Facilitated Programs & Thursday Visits Coming Up

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Beginning June 2 guests will be able to visit the Museum on Mondays, Tuesdays, and Thursdays in addition to our “new normal” schedule. As of June 16, the Museum will offer morning, noon and afternoon sessions Tuesday through Saturday, and noon and afternoon sessions on Sundays & Mondays. Morning sessions start at 9:30 am and end at 11:30 am. Noon sessions begin at 12:00 pm and end at 2:00 pm. Afternoon sessions begin at 2:30 pm and end at 4:30 pm. Capacity will be increased from 20 guests per session to 35 guests per session. Reservations are STRONGLY encouraged but walk-ins are welcome if there is space available.

As we move toward a newer sense of normal, we are also returning to facilitated programs. Thursdays will feature the Kids Craft Lab. Fridays will offer our new and improved Storytime Adventure series. Participation will be limited to a maximum of 8 children at a time and children will be able to choose between two groups per session. There will be a $1 charge to cover the cost of materials. As of Thursday, there will be two new entries in the reservation system to allow guests to choose either the Group A or Group B program during their admission session. Guests can also sign up to participate in either program Group during their visit if space is available. Kids Craft Lab materials will also be available in the Power of Play store for those who would rather take the experience home.

With the increase in Covid-19 vaccinations, people may  be wondering whether the Museum is requiring fully vaccinated people to wear masks or not during their Museum visit. It’s not a simple question. Given that half of our guest population cannot be vaccinated currently, and given that it’s still possible to transmit Covid-19 to unvaccinated people, we’re asking those who are vaccinated to wear masks inside the Museum.  We’re still following the social distancing guidelines, sanitizing all the little parts and pieces guests use to engage with the exhibits, and still requiring reservations. Most likely we will be continuing all of those things into 2022.

Under the Governor’s latest guidelines we are allowed to have as many as 140 guests inside the Museum at the same time. Again, approaching this from the conservative side and considering the vulnerability of our youngest guests, we will continue to limit capacity well below the allowed amount through into 2022.

Guests should expect the following during check-in

  1. When walking into the front door, there is a non-touch hand-sanitizer dispenser. Please use it!
  2. The staff will ask your last name. If you didn’t make a reservation, we’ll have you step to the side and get your name and a phone number for contact tracing and we’ll ask you to verify whether you’ve had Covid-19 symptoms in the last 72 hours and whether you’ve been required to quarantine or been around people who have in the last 14 days.  If you made a reservation, we’ll verify your phone number and ask you to verify that your Covid-19 and quarantine answers haven’t changed since you reserved.
  3. If you have coats or belongings you’d rather not carry with you in the Museum, we’ll point out the coat room and hand-washing station in the Great Lakes Room.
  4. We’ll explain social distancing in the Museum.
  5. We’ll point out the multiple hand-sanitizer stations in the Museum and encourage you to use them.
  6. We’ll tell you how to approach the learning experience in the Museum under Covid-19 and explain our check-in/out and sanitization system.
  7. We’ll show you where the bathrooms are and…
  8. We’ll encourage you to explore, have fun and make the Museum yours.