National WWI Museum & Memorial opens new area after biggest renovation since opening

Calling all history buffs.

The National WWI Museum and Memorial has officially opened its newly renovated Bergan Family Galley and Open Storage Center this week. The renovation is the museum’s most extensive update since it opened in 2006, according to museum staff.

The new display includes century-old British and German dolls and games, a machine gun collection, headgear from countries around the world and a wide assortment of heirlooms, tchotchkes and artifacts that tell the story of the first World War, which took place between 1914 and 1918.

Instead of being locked away in a closed storage facility, this new gallery puts artifacts typically in storage on display for guests to check out all year. The renovated lower level spans 4,000 square feet, and the new gallery includes more than 1,500 items.

Vice president of collections Christopher Warren said that although the museum can only put a small fraction of its 350,000-piece collection on display at any given time, this new space will allow the museum to show off some of its more interesting artifacts, even when they are not part of a featured exhibit.

The new gallery and open storage center feature 190 feet of display windows, which are shaped into enclaves to allow visitors to better see and explore all the items on display. When visitors first come down to the lower level, behind the first set of display windows, guests can see the museum’s conservation lab.

The items on display will not be rotated as frequently as other exhibits in the museum, Warren said. There are also no placards next to the items to explain their history, but many of the items were specifically chosen to correspond with certain educational subjects and standards found in Missouri and Kansas schools, according to Lora Vogt, the museum’s education curator.

“There’s a real intentionality from the beginning of the design process to make sure that it’s as accessible as possible to students,” Vogt said. “A teacher can come in and if (they) are talking about technology in the war (in class), it’s right there when you’re looking at the telephones.”

What historic items are on display?

Warren said his favorite part of the open storage exhibit is the headgear collection. He said it’s a great example of the museum’s efforts to tell the story of other nations involved during the war.

Of all the different headpieces on display, Warren is drawn to the story behind two particular helmets used by Germany and the Ottoman Empire. Warrant explained that the Ottoman Empire was a German ally, part of the Central Powers, and their soldiers used German helmets, which included a visor to protect each soldiers’ eyes.

“In the Ottoman Empire, Islam was the main religion. They found very quickly that Islamic soldiers, when they did their daily prayers, wearing the German style helmet, the visor got in the way and would be knocked off,” Warren said.

“So they cut the visor off the front of the helmet for Islamic soldiers to be able to wear and do their daily prayers, and not be encumbered by a uniform that didn’t work for them. That’s really unique.”

In addition to the helmet collection, there is a significant doll and toy collection that features items from the U.S., Britain and Germany. Warren said the toys and games show how children interacted with the war effort.

“Part of the story we tell is not just a story of the soldiers who went off to battle but the way everybody was affected, (including) people who stayed at home,” he said

Vogt and Warren said that the display also attempts to tell the story of women during the war, by including the uniforms and tools that women used while serving as nurses and aids.

“Women played a huge role in this war as well and we try to reflect that in our collection,” Warren said.

Beyond the display

The new lower level is also multipurpose, according to Warren. Beyond the gallery, there is an updated R.A. Long Learning Center, where educators and other groups can rent out to host meetings or classes.

Tucked in the back of the lower level past the learning center, there is the Edward Jones Research Center, where researchers of all kinds are welcome to book free sessions with museum staff and explore items related to their work.

Warren said that businesses and community groups can rent the entire lower level as well, since the items on display are all encased and temperature controlled.

The year-long renovation to the lower level of the museum is part of a larger effort to upgrade the museum’s galleries and improve visitors’ experiences. The museum will begin updating its main gallery space this year and is set to complete renovations by 2025.

“I don’t know that Kansas Citians always recognize what they’ve built for the nation,” Vogt said about the WWI Museum and Memorial. “It really is this treasure that was built for the nation, and it has a global reputation and this new space only adds another layer to what was started a century ago.”

Will the lower level be open on Memorial Day?

Yes.

The museum’s newly renovated lower level opened on May 19 and will be open on Memorial Day. Currently, the museum is open Tuesday to Sunday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Memorial Day will mark the start of the museum’s summer hours, when the museum will be open daily from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. until Veteran’s Day, Nov. 11.

Tickets to the museum range from $10 to $18 and admission is free for museum members and children under 6 years old. In celebration of Memorial Day, veterans and active duty service members will receive free admission and the rest of the public will receive half off admission from Friday, May 26 until Monday, May 29.

To learn more about the museum, visit here.