On June 28, 1914, Archduke Franz Ferdinand was assassinated, thus putting the events into motion that led to the First World War. The War lasted four years and killed roughly nine million soldiers. Nestled within Kansas City's monumental Liberty Memorial to those who died, the World War One Museum further honors the fallen by taking an in-depth, educational look at what was achieved in defense of liberty, and has often been forgotten due to our country's fixation on World War Two.
Although Liberty Memorial has been open since November 11, 1926 (eight years after the end of the war), the WWI Museum opened December 2, 2006, and has sustained the public's attention ever since. This museum is unlike others because it is the only one in the United States dedicated solely to WWI. The museum has received media attention and visitors from around the world, with good reason.
Despite the bad rap that museums have often received for lacking appeal to the average patron, the WWI Museum has effectively combined facts about the war with artifacts, movies, trench simulation, and interactive table tops that allow the patron to see elements of WWI in action.
The museum opens to the powerful display of a glass bridge that overpasses 9,000 red poppies, each representing a thousand lives lost to the war. Patrons then watch a movie about the events leading up to World War One and proceed into the museum, where walls, movies, and relics of the era are put on display. A person could easily spend an entire day browsing through all of the material.
An integral part of WWI was the trench warfare that left troops in stalemate for months at a time, only gaining or losing minimal stretches of land. One of the most captivating features of the WWI Museum is its trench simulation. Visitors take a peak into the conditions that soldiers endured in the trenches and hear quotes from those who fought in them.
In addition to the quotes heard in the trench simulation, visitors are encouraged to sit down for a bit inside one of the many booths and listen to the music of the era, and speeches given by world leaders. Hearing these sound clips connects the patron to those who lived during that time in history.
Overall, the museum is a great way to spend the day remembering where our country has come from, while paying respect through remembrance of the people who died so that we might live in comfort. The museum is certainly not lacking in information and has something to offer to scholars and children, alike. Though some have worried that the technology used to display the information would take away from the simplicity that characterized the WWI era, it only adds to the impact of what the war really meant to our country and the world.
Patrons are encouraged to volunteer their time if the museum has piqued their interest of WWI, and if they want to help keep the flame of remembrance lit.
The World War One Museum is open Tuesday through Sunday from 10am to 5pm. Parking is free, and general admission runs from $8 for the museum, $4 for the Liberty Memorial Tower, and $10 for both.
For further information on the WWI Museum and how to volunteer visit the WWI website at, http://www.libertymemorialmuseum.org/index.aspx.
Copyright 2008 Metropolitan Community College