National World War One Museum at Liberty Memorial

National World War One Museum at Liberty Memorial Review

On the crest of a hill at the northern edge of Penn Valley Park, north of Westport, is the National World War One Museum at Liberty Memorial. Visitors enter the nation's only official World War I museum via a glass walkway suspended over a poignant field of 9,000 faux poppies, each representing 1/1000 of the 9 million soldiers killed during the war. The facility houses a research center and interactive exhibits that examine the stages of the conflict—and the world—before, during, and after America became involved. Special features include audio alcoves, a reproduction of trench warfare, two films, and interactive tables where visitors can use laser pointers and a computerized surface to create take-home souvenirs. The museum is attached to the Liberty Memorial ($4), a tower built in 1921 to commemorate the war. Extensive structural renovation, completed in 2002, has stabilized the tower's 217-foot observation deck and improved the original underground museum.