Explore the National World War I Museum and Memorial in Kansas City
I’m always intrigued at how a national world war museum ends up in some of the most unlikely places. For example, the National World War II Museum is in New Orleans. Well, the National World War I Museum and Memorial is in Kansas City, Missouri. Why there? It’s a great question that I’ll answer in a moment. Regardless, the museum offers visitors a look into questions about the first Great War.
One of the first questions I asked one of the docents upon arrival is… Why is this museum in Kansas City, Missouri? It’s simple, really. After World War I ended, a group of 40 people in Kansas City wanted to build a monument to honor those who had served in the Great War. In less than two weeks, they raised $2.5 million from 83,000 contributors. A few years later, the Liberty Memorial was dedicated by President Calvin Coolidge.
In the decades following, the memorial underwent several renovations and upgrades. In 2004, the United States Congress marked it as the nation’s official World War I museum and renovations continued to expand the museum housed below the Liberty Memorial. That’s why Kansas City, Missouri, houses the nation’s memorial and museum to the Great War.
Directions and Tickets to the National World War I Museum and Memorial
There are three main ticket options to consider when planning your visit to the National World War I Museum. The most popular one is general admission to the museum. The second, an elevator ride to the top of the Liberty Memorial Tower. The third ticket option is to access the Wylie Gallery, which houses special exhibits. Ticket prices are listed in more detail at the end of this article.
If you plan to visit at least two of the three places, you’ll want to look at the combo ticket so you can save a few dollars.
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The tickets are designated to a specific day, not time. Just note that the museum is closed on Mondays, but is open Tuesday-Sunday from 10-5 p.m. The tower may close at odd times depending on the weather. During our visit, it was such a hot day that they closed the tower around noon.
The National World War I Museum is located just south of historic Downtown Kansas City (on the Missouri side). There’s a big open space around it, as you can see from the photo taken from the top of Liberty Memorial Tower below (facing south). As you enter, there are parking spots on the main drive, as well as a parking lot on the east side of the plaza – as you can see from the photo below.
After parking, make your way toward the tower, but follow the stairs and path down to the museum entrance.
Exploring the Grounds and Visiting the Museum
The first thing you’ll likely notice as you approach the National World War I Museum and Memorial is the tall tower – known as Liberty Memorial Tower. The grounds around the tower are also impactful and offer spaces to contemplate those who fought in the Great War (1914-1919).
The Memorial Mall (or grassy area located south of the museum entrance) is a quarter-mile long and lined by a double row of sugar maple trees. Other highlights on the grounds include the Great Frieze (a large sculpture representing progression of humankind, from war to peace. There’s also a site dedication wall, a terrace, and two halls.
Walking up to the museum entrance is a Walk of Honor. As you continue toward the museum, down the slight slope, you come to the reflection pool. I’d recommend taking a moment to pause and reflect before you enter the museum. World War I was changed the world, and the artifacts and stories you’ll see in the museum can bring the horrors and honors of the Great War to life.
When you’re ready to enter the museum, use the main entrance. They’ll scan your tickets and then you’re ready to head to the exhibit area entrance and begin your journey. You can ask at the entrance about an audio guide – which is an additional $5. The guide contains 24 stops along the exhibit hall where you can go a little more in-depth to what you’re seeing.
The glass field that takes you from the museum entrance to the exhibit entrance stands above a poppy field. There are 9,000 poppies, each one symbolizing the death of 1,000 combattants from World War I. That means there were 9 million total deaths. The poppies at the museum entrance provide a reverence for the start of your visit.
East Gallery: 1914-1917
The best way to begin your visit is to watch the introductory film. If you miss the start of it, you can begin checking out the first few areas of the exhibit hall, but keep track of time so you can go back and watch the film.
One of my biggest questions I had was “What started World War I?” Well, they had a nice large poster that provided some initial answers and showed the chain reaction that eventually encompassed the globe. In short, Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia, and Russia wanted to support its ally, so they mobilized troops to support Austria-Hungary. Germany wanted to support their ally – Serbia – so they declared war on Russia. France mobilized their troops to support their ally – Russia, so then Germany declared war on France.
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You get the idea. After a while, it was all out war, with each European country – and eventually their colonies – involved in the conflict.
