Currently at the Memorial & Museum
2010, A Year in Review
15 Years After the Bombing of the Oklahoma City Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building
December 30, 2010
As we pause to reflect on the past 12 months, we do so with a great deal of pride at the lives changed and the success of spreading our message of respect, resilience and responsibility. Many find it hard to believe that it has been 15 years since the devastating bomb blew a hole in the heart of downtown Oklahoma City, killing 168 lives and injuring hundreds. Children and some teenagers weren’t even alive and wouldn’t know what happened if it weren’t for the stories told within the Museum walls or on the Memorial grounds. That realization gives us a sense of urgency to continue to teach. We have to make sure that those of us who lived through it come to understand how the terror was transformed into a willingness to come together to defeat the enemy. We also realize each day that we have to continue to teach this story so that those who come behind us understand the Lessons Learned, and how the city we know and love today is a much different place than in 1995. That alone is a lesson learned.
None of this would be possible without the help of hundreds. The Memorial & Museum is owned and operated by a private foundation and receives no annual government appropriations. Admission paid to the Museum funds the stories told within its walls and the maintenance of the entire 3.3 acre site. We are thankful each year hundreds of people give gifts, large and small, to help us teach this story through our programming and preservation, which makes the Oklahoma City National Memorial & Museum a one of a kind institution. The federal government provides the National Park Service to work beside the Oklahoma City National Memorial Foundation to interpret the Outdoor Symbolic Memorial. Together, we balance the sensitivity of marketing this meaningful place to thousands of school children and nearly a half-million tourists, while at the same time working to preserve the site and remain relevant through educational programs and a growing archive of oral histories. As we reflect on 2010, we say thank you for these important highlights and we remain ever grateful for your support.
Kari Watkins
Executive Director
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