December Events at National WWI Museum & Memorial

A program examining the effect of World War I on champagne, a taping of the international hit podcast Bombshell, an examination of the role of chemists in the Great War

The sixth annual Truce Tournament paying homage to the Christmas Truce of 1914 and a new exhibition about the environmental impact of the war are among the November offerings at the National WWI Museum and Memorial.

On Tuesday, Dec. 4 at 6:30 p.m., the Museum and Memorial hosts a special live-recording of the hit podcast Bombshell.

The free program features renowned national security experts Loren de Jonge Schulman and Erin Simpson as they host New York Times correspondent and former Navy Explosive Ordnance Disposal Officer John Ismay in a discussion of government transparency, civic obligation and public participation in the War on Terror.

At 6:30 p.m. on Thursday, Dec. 6, uncork the season with a champagne-soaked evening of food, knowledge and revelry as we toast the centennial year of the Armistice withOperation: Uncorked.

Discover connections between WWI and champagne during the latest Operation series event with a conversation featuring Master Sommelier/Master of Wine Doug Frost and enjoy seasonal sips along with tastings from some of Kansas City’s finest restaurants, including Rye, Extra Virgin, Ça Va, the Restaurant at 1900 and Corvino Supper Club & Tasting Room. A limited number of tickets remain available ($35 for Museum and Memorial members, $50 for non-members) at theworldwar.org. Operation Uncorked. National WWI museum and memorial

The U.S. manufactured thousands of tons of chemical weapons and almost four million gas masks while engaged in WWI. On Thursday, Dec. 13 at 6:30 p.m., Linda Hall Research Fellow Gerard J. Fitzgerald shares a free presentation on the environmental impacts of chemical warfare production in the U.S. and the role civilians played in this effort in a free program.

Sporting Kansas City, The Soccer Lot and the Museum and Memorial invite the regional soccer community to take part in the sixth annual Truce Tournament commemorating the Christmas Truce in World War I when soldiers put down their weapons and shared moments of peace during a time of war.

The event is paired with Kansas City’s largest Boxing Day English Premier League Watch Party inside the Museum as well as an optional all-you-can-eat-and-drink buffet ($25). The 3v3 tournament will be played on Memorial Hill with the Kansas City skyline providing an unmistakable backdrop on Wednesday, Dec. 26 starting at 8 a.m. For more information, visit thetrucekc.com.

World War I left behind an unprecedented path of desolate landscapes. By the end of the war, much of the Western Front resembled anything but rolling country sides. Instead, the destruction yielded topography akin to an uninhabited planet.

Opening Tuesday, Dec. 11 in Memory Hall, the new special exhibition Devastated Lands examines the battered lands through a series of jarring photographs and illustrations from the Museum and Memorial’s collection. Ruins from an unidentified town. WWI National museum and memorial

The Museum and Memorial offers a number of family-friendly programs during the month. At 1 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 8, Katherine Mercier from the National Museum of Toys and Miniatures gives a talk on toys and games during World War I and how they were used and understood beyond entertainment for children.

Following the free program, guests will have the opportunity to face off with fellow attendees in a marble match. On Sunday, Dec. 9, the Museum and Memorial welcomes the Living History Volunteer Corps, which will be on site to share stories from the war and bring history to life.

The group will focus on winter holidays and how they were celebrated by soldiers after the Armistice in November 1918. Guests will have the opportunity to ask Living History Volunteer Corps members questions and view WWI objects up close. Also on Sunday, Dec. 9, the Museum and Memorial offers its free annual screening at 2 p.m. of the Oscar-nominated film Joyeux Noël, which depicts the true story of the 1914 Christmas Truce. Christmas Day truce between Germany and Britain, 1914.

Additionally, the Museum and Memorial offers its Hands-on History program every Saturday at 11 a.m. in which people can handle and inspect real World War I artifacts such as helmets, mess kits, binoculars and more.

The National WWI Museum and Memorial holds the most comprehensive collection of World War I objects and documents in the world and is the second-oldest public museum dedicated to preserving the objects, history and personal experiences of the war.

December National WWI Museum and Memorial Events

• Every Wednesday: World War Wednesdays (all general admission tickets $8)
• Every Thursday, 2:30 p.m.: Complimentary Tour (FREE with paid admission)
• Every Saturday, 11 a.m.: Hands-on History (FREE)
• Saturday, Dec. 1, 10:30 a.m.: Mrs. Wilson’s Knitting Circle (FREE with RSVP)
• Tuesday, Dec. 4, 6:30 p.m.: Over There! (Over Where?) (FREE with RSVP)
• Thursday, Dec. 6, 6:30 p.m.: Operation: Uncorked (Tickets at theworldwar.org)
• Saturday, Dec. 8, 1 p.m.: Playing for Keeps: WWI and Toys (FREE with RSVP)
• Sunday, Dec. 9, All Day: Day in the Life with Living Historians (FREE)
• Sunday, Dec. 9, 2 p.m.: Joyeux Noël screening (FREE with RSVP)
• Thursday, Dec. 13, 6:30 p.m.: The Chemists’ War (FREE with RSVP)
• Saturday, Dec. 15, 10 a.m.: Wreaths Across America (FREE)
• Wednesday, Dec. 26, 8 a.m.: Truce Tournament