National WWI Museum and Memorial

Museum & Memorial operations: shortly after world war i ended, a group of Kansas city leaders formed an Association to create a lasting Memorial to those who served. In 1919, a fundraising campaign resulted in 83,000 residents contributing $2.5 million in 10 days (more than $45 million in current dollars). In 1921, a site dedication hosted more than 100,000 people, including the five major allied commanders, the first time these individuals were in the same place at the same time. Following years of planning and construction, the facility opened in 1926 to a crowd of more than 150,000 people, including u.s. president calvin coolidge. At the time, it was the largest audience a u.s. president had ever addressed at one time. After decades of unaddressed deferred maintenance, the facility temporarily closed in 1994. Once again, Kansas city area residents rose to the challenge at this critical juncture and raised $102 million for renovations and a major expansion to build a world-class Museum below the Memorial courtyard. After achieving National historic landmark status and designation from congress as america's official Wwi Museum, the expanded Museum and Memorial opened to the public in december 2006. Congress added a second designation in 2014, effectively renaming the organization the National Wwi Museum and Memorial. Millions of people from across the nation and globe have visited to see the world's most diverse and comprehensive world war i collection. An institution of the people, by the people and for the people, the Museum and Memorial is Kansas city's gift to the world. As of december 31, 2022, the Museum and Memorial employs 42 full-time and 8 part-time staff. Additionally, in 2022 538 core volunteers provided over 57,045 hours of service. Volunteers greet guests, provide expert tours, provide guidance, support special projects, assist with promotion, answer all questions, provide specialized support to certian initiatives and help to lend a warm, human dimension to multifaceted stories of war and world history. The Museum and Memorial receives financial support from local, National and international funders. Donors include a wide array of individuals, corporations, and foundations whose philanthropy has helped to build enhanced programming and fund operational support for the Museum and Memorial. Admissions, facility rentals, the Museum store, the cafe, and other initiatives are also successful revenue generating sources, bringing in 27% of the Museum and Memorial's income in 2022. The National Wwi Museum and Memorial is proud to be ranked as one of the top museums in the u.s. and the "number one attraction in Kansas city" by trip advisor reviewers.in 2022, attendance at the Museum and Memorial, hosted more than 700,000 people inside the Museum as well as the surrounding 47 acres (an increase of 106% over fiscal year 2013). This included more than 190,000 ticketed guests. In 2022 guests from 22 countries and all 50 states visited the Museum and Memorial. Global audiences from 51 countries participated live in digital field trips and public programming.

Global education initiatives:for the past decade, the National Wwi Museum and Memorial has initiated a variety of strategies to share its rich collection and interpretation to a global audience through digital learning technologies. The Museum and Memorial launched a new website in early 2022 to update the dated design and improve the user experience. The platform integrates video content, offers translation into a variety of languages and streamlines content to make it more available and accessible. By december 2022 it had seen tremendous growth a 55% increase in visitorship over 2021. For virtual learners, the Museum and Memorial uses a variety of tools to reach a digital audience including social media, youtube, its online collections database, educator resources, 19 online exhibitions and more. The Museum and Memorial continues to expand content and diversify platforms, including a partnership with google arts and culture to meet the ongoing needs and interests of core audiences. The Museum and Memorial offers a diverse range of public programs open to all ages to educate about the enduring impact of Wwi on the global community. Its programs explore the legacies of Wwi in dynamic and thought-provoking ways and include a range of topics like photography, ukrainian independence, black service in Wwi and science. Many programs are presented in partnership with the region and nation's most vibrant and respected cultural organizations.community events on the Museum and Memorial grounds, like the stars and stripes picnic or the commemorative ceremonies for Memorial and veterans days, highlight the Museum and Memorial's unique place as "Kansas city's front porch".

Exhibitions and collections management: the National Wwi Museum and Memorial is the nation's only Museum solely dedicated to preserving the history and examining the personal narratives of the great war. The Museum and Memorial holds the world's most comprehensive collection of world war i (1914-1919) objects, artifacts and documents from belligerent nations across the globe that were involved in the conflict. It is the second oldest Wwi collecting institution in the world and presents a comprehensive global interpretation of world war i and its enduring impact.the Museum and Memorial's collection includes more than 368,000 world war i historical objects and artifacts. In 2022, the Museum accepted 124 new accessions into the permanent collection, each of which contains at least one object, with some containing hundreds of objects. Collection priorities respond to immediate research and exhibition needs, as well as unique opportunities that arise. The Museum and Memorial works to ensure that the stories of minorities, women and indigenous peoples who served in Wwi are collected and told through a dedicated collecting initiative launched in 2020. In addition to its permanent exhibitions, the Museum and Memorial features several special exhibitions every year, and partners with other institutions with exhibition loans. 2022 exhibitions featured: black citizenship in the age of jim crow, captured, snapshots, empires at war: austria and russia and an immersive virtual reality experience called war remains.in spring 2022, the first of many new improvements began, kicking off a multi-year initiative to create a richer and more immersive visitor experience by refreshing and expanding the galleries and access to the Museum and Memorial's collection. The new lower level, featuring the bergman family gallery and open storage center, opened to the public in spring 2023. A coastline of glass shelving allows the public to view 1,500 objects that would otherwise be behind closed storage doors. Main gallery renovations will begin in fall 2023 and last into 2025.