Press

A gavel used by Vice President Richard Cheney to convene the 2002 joint session of Congress, held in New York City to honor the World Trade Center (WTC) victims, has been installed in the New York State Museum's World Trade Center gallery.

Governor George Pataki, who also participated in the historic meeting, donated the gavel to the Museum after receiving it from Rep. Dennis Hastert, speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, who presided at the session with Cheney. The joint session was held September 6, 2002 in Federal Hall in remembrance of the victims and heroes of September 11th, 2001.

"The gavel is an important artifact of a truly historic occasion - marking the first time Congress met in New York City since 1790 and only the second time it has met outside of Washington since 1800," Governor Pataki wrote to Speaker Hastert, thanking him for the gavel. Letters from Governor Pataki and Speaker Hastert are on display, along with the gavel, in a newly installed case of the Response section of the gallery.

Other new additions to the Response section include a mixed media collage titled Hindsight, which was created by Kelly Ryan, a high school student from Stillwater, New York and a painting, titled Liberty's Children, by Ron Olden a Reno, Nevada based artist .

The collage was created as part of a class project designed to investigate the nature of hindsight - the comprehension of the meaning of an event that was lacking when it happened. The creative process helped Ms. Ryan to realize that the events of September 11, 2001 are "now a big part of our nation's history, never to be forgotten."

Nevada Artist Ron Olden first presented the painting to the governor of Nevada, who then presented it to Governor Pataki. It was chosen for the Museum's WTC gallery because it represents the far-reaching response to the World Trade Center tragedy.

The collage and painting are among thousands of items in the Museum's World Trade Center Response collection. Items are rotated in and out of the Response section of the museum's permanent exhibition - The World Trade Center Rescue Recovery Response that opened in September 2002.

The State Museum is a cultural program of the New York State Department of Education. Started in 1836, the museum has the nation's longest continuously operating state natural history research and collection survey. The museum is located on Madison Avenue in Albany. Further information is available by calling 474-5877 or visiting the museum website at www.nysm.nysed.gov.

The New York State Museum is located on Madison Avenue in Albany. It is open 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. seven days a week throughout the year except on Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year's Day. Further information about programs and events can be obtained by calling (518) 474-5877 or visiting the museum website at www.nysm.nysed.gov.