Mickey Kupperman, a.k.a. Grandpa Chip, is the Chief Operating Officer at Silverstein Properties in New York City, the developer of the World Trade Center property. He visited our classes, giving his first-hand, very personal, and completely fascinating account of the events of 9/11, and perhaps even more importantly, the diligent process to preserve the memories and honor the fallen through the REBUILDING of Freedom Tower, the 9/11 Memorial, and additional 3 towers at the site of the tragedy.
Not all of the session was serious and somber. Learning cool facts about the architectural design process and materials selection was fascinating. Watching the Annie movie trailer and spotting entire penthouse levels from the newly built tower was super exciting! In a culminating surprise, Mr. Kupperman busted out the most AWESOME souvenirs EVER! THANK YOU!
We are so grateful for this experience. Having real world professionals share their knowledge, history, and expertise is very important for students. Our classes are STILL buzzing about tidbits from the presentation, questions, and comments about how much they enjoyed the event. I think it sums it up best to say, that upon completion of the presentation, all three 4th grade classes erupted into a lively, repeated chanting of "GRANDPA CHIP!" We hope it expressed a small drop of our overflowing gratitude and that he enjoyed the experience even a fraction as much as we did.