Natural History Museum Announces Date, Plan For Reopening

UPPER WEST SIDE, NY — Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced Friday that museums and indoor cultural institutions can reopen starting Aug. 24, which means that the American Museum of Natural History can go through with its plan to welcome back guests in September.

The Upper West Side museum recently announced a plan to reopen for members and specially-invited guests on Sept. 2, and then to the general public on Sept. 9.

These dates became valid after Cuomo's announcement on Friday. Phase 4 of the reopening process in New York City initially had allowed low-risk indoor arts and entertainment centers like museums to reopen, but Mayor Bill de Blasio walked back indoor activities of any kind.

The American Museum of Natural History will prioritize three goals when it reopens:

• Protecting the health and safety of its staff and visitors.
• Continuing to deliver on its public service mission and program of scientific research.
• Contributing to the recovery of New York City and the region by welcoming families, teachers, and learners of all ages.

"We believe that the work of this Museum, which is fundamentally grounded in science, has never been more important," said Ellen Futter, the President of the American Museum of Natural History, in a news release. "Institutions such as ours have a critical role to play n restoring our sense of progress and community by bringing us together virtually and physically to learn about the environment and the natural world around us."

There will also be a collection of changes for standard operating hours when the museum reopens on Sept. 9:

The American Museum of Natural History will be open five days a week instead of seven, Wednesday through Sunday, from 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Additionally, the museum will offer exclusively timed-entry tickets that have to be reserved in advance online, as a means of limiting attendance at any one time.

The majority of the museum's permanent halls will reopen, including those containing the Blue Whale and the T. Rex. Also, two special exhibitions will be open that have to do respectively with the exploration of color in the natural world and more information about the T. Rex dinosaur.

The new health protocols getting instituted upon the reopening will include:

• Limiting attendance in the building to 25 percent normal visitation.
• Requiring facial coverings for all staff and visitors ages 2 and up.
• Requiring social distancing.
• Self-screening, including daily temperature checks for staff.
• Implementing enhanced cleaning procedures.
• Adding plexiglass barriers at ticket counters.
• Providing hand sanitizer throughout the building.

The American Museum of Natural History is on 200 Central Park West.

Read More: NYC Museums, 'Low Risk' Cultural Sites Can Reopen Aug. 24: Cuomo