ST. LOUIS — St. Louis attractions are beginning to reopen with new safety measures in place as the coronavirus pandemic continues.
The latest to announce its reopening is the City Museum.
It will reopen at 10 a.m. on June 17 with a new safety plan in place and two three-hour sessions per day.
Only 400 guests will be permitted per session to make it easy to spread out, explore, and get through lines in a timely manner, according to a press release.
“We’ve missed this place and we’ve missed the people who love it,” said City Museum General Manager Rick Erwin, “For now, we’ll be open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. seven days a week, for two sessions each day. It will be a chance to explore City Museum without the big crowds, which I think people are going to enjoy. We will slowly phase back into having more hours, reopening the rooftop, and resuming special events when we can.”
Some attractions and galleries will be closed or operate at a limited capacity.
All food and beverage kiosks, retail areas, slides and climbers will operate with lines supervised to maintain safe spacing. Climbers will be one-way. The rooftop, which is usually reached by elevator, will be closed for now and eventually reopened first for members.
Guests over the age of 9 will be required to wear masks, and those who cannot wear masks will be permitted to wear face shields.
New signage will remind guests to wash their hands, sneeze and cough into their elbows, and use 70% alcohol-based hand sanitizer — which will be provided for free throughout the museum — during their visits.
Social distancing squares will help family groups stay at least 6 feet apart from other groups.
Erwin said face masks and social distancing are necessary and something to take seriously in every public space. Face masks will be available to purchase at the museum.
City Museum staff are going through training in the new health and safety protocols and will participate in a daily health screening prior to starting their shifts.
The entire museum will be cleaned before, during, and after each session. There will also be a new clean team.
“We have always taken safety seriously. We will continue our already rigorous practices and add significant new cleaning measures, including the use of a sanitizing cleaning mist, Plexiglas walls between guests and front-facing staff, hand sanitizer stations, and regular wipe-downs during operating hours,” Erwin said.
Tickets for June 17-28 will be available online beginning on June 11.
On June 8, the St. Louis Aquarium and wheel reopened.
The Saint Louis Zoo will reopen on June 13.
RELATED: Saint Louis Zoo to reopen June 13
