Many of us can’t or don’t want to travel right now, but sometime soon, we hope, we can all get busy on Expedia.com and start planning trips.
Put Kansas City, Missouri, on your list of destinations. It’s the home of the National World War I Museum and Memorial at the Liberty Memorial in downtown Kansas City. The Liberty Memorial, with its 217-foot tower, was dedicated in 1926, but the site was dedicated in 1921 by the five supreme Allied commanders: Generals Pershing of the U.S., Jacques of Belgium, and Diaz of Italy; Admiral Beatty of Great Britain, and Marshal Foch of France.
The Tower itself is not open at present because of Covid-19 restrictions, but most of the main parts of the museum are open. Visitors must wear masks; public spaces are frequently cleaned, and exhibits are spaced to allow for social distancing. Because of occupancy restrictions, the museum recommends buying tickets online.
In addition to its permanent exhibits, the museum presents unique exhibitions and presentations and many of them are available online. A discussion of “The Women of WWI” will be presented, free to all, on Zoom at 7 p.m. CST, Jan. 20, followed by “War Fare: Modern Food, Moral Food” on Zoom at 7 p.m. CST, Jan. 21.
“War Fare: From the Homefront to the Frontlines” also is an online exhibition. Other online exhibitions include “The Volunteers: Americans Join World War I,” about Americans who gave themselves to the war before The United States had even entered the conflict, and “Trenches of WWI,” which offers a tour of the museum’s trenches, country by country.
Another Zoom presentation coming up in January is “Manipulating the Masses,” about the U.S. government’s use of propaganda during the war. 7 p.m. CST, Jan.27.
“Silk and Steel: French Fashion, Women and WWI” is the current special exhibition, available to visitors for an additional admission fee.
The museum is open 10-5 Tuesday through Sunday.
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