After what will be a four-month closure, Cincinnati Museum Center (CMC) and the Nancy & David Wolf Holocaust & Humanity Center (HHC) are planning to reopen on July 17.
Both museums, which share Union Terminal as a home, have taken extensive measures to ensure guest and staff safety upon reopening. Visits with a dinosaur or tour through HHC’s Humanity Gallery may be a little different, but the impact of the experience will not be diminished.
HHC’s Humanity Gallery.
Among the steps CMC and HHC are taking to keep its guests and staff safe is instituting timed tickets for both general museum admission and featured exhibitions like Maya: The Exhibition. Timed tickets will help manage the number of people in each museum, ensuring proper social distancing of six-feet apart or more.
Seating arrangements in HHC’s theaters have also been reconfigured to ensure guests maintain distances of six feet from each other. Given the high touch nature of some of CMC’s exhibits, certain areas will be offline upon reopening but CMC is working on adapting other interactive elements for guests’ personal mobile devices.
Extensive cleaning protocols will ensure the building is clean and sanitized multiple times per day, including particular attention to high touchpoint areas like doors, elevators, handrails, countertops and restrooms. For the safety of guests and colleagues, masks will be worn by both CMC and HHC staff at all times and they are asking all guests to please do the same.
Additionally, signage and floor markings will encourage guests to abide by the six-foot social distancing recommended by health officials.
After a four-month closure, Cincinnati Museum Center and the Nancy & David Wolf Holocaust & Humanity Center are planning to reopen on July 17.
“We are doing our part to create a safe, clean environment for our staff and guests and we’re asking everyone to please experience our museum responsibly,” said Elizabeth Pierce, president and CEO of Cincinnati Museum Center. “The community makes our museum and we need our community to help ensure it remains a safe space for everyone.”
Since their temporary closures on March 14, both CMC and HHC have increased online and virtual offerings. CMC has taken popular programs like STEM Girls and Story Tree Time online and added weekly Facebook Live conversations with its curators, fashion tutorials through time with Vintage Beauties and at-home science experiments. HHC continues its weekly Holocaust Speaker Series online and given survivors a voice through social media.
“Working in unison with our partners at Cincinnati Museum Center, our top priority is the safety of our guests and employees,” said Sarah L. Weiss, CEO of the Holocaust & Humanity Center. “Museums have always been a place that help shape community identity, and our role will be an important one as we move forward during this challenging year.
“We look forward to interacting with you all again, while offering meaningful experiences that allow Cincinnatians to learn from history and be inspired to shape a better future.”
CMC and HHC will share more details of their reopening plan during the next several weeks.
From Cincinnati Museum Center
