The kidscommons children’s museum in downtown Columbus is reopening to members Aug. 4 and to the public Aug. 11 after months of research and consultation.
Museum board and staff have instituted a new series of safety protocols amid the COVID-19 pandemic, including:
- Touchless, prepaid online ticketing done with barcodes and scans.
- Electronic temperature readings at the door.
- Hand sanitizer at various locations.
- Multiple sets of duplicated play kits, toys and interactive pieces, with “used” sets being replaced with “new” sets throughout the day.
- Two sets of visitation times, with cleaning and disinfecting in between and at day’s end, and also throughout the day.
- A total maximum limit of 40 youngsters at any one time.
- Monitored safe distancing.
- Masks for everyone ages 2 and older.
“We’re moving forward very cautiously,” said kidscommons Executive Director Ben Wagner.
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Click here to purchase photos from this galleryWagner said his staff and board have remained in close contact with other children’s museums such as WonderLab Science Museum in Bloomington for health guidelines and protocols, and relied on help from local health officials such as family physician Dr. Amy Hale and others for medical safety.
“I really appreciate all the thoughtfulness they have put into the process of coming up with a safe and cautious reopening plan,” said Hale, whose family has been strong supporters and regular visitors of the museum. “I definitely would feel safe and comfortable (with my family) there. They’ve put a lot of extra precautions in place to keep everyone healthy.”
Wagner added that tweaks and changes involving safety can be made gradually as needed.
“This is a detailed plan that we currently have,” Wagner said. “But we’re aware that things can change almost every day (with the novel coronavirus).”
For now, the museum, which has been closed since mid-March, will be open Tuesdays through Saturdays and be closed on Sundays and Mondays. In the past, it also had been open for a few hours on Sundays.
Visitors will be able to choose between two three-hour options: 9 a.m. to noon or 2 to 5 p.m.
Wagner mentioned that the museum staff had fielded calls from residents for a few weeks asking when they facility would reopen. Within the first hour of posting new guidelines on its kidscommons.org website, 15 people bought tickets.
The museum recently received a federal Payroll Protection Plan loan of $49,800 to help make up lost revenue during its closing. Wagner said that covers about two months of closure, with added financial losses of nearly $100,000 in busy summer revenue to be recovered gradually over the next year or two.
Besides the loan, reserve funds have been used to keep all staff employed, he said.
“We will come back (financially),” said Lesli Gordon, the museum’s resource development director. “There’s no doubt in my mind. And I believe our community support will be there and follow.”
Wagner said that the museum has not sought financial assistance from area foundations to allow them to tend to helping families with concerns such as job loss and related financial strain.
The museum’s third-floor construction and makeover project is temporarily halted inside the facility. The camping-oriented features are being built out of town, giving staff more space on the floor to distance visitors in a wide-open, partially revamped space for flexible programming, according to Wagner.
Hale, who said her children always enjoy the kidscommons’ climbing wall, expects her family to visit soon.
“They have a really sound plan,” she said.
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Where: 309 Washington St. in downtown Columbus
Open: To members only Aug. 4-8, general public beginning Aug. 11
Shifts available per visit: 9 a.m. to noon or 2 to 5 p.m. Tuesdays through Saturdays
Ticket prices for non-members: $7. Memberships purchased since March 14 still will be good for one year, not including the museum’s time of being closed.
Information: kidscommons.org or 812-378-3046.
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