Pittsburgh's Carnegie Museums Announce Reopening Dates, New Safety Measures
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- The city's four Carnegie Museums will be back up and running by the end of the month, with safety protocols in place to help prevent the spread of Coronavirus.
Officials with the Carnegie Museum system say the museums will reopen to its members on Friday, June 26, through Sunday, June 28, and then to all visitors starting on Monday, June 29.
Those museums include the Carnegie Museums of Art and Natural History, the Carnegie Science Center, and The Andy Warhol Museum.
President and CEO of Carnegie Museums of Pittsburgh Steven Knapp said in a news release, "We have faced daunting challenges over the past three months, but I am extremely proud of the way our family of museums has continued to serve audiences of all ages and interests through digital offerings that carry our collections and programs directly into their homes. We look forward to welcoming visitors back for the kind of encounters that are only possible when one is face-to-face with a powerful, inspiring, informative object."
Visitors will be on a timed ticket, and everyone must wear a mask and social distance.
The timed tickets will go on sale next Monday, June 15, and be available on all Carnegie Museums websites.
The museums closed on March 14 due to the pandemic. Including masks and the time ticketing policy, museum officials say they are taking a number of other precautions to keep visitors and staff safe.
Those include:
- Limiting the number of visitors to 25% of building capacity at any one time;
- Clearly marked foot-traffic patterns in high-traffic areas;
- Enhanced cleaning protocols;
- Modification of interactive exhibits where possible and placement of additional hand sanitizers near interactive exhibits;
In order to get ready for reopening, museum officials say they have been meeting weekly with more than 30 different museums and arts organizations that span Allegheny, Westmoreland, and Fayette counties. They have all been collaborating on safety plans for reopening.
Carnegie Museum officials say they hope that partnership can continue for other collaborative efforts, including addressing issues like racial equity and ending the cycle of violence and oppression affecting black members of the community.
