KC: Liberty Memorial

Kansas City doesn't seem like it would be a great destination for a trip, but it had so many surprises. There was one thing that Army of Dad and I were determined to see if nothing else and that was the Liberty Memorial, which is the home to the World War I national museum. I didn't get to see all of it because I had to work, but Army of Dad had a chance to go back and explore all of it. He is going to post about the museum, itself, for me sometime later. This picture shows the grounds. You see the Liberty Memorial tower, which you can go up to the top of, if you'd like. You see the carved stone Sphinxes, called Memory and Future. They guard the south entrance. Something Army of Dad noticed was that they both have their eyes covered. A gal at the museum told me why. The one pointed to the east is shielding its eyes from the atrocities of the battlefield and the one facing west is covering his eyes because none of us knows what the future holds. You also see two museum buildings up top on each end, designed like ancient temples, 93 feet by 46 feet, flank the tower. They had some extra items that weren't into the museum, which is below the tower. There is a lovely reflection pool in front of the entrance there.
The 217-foot tall Memorial Tower is magnificent.
The top features four large stone figures, designed by sculptor Robert Aitken. The figures represent Courage, Honor, Patriotism and Sacrifice. The tower diameter is 36 feet at the courtyard level.

The touristy-shot of us in front of the memorial.

Just inside the museum is the transparent bridge where you see a field of poppies below on a mock battlefield pock-marked with shell craters. The poppies represent those who died in the war. One of the neat aspects of the museum was the way they used all the space available. There were items placed under the floor in transparent spots, displays hanging from the ceilings as well. There were dioramas where you could put your head in a window-like opening and hear the sounds of the war while looking at a scene. It was incredible. I was there two hours and only saw maybe 60 percent of the museum at most. Thankfully we spent the day before exploring the grounds of the Liberty Memorial and didn't try to do that at the same time as visiting the museum. This museum, alone, is worth the trip to Kansas City.