MAY 15: New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R), accompanied by his wife Mary Pat Christie, delivers his remarks during the dedication ceremony in Foundation Hall at the National September 11 Memorial Museum at ground zero May 15, 2014 in New York City. (credit:Getty Images)
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NEW YORK, NY - MAY 15: Former U.S. President Bill Clinton attends the dedication ceremony in Foundation Hall at the National September 11 Memorial Museum at ground zero May 15, 2014 in New York City. (credit:Getty Images)
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NEW YORK, NY - MAY 15: Invited guests listen as U.S. President Barack Obama speaks during the opening ceremony for the National September 11 Memorial Museum at ground zero May 15, 2014 in New York City. (credit:Getty Images)
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NEW YORK, NY - MAY 15: A woman in the audience dries a tear during the dedication ceremony in Foundation Hall at the National September 11 Memorial Museum at ground zero May 15, 2014 in New York City. (credit:Getty Images)
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NEW YORK, NY - MAY 15: U.S. President Barack Obama speaks during the opening ceremony for the National September 11 Memorial Museum at ground zero May 15, 2014 in New York City. (credit:Getty Images)
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NEW YORK, NY - MAY 15: U.S. President Barack Obama speaks during the opening ceremony for the National September 11 Memorial Museum at ground zero May 15, 2014 in New York City. (credit:Getty Images)
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NEW YORK, NY - MAY 15: U.S. President Barack Obama speaks about Welles Crowther, pictured on the screen with his mother Alison, during the dedication ceremony at the National September 11 Memorial Museum May 15, 2014 in New York City. (credit:Getty Images)
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NEW YORK, NY - MAY 15: U.S. President Barack Obama speaks during the opening ceremony for the National September 11 Memorial Museum at ground zero May 15, 2014 in New York City. (credit:Getty Images)
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NEW YORK, NY - MAY 15: A woman cries as she watches the screen projection of U.S. President Barack Obama giving a speech during the dedication ceremony at the National September 11 Memorial Museum at ground zero May 15, 2014 in New York City. (credit:Getty Images)
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NEW YORK, NY - MAY 15: A woman cries as she watches the screen projection of U.S. President Barack Obama giving a speech during the dedication ceremony at the National September 11 Memorial Museum at ground zero May 15, 2014 in New York City. (credit:Getty Images)
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NEW YORK, NY - MAY 15: A woman cries as she watches the screen projection of U.S. President Barack Obama giving a speech during the dedication ceremony at the National September 11 Memorial Museum at ground zero May 15, 2014 in New York City. (credit:Getty Images)
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NEW YORK, NY - MAY 15: Members of the general public watch a screen projection of U.S. President Barack Obama giving a speech during the dedication ceremony at the National September 11 Memorial Museum at ground zero May 15, 2014 in New York City. (credit:Getty Images)
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NEW YORK, NY - MAY 15: Members of the general public watch a screen projection on the World Trade Center Plaza during the dedication ceremony at the National September 11 Memorial Museum at ground zero May 15, 2014 in New York City. (credit:Getty Images)
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NEW YORK, NY - MAY 15: Port Authority Police Academy stand by the North reflecting pool under One World Trade Center during the dedication ceremony at the National September 11 Memorial Museum at ground zero May 15, 2014 in New York City. (credit:Getty Images)
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NEW YORK, NY - MAY 15: Members of the general public are reflected in the glass facade of the 9/11 Memorial Museum pavilion during the dedication ceremony at the National September 11 Memorial Museum at ground zero May 15, 2014 in New York City. (credit:Getty Images)
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NEW YORK, NY - MAY 15: Members of the general public watch a screen projection of U.S. President Barack Obama giving a speech during the dedication ceremony at the National September 11 Memorial Museum at ground zero May 15, 2014 in New York City. (credit:Getty Images)
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NEW YORK, NY - MAY 15: Members of the general public watch a screen projection of U.S. President Barack Obama giving a speech during the dedication ceremony at the National September 11 Memorial Museum at ground zero May 15, 2014 in New York City. (credit:Getty Images)
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NEW YORK, NY - MAY 15: US President Barack Obama speaks at the dedication of the National September 11 Memorial Museum in New York, on May 15, 2014. (credit:Getty Images)
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NEW YORK, NY - MAY 15: U.S. President Barack Obama (R) is greeted by Alson Crowther (C) and Ling Young (L) during the dedication ceremony at the National September 11 Memorial Museum September 11 Memorial Museum at ground zero May 15, 2014 in New York City. (credit:Getty Images)
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NEW YORK, NY - MAY 15: Members of the general public watch a screen projection of U.S. President Barack Obama giving a speech during the dedication ceremony at the National September 11 Memorial Museum at ground zero May 15, 2014 in New York City. (credit:Getty Images)
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NEW YORK, NY - MAY 15: U.S. President Barack Obama speaks during the opening ceremony for the National September 11 Memorial Museum at ground zero May 15, 2014 in New York City. (credit:Getty Images)
9/11 How The Internet Reacted
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9/11 How The Internet Reacted On The 12th Anniversary Of The Terror Attacks
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9/11 How The Internet Reacted On The 12th Anniversary Of The Terror Attacks
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9/11 How The Internet Reacted On The 12th Anniversary Of The Terror Attacks
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9/11 How The Internet Reacted On The 12th Anniversary Of The Terror Attacks
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9/11 How The Internet Reacted On The 12th Anniversary Of The Terror Attacks
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9/11 How The Internet Reacted On The 12th Anniversary Of The Terror Attacks
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9/11 How The Internet Reacted On The 12th Anniversary Of The Terror Attacks
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9/11 How The Internet Reacted On The 12th Anniversary Of The Terror Attacks
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9/11 How The Internet Reacted On The 12th Anniversary Of The Terror Attacks
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9/11 How The Internet Reacted On The 12th Anniversary Of The Terror Attacks
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9/11 How The Internet Reacted On The 12th Anniversary Of The Terror Attacks
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9/11 How The Internet Reacted On The 12th Anniversary Of The Terror Attacks
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9/11 How The Internet Reacted On The 12th Anniversary Of The Terror Attacks
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9/11 How The Internet Reacted On The 12th Anniversary Of The Terror Attacks
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9/11 How The Internet Reacted On The 12th Anniversary Of The Terror Attacks