I was very impressed with the museum. Our National Parks Service serves as a neutral third party to the event itself and once again has done and continues to do an impressive job with the running and the upkeep of this monument.

My only disappointment was in the spatial design aspects of the project. I had a difficult time understanding where the building actually sat and the direction in which it faced. I'm a very visual person and I found this frustrating especially after seeing it on TV dozens of times.

One of the most powerful things for me about an historical site is being able to see and touch physical aspects and structures as they were at the time. For example when you go to Dealey Plaza in Dallas the street, the book depository and the "grassy knoll" are all still there in their original form. Nothing has changed. You can drive along the same exact route that Kennedy took. Can you imagine going there to see where Kennedy was shot and the street removed or the depository torn down or the grassy knoll turned into something else? It just wouldn't have the same impact especially after seeing it on TV thousands of times.

Unfortunately that is what happened in Oklahoma City. The building was torn down and imploded, nothing remains save a few panels on the SE corner. The street upon which the building stood is gone, so you don't get any sense of actually "being there" and experiencing the site as it was. The only space left in its original form is Murrah Plaza, an open air space facing 4th Street which employees entered through in what technically was the back of the building. But if you follow signs and park in the Museum parking garage, go to the Museum and exit out to the grassy outdoor area, you'll miss Murrah Plaza completely! A shame because in that plaza is the original fountain, the playground where the daycare children played and we left without seeing any of that. The design of the memorial is to blame. You have to exit out one side of the outdoor area (5th street) and walk AROUND to Murrah Plaza. It's a free outdoor space open 24/7 but completely separated from the Memorial itself.

The reflection pool lays where 5th street once was and where the main public entrance was located. The truck bomb would have been in the middle of the pool right in front of the public entrance to the Murrah Building, (It was actually parked and left in a loading zone). The layout of chairs is spatially accurate and are placed as you would have been looking at the front of the building standing on 5th Street. As mentioned, on either end are these walls serving as an exit from the Memorial with no signage to walk on and view Murrah Plaza. On each wall are times. 9:01 when the bombing occurred and oddly, 9:03. The intention is that 9:03 is when the event "ended." Odd because there is nothing to indicate that the bombing actually went on for exactly two minutes and then to further suggest that the event only lasted two minutes seems to be a shallow view considering the lifetime of trauma experienced by survivors. Yes, of course the explosion itself lasted mere seconds, ok two minutes, but the focus on that in terms of design seems short sighted, even insensitive. In fact, the main criticism of the entire project, similar to that of Ground Zero, is a total disregard for the survivors of the event.

I hope this information even further enhances your experience at the Oklahoma City National Memorial.