The Memorial Museum is an interactive learning experience that takes you on a chronological self-guided tour through the story of April 19, 1995, and the days, weeks and years that followed the bombing of Oklahoma City’s Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building. The story tracks the remarkable journey of loss, resilience, justice and hope.
We encourage all visitors to download the Memorial App which has video and audio tours for the Outdoor Symbolic Memorial and Memorial Museum. Search OKCNM in the Apple App Store and in Google Play.
Chapter 1 – A Day Like Any Other
Experience a brief orientation video on A Day Like Any Other and begin to understand the Mission of the Memorial and Museum.
Chapter 2 – History of the Site
Discover the history of the neighborhood in and around the Murrah Building.
Chapter 3A – A Hearing
Hear the official recording of an Oklahoma Water Resources Board meeting from April 19, 1995. The meeting, just across the street from the Murrah Building, starts at 9:00 a.m. A mere two minutes in to the recording, you will hear the sound of the bombing that changed us forever.
Chapter 3B – Confusion
Leave the confusion inside the Oklahoma Water Resources Board meeting to experience the chaos outside. Here, you’ll see helicopter news footage of the ravaged building taken at 9:13 a.m. – the first images broadcast.
Chapter 4A – Chaos
Experience the first frantic minutes after the bombing through detailed artifact cases, murals and computer kiosks.
Chapter 4B – Survivor Experiences
See the chaos and the initial rescue response of the first hour-and-a-half after the bombing. A stirring video documents the scene and survivors tell their own stories. Interactive touch-screen computers provide more in-depth information.
Chapter 5A – World Reaction
Step into a fast-paced media environment that shows news footage and special bulletins from around the globe about the bombing.
Chapter 5B – Rescue & Recovery
Encounter the true face of rescue and recovery with incredible stories of trapped survivors, rescue workers, the medical community, construction volunteers and others. And amid the search for victims, something else is recovered – a key piece of evidence.
Chapter 6 – Watching & Waiting
Learn more about rescue and recovery operations, USAR teams, the Family Assistance Center and the Oklahoma Standard. Experience a national outpouring of care and concern through cards and letters. Finally, feel the impact of special ceremonies marking the end of rescue and recovery efforts.
Chapter 7A – Gallery of Honor
Honor the lives of the 168 who were killed. Here, in the Museum’s most beautiful room, the families display personal photographs and artifacts of their loved ones. Interactive computers provide their personal stories.
Chapter 8 – Impact & Healing
Hear oral histories from family members, survivors and rescue workers about the first years following the bombing. You will also learn about changes that happened in our community and country following the bombing that now impact us all, how family members and survivors led an effort to pass new Congressional legislation and how a community rallied to remember and to memorialize.
Chapter 9 – Investigation & Justice
See key pieces of evidence on the trail of evidence used to piece together the case against the conspirators, including crime scene photos, the getaway car, parts of the rental truck, evidentiary boards from the trials and accounts from investigators and justice team members who worked together to bring justice. You can follow the trail of evidence on interactives that allow you to see up close the pieces of evidence.
There is a section of the Journal Record Building left in its damaged state to show the impact of violence and the devastation. You will learn how it was more than just this city block damaged by the bomb.
Chapter 10 – Responsibility & Hope
As you turn the corner in the Museum you begin to understand the depth of the rebuilding that took place and the renaissance of Oklahoma City. From the Memorial Overlook you see the Memorial grounds from a new perspective and a city changed forever by an ever-changing skyline that is part of the hope that people have found. But hope doesn’t come without a sense of responsibility. Experience an interactive exhibit where you make choices and understand the impacting consequences.