A steel beam from the World Trade Center will be included in the exhibit at the National Law Enforcement Museum about the 9/11 terrorist attacks, according to the fund launching the museum.

The National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund (NLEOMF) acquired the 5-foot structural beam weighing 2,200 pounds from the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. It was collected from Ground Zero, and will be on display, when the museum opens in late 2013.

Among the thousands who died during the 9/11 attacks were 72 law enforcement officers, including 37 from the New York and New Jersey Port Authority and 23 from the New York Police Department.

The acquisition of this artifact will better enable the museum to illustrate the events of 9/11 and law enforcement's response to the terrorist attacks, according to Craig W. Floyd, chairman and CEO of the Memorial Fund.

"I am excited that the Memorial Fund was among a handful of groups selected to receive a piece of history such as this," according to Floyd. "This artifact will help our efforts to share with the American public the sacrifices made by so many on that tragic day, when we lost more law enforcement officers than any other day in our nation's history."

Part of the museum's core exhibitions include a History Time Capsule exhibition that looks at the history of U.S. law enforcement. Currently, the Museum has several items from 9/11, including a tool box, air tank, American flag, and piece from one of the airplanes.

The National Law Enforcement Museum was authorized by Congress in 2000 and is an architecturally inspiring, 55,000-square-foot, mostly underground museum that will be located adjacent to the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial in downtown Washington, D.C. The museum will tell the story of American law enforcement through high-tech, interactive exhibits, collections, research and education.