Preparing to reopen - American Alliance of Museums
Last updated May 4, 2020
by American Alliance of Museums
Download AAM’s resource guide on museum reopenings
Click here to see sample reopening plans
Share your museum’s reopening plans and stories!
Develop a phased timeline
A gradual approach allows your museum to prioritize health and safety while taking progressive steps to restore regular operations. It also provides flexibility for regular monitoring and revision of your plan.
Prioritize health and safety
Follow CDC and OSHA/HHS guidance as well as orders and recommendations from federal/state/ local governments and your state and local health officials. Review and incorporate into your plan relevant guidance for communities, workplaces, and events.
Establish clear cleaning protocols
Update your museum’s cleaning protocols based on CDC recommendations for cleaning and disinfecting facilities and industry-recommended practices for collections care. If you operate a food-service area, follow FDA best practices.
Review and update your workplace policies
Policies for employee leave, telework, and compensation should be reviewed and updated to protect your staff, provide flexibility, and allow sick employees to stay home.
Restrict contact, capacity, and access
As part of your museum’s phased approach, consider how you will limit person-to-person contact, monitor the number of visitors, and restrict or prohibit access to certain areas of the museum.
Provide training for staff
Museums should provide training for staff to protect staff and promote safe interactions with visitors. The National Institutes of Health (NIH) offers educational resources intended for workers who are at greatest risk of exposure during the COVID-19 pandemic. Staff should be given clear guidelines for how to respond if visitors are not following health and safety protocols, such as alerting museum security or a high-level supervisor.
Communicate clearly and frequently
Communicate proactively with both staff and the public about your plans and the protocols in place for their health and safely. Research from Edelman found that people consider employer communications the most credible source of information about COVID-19, and we know that museums are among the most trusted institutions in their communities (see “Museums are Trusted” section of AAM’s Museum Facts and Data). Our institutions can play an important role in assuring staff and educating the public about the science and facts of COVID-19.
Coordinate your approach and connect with the museum community
Connect with other museums in your community for consistency and supply sharing.
Join the robust conversation on Museum Junction to learn alongside your peers.
Participate in #AAMvirtual, AAM’s virtual convening on May 18 and June 1-4, where the museum community will address how we can overcome the current threat and rebuild a more sustainable, inclusive, and powerful museum field for the future.
Sample reopening plans
To help museums share thinking as they navigate the challenges and uncertainties of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Alliance is compiling examples of reopening plans from individual institutions. These plans are specific to each museum’s circumstances and are not meant to be definitive guidance for developing your own. Instead, they provide a reference for what other museums are considering as they chart a course toward safely reopening.
Baxter Springs Heritage Center and Kansas Route 66 Visitors Center
Patuxent River Naval Air Museum Covid-19 Virus Response Plan
Check the Alliance’s reopening guide frequently for updates, as we will be adding new examples as we receive them. If you have a plan or perspective on reopening you’d be interested in sharing with the broader museum field, please contact content@aam-us.org.