After 14 months of closure due to COVID-19, The New Children's Museum in downtown San Diego reopened its doors to the public on Friday.
To celebrate the reopening, the museum held a ceremonial ribbon-cutting where The New Children's Museum Board Chair Caroline Perry and San Diego County officials spoke to commemorate the event. Following the ceremony, families were invited inside.
A number of new health and safety measures will be in place as the museum opens up. Masks and social distancing will be required and tickets must be bought online in advance.
"The tables for paint and clay are set apart 6 to 8 feet so that you can stay with your family unit and you can still create," The New Children's Museum Deputy Director Kerri Fox said.
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"Yeah, that was one of our biggest challenges, is that we are very, very hands-on, but we have reimagined our spaces so that kids can still get that experience," Fox said.
The museum will also be following a phased reopening and, for now, will only be open Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays, and only on the museum's lower level. Two sessions will be offered each day -- from 9 a.m. to noon and 1 to 4 p.m. Tables will be cleaned and reset in between each session.
