Destination: N.C. Museum of History's North Carolina and World War I

The most remarkable thing about the 36-square-foot World War I battlefield diorama isn't the detail, down to the barbed wire and burlap on the trenches or, even, that a father and his two sons built it a decade ago in their garage.

It is that the father, Jackson Marshall, and his now adult sons, Stuart and Dalton, played out elaborate battlefield games on the massive spread, following Jackson Marshall's meticulous rules that included everything from the way the wind might be blowing the German's poison gas to the sight lines from within the trenches.

"We're both pretty thrilled to have it on display," Stuart Marshall said.

Jackson Marshall is the museum's deputy director and project manager and curator of the new exhibit. Marshall's interest in World War I was kindled as a child, who wanted to know more about his own grandfather's WWI service. Marshall would eventually interview other World War I veterans and take his family to France to explore World War I battlefields.

The new exhibit is, in many ways, a labor of love for Marshall, whose grandfather's own World War I jacket and gas mask are on display in a rotating family heirloom case. And Marshall said the goal has been to make the exhibit accessible to all, including children, who might visit the exhibit and have their own questions.

"We want this to be an exhibit where you don't have to read everything," Marshall said.

It starts at the beginning - with a series of videos featuring actors, mostly local kids, playing children from different countries speaking, in their own language, about their country's feelings about the war.

Then, it follows a soldier's path from the recruitment office to basic training to the stomach churning sea voyage to France. From there, with the help of a life-size, immersive trench, visitors can explore other aspects of the war, including the weapons, relics, a field hospital, the stories of North Carolina veterans and that large battlefield diorama.

Throughout the exhibit, there are plenty of videos and interactive pieces that will keep a child's attention. It's probably best for fourth graders and up.

If you go with children, here are some things that might pique their interest:

A word of warning: In parts, the exhibit relies on bright lights, flashing lights and loud noises, which might disturb some young children or those with sensory issues. The video in the poison gas gallery and the brief footage from the original, 1930 version of "All Quiet on the Western Front" in the no man's land gallery also may be frightening for very young children. But it's easy to bypass the poison gas gallery and scoot by the movie footage.

The exhibit ends just as it begins ... but about a decade later. Those children featured at the very beginning are grown. And, now they are fearful about the start of a new war ... World War II.

North Carolina and World War I runs through Jan. 6, 2019. Admission is free.