9/11 museum to charge $24 entrance fee

The 9/11 Memorial Museum will charge $24 for a general admission ticket, according to an announcement made by museum president Joe Daniels. Daniels said the decision was made by the museum's board and the funds generated will go towards ensuring the museum's financial health and necessary operational costs.

"The 9/11 Memorial does not yet receive government support for ongoing operations as many other important museums of our national history do," said Daniels. "9/11 family members are free and there will be discounts for various groups, including seniors, youth and NYC schools. Each week there will also be hours set aside for the general public to enter for free."

A spokesperson said the museum will be free to the public from 5-8 p.m. every Tuesday evening. The fee will go into effect when the museum opens in May, but they hope to begin selling tickets by March.

Daniels said the fee, "will help fulfill our obligation to commemorate and preserve the history of 9/11. It will also enable educational programming that will teach the nature of and responsibility for the special freedoms we have."

The 9/11 Memorial has had more than 11.5 million visitors since opening two years ago.