A new World War I exhibit at the Eudora Community Museum will bring context to the ways Kansan soldiers were affected by the war.

A traveling exhibit called “WWI: Life in the Trenches” will be in Eudora until June 28 and is a collaboration with the Eudora Convention and Visitors Bureau. It will be open for people to explore during the CPA Picnic this summer.

Dozens of men in the Eudora area enlisted in the military during the war, Executive Director Ben Terwilliger said. Eudora’s German immigrants were forced to register as “alien enemies” during the conflict, and anti-German xenophobia was apparent in town during the 1910s, he said.

The museum also has existing artifacts from Eudora veterans, so it ties in with their permanent displays.

“It just seemed like a good fit for our museum,” he said.

 It’s a way to get residents back to the museum to explore something new, and something directly related to Kansas, he said. The exhibit comes from Smoky Hill Museum in Salina. 

The exhibits will be on the second floor of the museum and include informational panels to read, as well as more hands-on items. It gives a wide overview of the war but also focuses on what life in the trenches would have been like for soldiers, Terwilliger said.

It will also be a good opportunity for students to take field trips to the exhibit to further their learning about the war, he said.

Jason Musick, president of the Convention and Visitors Bureau, helped pick this exhibit and  thought this one fit the city best.

With many veterans in town, and with its unique Kansan perspective, it felt like a good choice, he said.

Having a new exhibit to draw people to the museum or to downtown means they may also spend money at local businesses, Musick said.

Admission for both the exhibit and museum is free.