Explore items from the Great War at the Nation’s only museum dedicated to the history of World War I.  Great exhibits of artillery & ammunition, movies that show the causes and consequences of the war, and ways that people in the U.S. helped during wartime.

Before Your Visit:

• Visit PBS 'Great War' website for videos that highlight the events of World War I.  The sections labeled “Timeline” and “Maps & Battles” are very informative.
• Most teens will have learned about World War I so get their input about what they would like to see at the museum.
• If you want to visit the Observation Deck, call the museum to make sure it will be open (it does close in bad weather).

Explore the WW I Museum:

• At the enterance of the museum, pay special attention to the 9,000 flowers.  Each one represents 1000 people who died in combat during the war; a total of nine million.
• The museum has a great movie that highlights the events leading up to the war, “A World on Edge”.  The panoramic movie area also highlights an impressive wartime display.
• The guns and ammunition allow visitors to see just how big things were during that time.
• One of the most impressive exhibits at the museum are the life-size trenches.  Visitors can view and hear what life was like for soldiers who lived in the trenches.
• The museum has some “Peanuts” comics featuring Snoopy and the Red Baron. Teens may have learned that the Red Baron is based on a real person(s). Ask them how they think Schultz’s comics helped during the war.
• The museum has some great light tables that allow you to create your own war poster, see the inside of a machine gun and examine how camouflage can be used.
• A walk-through crater exhibit shows what happened when a house was struck by a howitzer shell.
• Memory Hall has a series of murals and maps.  There is also a bronze tablet that lists the 441 Kansas Citians who died in WWI, making the memorial a very personal experience.

Learn More: 

  "War horse" is a story of a horse and his owner, who are separated during the war.  It is being made into a movie and will be released in December 2011.

"And in the morning" is the account of a 15-year-old and the experiences he has fighting during WWI.

View National World War I Museum in a larger map