I'm a part time history guide in a New Zealand WW1 Museum. I know all the 'big facts' but am searching for those little tid-bits that can entertain school kids (ages 5-14). All of us guides are massive history nerds but communicating this long war into school tours (which we have to do) is a bit hard.
The exhibit focuses on the Western Front and includes real guns, tank, cannon, uniforms, etc.
Thank you in advance.
I'm not very familiar with NZ history, but I recently adopted a unit of American soldiers who liked games, so I came up with trivia for them. For me, I used pop culture (generally movies) that featured the military (e.g. "In what movie was R. Lee Ermley allowed to improvise most of his dialogue?" - Full Metal Jacket). This might be hard for you because most younger kids aren't watching war movies, but maybe the older kids would know a few.
I also looked up silly bits, like the most decorated dog in WWI (for the Americans, this was "Sergeant" Stubby, who warned of incoming mustard gas, comforted the wounded, and even once caught a German by the seat of his pants and held him until soldiers could arrive). I'd imagine if you can find details related to animals (war horses, war dogs), this would interest younger kids - e.g. "We have this big, huge tank, but did you know during WWI they still used horses too? They even had gas masks for their horses, like this."
I wonder if you could pass around a replica helmet for kids to try on, then let them know "in addition to that uncomfortable thing, you'd have to carry X amount of weight every day if you were a soldier!"
Sorry this isn't as helpful as it could be. I wish you luck; museums are awesome, and it's awesome you're a guide there.
Don't have an answer but please join us at /r/museumpros!