Cincinnati Museum Center, Holocaust & Humanity Center plan to reopen July 17; Guest safety is a top priority

After a four-month shutdown, the Cincinnati Museum Center (CMC) and the Holocaust & Humanity Center (HHC) run by Nancy & David Wolf are planning to reopen on July 17th.

Both museums, which share the Union Terminal as a home, have taken extensive measures to ensure the safety of guests and employees when they reopen. Visits with a dinosaur or a tour of HHC’s Humanity Gallery may be slightly different, but it doesn’t mitigate the impact of the experience.

HHC’s Humanity Gallery.

Steps CMC and HHC are taking to ensure the safety of their guests and staff include the introduction of season tickets for both general museum admission and exhibitions such as Maya: The Exhibition. Timed tickets help manage the number of people in each museum and ensure adequate social distancing of at least two meters.

The seating arrangements in HHC’s theaters have also been reconfigured to ensure guests are six feet apart. Given the high touch nature of some of the CMC exhibits, certain areas will be offline when they reopen, but CMC is working on adapting other interactive elements for guests’ personal mobile devices.

Extensive cleaning protocols ensure that the building is cleaned clean and hygienic several times a day, including paying special attention to areas of high contact point such as doors, elevators, handrails, countertops and toilets. For the safety of guests and colleagues, masks are worn by both CMC and HHC staff at all times and they ask all guests to do the same.

In addition, signage and floor markings will encourage guests to stick to the social distance of two meters recommended by health officials.

After a four-month closure, the Cincinnati Museum Center and Nancy & David Wolf’s Holocaust & Humanity Center are planning to reopen on July 17th.

“We are doing our part to create a safe and clean environment for our employees and guests, and we ask everyone to responsibly experience our museum,” said Elizabeth Pierce, President and CEO of the Cincinnati Museum Center. “The community makes our museum and we need our community to make sure it stays a safe place for everyone.”

Since their temporary closure on March 14, both CMC and HHC have expanded their online and virtual offerings. CMC has put popular programs like STEM Girls and Story Tree Time online, and has added weekly Facebook live conversations with its curators, fashion tutorials over time with vintage beauties, and science experiments at home. HHC continues its weekly Holocaust Speaker Series online and gives survivors a voice through social media.

“Working with our partners at the Cincinnati Museum Center, the safety of our guests and employees is our top priority,” said Sarah L. Weiss, CEO of the Holocaust & Humanity Center. “Museums have always been a place of community identity and our role will be important as we move forward in this challenging year.

“We look forward to interacting with you again and having meaningful experiences that will enable Cincinnatians to learn from history and be inspired to create a better future.”

CMC and HHC will provide more details on their reopening plan in the next few weeks.

From the Cincinnati Museum Center