Half of the De Soto High School junior class participated in a field trip to the National World War I Museum in downtown Kansas City on Oct. 24. 

DHS history teacher Lynn Hoffman has been taking the junior class on this field trip for five years now. He believes it’s important for the students to experience what the war was like  rather than just learn about it. 

“When you experience something, it makes it more real to you. You value it more because you’re not told what to think or whatever else,” Hoffman said. 

Hoffman said he still picks up on new things every year, even though he already has so much knowledge on the subject. 

“There’s some things each year that the guides say all the time, but every year there’s something I pick up that’s new that I can then put into my classroom,” Hoffman said. 

The museum itself has been open since 1926, and was officially designated by Congress as America’s official World War I museum. 

Students who attended the field trip learned a variety of things about the WWI era they have never focused on in school. Junior Quinn Brownell said that he enjoyed viewing the uniforms at the museums the most. 

“I thought it was very interesting that the French didn’t change their uniforms for 40-plus years and actually had to change them for the war,” Brownell said. 

 Hoffman’s favorite part of the museum was the annual group picture that he takes with the juniors at the front of the museum. 

Although it was not attainable to take the entire junior class on the same day, the DHS staff were supportive of Hoffman and the tradition making sure this event happened.

“The administration here at the building were quick to support me in trying it. It is a pretty complicated thing.” Hoffman said. 

“This year the biggest challenge is the fact that we have such a big junior class that we have to go two different days. It’s just a lot of moving parts.” Hoffman said. 

Hoffman intends to take future juniors to the WWI museum, continuing to give this experience to many students in years to come.