The Madison Children’s Museum is reopening Thursday, requiring masks for all
MADISON, Wis.– After 450 days of silence, the Madison Children’s Museum will once again be filled with ear-piercing shrieks of laughter and pure joy. The museum is reopening to 6,000 member families Thursday, June 3rd and to the general public June 24th.
“We feel like this day feels right now,” said the museum’s marketing director, Jonathan Zarov, standing outside the building on a picture-perfect 75-degree day. “We’re ready.”
Although Dane County’s public health order expired June 2nd, museum staff will still require all visitors ages 3+, vaccinated or not, to wear masks. The museum mostly caters to children under the age of 12, who are currently ineligible for the COVID-19 vaccine.
“We don’t need an order to take care of children and do what’s right for their health,” Zarov added.
Once inside, families will notice several improvements to the 40-year-old museum, 11 of which have been in its current location on the corner of Hamilton Street.
“The rooftop is ever-changing,” Zarov pointed out, “There are always new things growing.”
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Zarov said that, throughout the pandemic, staff have been tending to the rooftop garden, as well as making way for a new exhibit. The museum is currently undergoing a 10,000 square foot expansion, which will include a climbing wall and additional outdoor play space. The renovations were ironically planned before the words ‘social distancing’ were ever coined.
The famous log cabin was hauled back in place Tuesday night, just in time for Thursday’s opening.
“It’s really a new chapter starting tomorrow,” said Zarov.
At first, the museum will be open Thursday-Sunday, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Member families will need to reserve their visiting time online.
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