Your health and safety are our top priority. While we’ve been apart, our staff has been working hard to prepare to welcome you back. In collaboration with an advisory council of scientists, physicians, and public health officials, we are adjusting some exhibit experiences to ensure your family has a safe and extraordinary visit.
- We've added new live programming in the Sunburst Atrium. Catch a new show frequently throughout the day. Additional programs are available in each exhibit.
- Download the Discovery Guide and within each exhibit search for a treasure trove of objects to excite, inspire, inform, and enchant you. These objects represent only a fraction of the 100,000+ objects in the museum’s collection!
- Our Early Learner's Guide was created to help you and your preschooler have a personal, fun, and meaningful visit to The Children's Museum. It is updated regularly.
Museum-wide Safety Exhibit Updates
- All exhibits in The Children’s Museum will have capacity limits.
- Museum staff will monitor occupancy and if capacity is reached, staff will admit visitors to the exhibit when others leave.
- Some exhibits will have dedicated and separate entries and exits to facilitate social distancing.
- Water fountains are closed. Bottle filling stations remain open.
Lower Level
Dinosphere is closed through March 2022 for construction that will bring giants of the Jurassic to the museum. You can learn about this exciting update here.
To facilitate social distancing, entry to National Geographic Treasures of the Earth is one-way only through the entry to Seti I’s tomb. Visitors exit the exhibit through the underwater shipwreck of Captain Kidd or through the section for the Terra Cotta Warriors.
- Archaeologist and diver costumes have been removed.
- The Terra Cotta dig site and wall dig are closed.
All Aboard!
The following high-touch elements are closed or have been removed for your health and safety:
- Engineer costumes have been removed.
The following high-touch elements are closed or have been removed for your health and safety:
- The revolving bench beneath the Pergola Ceiling is closed.
To facilitate social distancing, entry to Beyond Spaceship Earth is one-way only, through the International Space Station component toward the Schaefer Planetarium and Space Object Theater. Many low-touch interactive elements within Beyond Spaceship Earth are open.
- The Space Sleeping Bag interactive is closed.
- The Spacewalk costumes have been removed.
- The capacity of Schaefer Planetarium and Space Object Theater has been reduced to enable social distancing between household groups. Staff members will seat families/groups.
Lilly Theater has limited capacity—152 seats are available per show on a first-come, first-served basis.
Level 2
The following high-touch elements are closed or have been removed for your health and safety:
- Stethoscopes have been removed from the Sea Turtle Rescue Center.
- Costumes and the strings of the bouzouki have been removed from the Cultural Center.
The following high-touch elements are closed or have been removed for your health and safety:
- Vintage clothing costumes for dress-up have been removed.
- Small mannequins for creating original fashions have been removed.
The feathered T. rex head photo op is open, but The Mann Properties Gallery featuring the John Lanzendorf Collection of Dinosaur Imagery is closed for construction. A new paleo art exhibit will open in March 2022 along with the addition of Giants of the Jurassic™ and Monsters of the Mesozoic Seas™ to Dinosphere®. You can learn more about this exciting update here.
Level 3
Touchable elements are sanitized by staff frequently, and sanitizing wipes are provided for your use. The following elements are closed or have been removed for your health and safety:
- The Music Studio
- Smocks and air dryers are temporarily unavailable.
To facilitate social distancing, seating and capacity have been reduced in Anne’s Secret Annex, Ruby's Classroom, and Ryan’s Bedroom. A portion of Ryan's room is closed for safety during the construction of Malala Yousafzai's home.
- The Post a Response area in the All About Anne area has been removed.
Level 4
Many low-touch interactive elements within Corteva Agriscience ScienceWorks are open. These touchable elements are sanitized by staff frequently, and sanitizing wipes are provided for your use. The STEMLab is open at reduced capacity, but SciencePort is closed. The following high-touch elements are closed or have been removed for your health and safety:
- View the Hill binocular interactive is closed
- The Wentzscopes have been removed.
- Costumes and Field Notebooks have been removed throughout the exhibit.
The following high-touch elements are closed or have been removed for your health and safety:
- Sandy the Mechanical Horse has been removed.
Riley Children's Health Sports Legends Experience® Safety Exhibit Updates
The following high-touch elements are closed or have been removed for your health and safety:
- Costumes have been removed.
The following high-touch elements are closed or have been removed for your health and safety:
- The sculpting interactive is closed.
To facilitate social distancing, the capacity of the outdoor portion of the Riley Children’s Sports Legends Experience® has been reduced, as has the capacity of each sports experience within it. Almost all experiences are open. Touchable elements are sanitized by staff frequently, and sanitizing wipes are provided for your use, especially with provided sports equipment. Please be aware of the following changes and comply with these guidelines for your health and safety:
- Visitors should only play and share equipment with their own household group (for example, do not share footballs or tennis balls).
The Tree of Sports is open with limited capacity.
No additional changes.
The crash landing pad and tackle dummies have been removed from the outdoor Football Experience.
No additional changes.
No additional changes.
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No additional changes.
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No additional changes.
No additional changes.
No additional changes.