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An exhibit honoring 9/11 first responders and those who died in the terrorist attack at University Place. (Courtesy University Place)

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University Place will have a memorial exhibit honoring those who died and first responders through September. (Courtesy University Place)

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Standing exhibit remembering 9/11 is on display at University Place. (Courtesy University Place)

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A variety of services projects, memorials and remembrances focused on the 20th anniversary of 9/11 are available for families and individuals to participate in.

For the past week, and through September, University Place has a 9/11 memorial in the central entrance gathering place.

This display is in remembrance of the 2,977 people who died on Sept. 11, 2001, in New York, Washington D.C. and Pennsylvania.

“Each star in the display represents 1 person, with the silver stars representing first responders,” according to spokesperson Amanda Butterfield. “The picture mural below the display is a great opportunity to reflect and to talk about what happened that day.”

At Utah Valley University, there is a special “Spontaneous Memorial” and interactive American Flag painting feature as part of the school’s commemoration of the terrorist attacks on 9/11.

Frank McEntire created the “Spontaneous Memorial” collection with inspiration from the impromptu memorials established across New York City after the attacks. The exhibit was first installed at UVU’s Fulton Library in 2004 and has grown as it has traveled to a new home each year. Student curators Alex Coberly, Chelsea Davis, and Chloe Hunter are assisting with the exhibit at UVU, which is located in the Art & Design Gallery in the Gunther Technology Building.

“The student curators selected all the work and wrote panels for the exhibition,” said Jason Lanegan, a UVU assistant professor of art and design. “They were involved in everything. The show wouldn’t be there without the three students.”

Lanegan said a big challenge for the student curators was to give context and meaning to an event that many students may not remember.

“In times of devastation and confusion, what sources can be turned to to find peace and optimism?” Lanegan said. “They are posing those questions throughout the exhibit.”

Other activities include an interactive collaborative art project on Sept. 10 in the breezeway outside the UVU Reflection Center. Students and community members are invited to use red, white or blue paint to place handprints in the pattern of an American flag.

The Reflection Center will also feature a webinar from the National 9/11 Memorial and Museum and a display on how to counter Islamophobia. UVU employees will be on hand to facilitate discussions.

“We want to create a campus where everyone feels welcome,” said Ellie Thompson, the UVU Reflection Center coordinator. “When we are commemorating, we should also be active about trying to counter the Islamophobic ideas that sprang up around 9/11. We have so many Muslim professors and students, and they’re just as much a part of UVU as anyone.”

Throughout Utah County there will be memorials and sirens blowing on Saturday to remember the time of the specific incidents of terror on 9/11.

As decided in the Utah County Commission resolution, displays and events will be held on the west lawn of Utah County Historic Courthouse on Saturday beginning at 8:46 a.m., 9:03 a.m., 9:37 a.m. and 10:02 a.m. There will be concurrent events at many of the city halls and public locations throughout the county.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, along with other churches and non-profits throughout Utah County, will be engaged in a number of services projects Saturday including food drives, clean-ups and making hygiene kits and more.

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