On July 3, Philadelphia entered the modified green phase of reopening during the coronavirus outbreak. As a part of this green phase, some of the city’s museums and cultural institutions have announced their plans to open to the public.
The Franklin Institute, the Academy of Natural Sciences, the Barnes Foundation, PAFA, Eastern State Penitentiary, the Philadelphia Museum of Art, and the Rodin Museum each announced their reopening in a joint statement. All the institutions in the statement have committed to following safety protocols and guidelines developed by the Center for Disease Control and the Philadelphia Department of Public Health. Upon reopening each museum will require masks for both visitors and staff, advanced registration and timed ticketing, social distancing, limited building capacity, hand sanitizer stations, and plexiglass partitions in certain areas.
Some of these museums also announced their planned reopening dates. The Franklin Institute will reopen the earliest on July 8. The Barnes Foundation will follow on the July 25, and the Academy of Natural Sciences will reopen on July 31. PAFA announced plans to open its doors on September 12.
The Philadelphia Museum of Art, Eastern State Penitentiary, and the Rodin Museum did not announce specific reopening dates. Each institution plans to make its announcement in the coming weeks.
In the statement, museum administration said that they had all been planning for reopening since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. “While these have been trying times for the entire global community, and we will continue to feel the impact of this crisis for the foreseeable future, we are eager to begin welcoming our visitors back soon to find inspiration, educational experiences and solace. If our welcome can’t yet be with open arms, it will certainly be with smiles behind our masks,” leaders said in their joint statement.