As you venture through this first exhibit area, look through the small windows into the trenches. I can’t even begin to image how horrible life in the trenches could’ve been. You’ll learn about the weapons used, the gasmasks worn to protect against chemical warfare, how the troops passed the time and much, much more.
As you wrap up your visit in the East Gallery, you’ll want to stop at the Kemper Horizon Theater to watch a presentation on life in the trenches. After that, you can move on to the second half of the exhibit hall.
West Gallery: 1917-1919
Do you know why the National World War I Museum is divided into two sections? The east side of the museum focuses on the start of the war, up until America entered it in April 1917. The second portion is about America’s involvement in The Great War. So that’s what you’ll find in the west gallery.
For the first few years of the Great War, America had a policy of neutrality. But as more and more Americans lost their life aboard steamships that were being sunk by the Germans, America changed its policy and declared war on Germany in April 1917.
As you wander through the West Gallery, there are several artifacts and posters from that era worth reading about. For example, there’s the iconic Uncle Sam poster on display – which I learned is actually a self portrait of James Montgomery Flagg – the artist. You’ll find an American flag that flew over the United States Capitol the day President Wilson gave his “Make the world safe for democracy” speech.
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One artifact my son would’ve been particularly interested in was the Renault FT17 tank. This specific tank was damaged during the war, taking a 7.7 cm artillery round from the Germans.
Another iconic area of the West Gallery is a replica of a crater left behind by a 17″ artillery shell, which had destroyed a French farmhouse. The museum does a great job of helping you understand the atrocities of the Great War and preserving artifacts from that moment in history.
In 1919, the war did finally come to an end. Don’t miss seeing a copy of the Treaty of Versailles and reading about how this war ended and set the stage for another global war two decades later.
Explore the Liberty Memorial Tower
There’s something cool about venturing to the top of a tower. The Liberty Memorial Tower at the National World War I Museum and Memorial does offer a great view of the grounds below and the city around you.
However, since we had never been to Kansas City, we had no clue what city sites or buildings we were looking at. Sadly, there wasn’t a guide or anything at the top, so our visit at the top was maybe five minutes.
Access to the tower is generally the same hours for which the museum is open. But a separate tower access ticket is required. Keep in mind that due to inclement weather, the tower may close early or not even open for the day. Check on its status when you first arrive so you don’t miss your chance.
The elevator inside the tower is much better than the stairs we tackled at the Bunker Hill Monument on the Freedom Trail in Boston. But the elevator only takes you so far up. You will be required to walk a few stairs to get to the view at the top.
Once at the top, you can walk around the tower to look all directions. To the south, you’ll see the memorial grounds. To the north, you’ll see downtown Kansas City. Snap a selfie and a few photos, then head down the stairs to ride the elevator to the bottom.
How to Engage Kids at the Museum
If you’ve got younger kids with you, there is a way to engage them at the museum. Grab a copy of the Family Gallery Guide and a pencil at the entrance to the museum. During their visit, they can engage in activities in the booklet to help them understand the Great War.
For example, they can identify the military uniforms that belong to troops in France, Germany, Great Britain, United States or Russia. There are also several questions they can answer or artifacts they can find in a scavenger hunt.
The guide has other activities they can do after the visit. They can navigate through a maze, find hidden objects in a trench or complete a word search. If you want to see what your kids learned during the visit, take a look at the picture they hopefully drew on what they saw at the National World War I Museum.
I know the museum was helpful for me to gain a better understanding of the Great War. It even helped me place the global event on a timeline – I was quizzing my son the other day about when it started, when American joined and when it ended. The museum is pretty dense – lots of information and artifacts – so take in what you can during your visit.
The Details
Address: 2 Memorial Drive, Kansas City, MO 64108 USA
How long to spend: Plan on about two hours, depending on how in-depth you want to go.
Cost: General admission for the museum is $18 for adults (16-64), $14 for seniors (65+) and military (with ID), and $10 for youth (ages 6-15). Children under 6 are free. To ascend the Liberty Memorial tour, it’s $6 per person. There is a Combo Ticket available that includes General Admission and the tower for $25, $21 and $17 respectively.
Hours: Tuesday-Sunday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Between Memorial Day and Labor Day, it’s open daily from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Website: https://www.theworldwar.org/
Phone: (816) 888-8100
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