Bremen High School District 228 students are honoring the 25th anniversary of the September 11, 2001 attacks through the district’s traveling September 11 Memorial Exhibit, housed this year at Tinley Park High School.

Originally created through a collaboration between the Oak Forest High School IMC and Social Studies teams, the exhibit features newspapers, photographs, flags, videos and other artifacts donated by District 228 staff members.

Student reflections demonstrate the exhibit’s impact. One student wrote that the flag displaying victims’ names “really shows the scale of how much loss we experienced that day.” Another said learning where District 228 staff members were during the attacks provided insight into “what life was like at that time for people we know.”

Students were especially moved by recorded messages from people aboard the planes. One student said hearing someone’s final words to loved ones made the history feel “so tragic and real.”

Now in its second year of traveling among the district’s four high schools, the exhibit allows students to understand the scale of the tragedy, honor the lives lost and consider its lasting impact through personal stories and historical artifacts.