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Post links (or add files) of any resources you have found for re-opening Museums or VC's

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Support Free COVID-19 Resources for the Field:
These resources have been taken out from behind the member paywall to make them free and accessible for all. The current crisis is taking a distressing financial toll on cultural organizations, and AAM is no different. In these challenging times, we ask that if you can, consider supporting our advocacy work and making extensive COVID-19 resources freely available for our field, bymaking a donation or becoming a member of AAM. Thank you for your much-needed support.
The American Alliance of Museums recommends that museums build flexible plans for reopening that are regularly reviewed and refined based on the latest science. This guidance is based on the best available information as of publication and is not intended to supersede guidance from public health officials, medical experts, and federal/state/local governments. Museums are encouraged to seek legal and other expert advice on their specific circumstances. Below are some thoughts for reopening.
Last updated May 4, 2020
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. With some States requiring the use of face masks and some areas suggesting people wear masks, here are some considerations to think about when crafting face mask policies.

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.

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.

Help other museums by sharing your plans and stories

Additional Resources

The Alliance blog shares:

AASLH is sharing a lot of useful content in blog posts and recorded webinar format:

The American Camp Association has released a detailed guide to reopening, as well as sharing the CDC's helpful decision tree to make decisions about reopening camps this summer.

The American Library Association (ALA) has a set of useful resources, including a checklist, for reopening on its website.

American Enterprise Institute has posted a National coronavirus response: A road map to reopening.

Artnet News shares several useful posts on reopening, including:

Arrivalist's Daily Travel Index measures consumer road trips of 50 miles or more in all 50 U.S. states, helping the travel and tourism industry monitor travel activity to inform forecasting and plans for recovery. They are now publishing a Weekly Briefing in their blog.

Buffalo Bill Center of the West has reopened. Look at their website for their guidelines for visiting.

The CDC released several useful guides on resopening protocols:

From Curae and Newfields this Long-Term Closure Re-Entry Checklist for Cultural Institutions and Collections Care Stewards provides a comprehensive list of items to consider when reopening a museum.

Cuseum is conducting weekly webinars on various topics and has developed this community document where museums are posting their reopening plans and policies. The webinars include the following:

This guidance from insurance firm DeWitt Stern includes information on developing a three-stage plan, and on human resources strategies.

Disney has posted its liability disclaimer that could be useful to museums considering reopening.

For sites with restaurant or cafe's on-site Entrepreneur magazine has posted 5 Ways Restaurant Owners Can Prepare for Reopening.

The Event Safety Alliance's Reopening Guide addresses health and sanitary issues that event and venue professionals need to consider in order to protect both patrons and workers.

Gensler is writing a lot of helpful blog posts about what will happen in offices, including:

Huntington T. Block has developed a list of things to think about when getting ready to reopen.

ICOM's blog post on Museums and end of lockdown: Ensuring the safety of the public and staff offers good advice on how to prepare sites for reopening. They have also published this report on museums and COVID-19.

The International Facilities Management Association (IFMA) created a Pandemic Manual that covers a range of areas (staff, facilities, risk, food services) and helps facilities management professionals deal with safety and security before, during, and after a pandemic.

JD Supra has posted Navigating ADA Issues in the Time of COVID-19: Four Situations Employers Should Be Prepared For.

Johns Hopkins University has developed a useful resource to guide governors in making decisions on reopening in Public Health Principles for a Phased Reopening During COVID-19: Guidance for Governors

Kroger Food and Drug has developed a blueprint of what they learned remaining open during COVID-19.

Know Your Own Bone, is covering a lot of topics related to what to think about when the museum begins planning for reopening, including:

The Long Island Children's Museum has posted its Cleaning Procedures, online.

Membership Consultants conducted a webinar on How to Prepare for When Your Institution Reopens discussing reopening strategies for membership and fundraising efforts.

The National Center for Preservation Technology and Training (NCPTT) has recorded several useful resources on COVID-19 response and preparation, including:

The National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences has developed comprehensive COVID-19 Response Training tools to help organizations prepare for reopening.

The National Restaurant Association partnered with the FDA to develop this set of guidance for reopening safely.

The National Safety Council has created a taskforce charged with developing guidelines for employers to create safe workplaces in a post-COVID-19 world.

NASCIO has developed a COVID-19 planning and response guide for State CIOs that includes information on planning and preparedness for reopening.

The New England Museums Association conducted a Town Hall Discussion on how museums should plan to reopen in the New England region.

The Oklahoma Museums Association shares a museum "open to the public" guidance.

OSHA provides its Guidance on Preparing to Workplaces for COVID-19.

PerchMade created this useful toolkit on the path forward.

PGAV Destination's weekly Deep Dive includes topics like retail and face masks for museum reopenings, as well as data from recent surveys they conducted with H2R on travel.

Points of Light has developed a set of guidelines for in-person corporate volunteering that has some helpful information on involving volunteers in reopening plans.

This blog post from Smartify published on Medium gives suggestions for Museums and Social Distancing: A Planning Toolkit.

This Disability Issues Brief from the Southeast ADA Center and Burton Blatt Institute (BBI) at Syracuse University includes information on when a business should and should not modify a mask policy to be in compliance with the ADA.

The Texas Department of State Health Services provides guidance on Opening the State of Texas.

The UK Museums Association is gathering a taskforce to support reopening in England.

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Support Free COVID-19 Resources for the Field: These resources have been taken out from behind the member paywall to make them free and accessible for all. The current crisis is taking a distressing financial toll on cultural organizations, and AAM is no different.

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Post links (or add files) of any resources you have found for leading Guided Hikes/Programs during Covid-19

Preparing to reopen

Support Free COVID-19 Resources for the Field: These resources have been taken out from behind the member paywall to make them free and accessible for all. The current crisis is taking a distressing financial toll on cultural organizations, and AAM is no different.

american alliance of museums

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Example of program registration for tour of protected historic site that is behind a lock gate

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Joshua Tree National Park Tours
Discover the colorful lives of Bill and Frances Keys and learn how they survived and raised a family in the harsh desert environment on the Keys Ranch Tour. Explore the ranch house, school room, store, workshop, and more treasures from the 60 years the Keys called this area home. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1975, the property is located in a remote, rocky canyon in Joshua Tree National Park.

Keys Ranch tours last 90 minutes and involve about a half-mile of walking. Tours are currently offered Thursdays, Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays, year-round except for the hottest summer months (June, July and August). Tours may not be available on certain holidays such as Christmas Day. Reservations are available up to 60 days in advance and until the day before the tour.

Select a date to see a list of times

Need to Know

Reservations Required
Visiting Keys Ranch is by reservation only. Reservations are available up to 60 days in advance and until the day before the tour. No walk up tickets are available. Ranch tours frequently sell out and reservations are the only way to ensure a spot is available for you and/or your party. All visitors must have a ticket, including infants. Tickets are NOT available at the national park or visitor centers. Tickets and reservations are available only through Recreation.gov. Visitor Centers cannot make changes to existing reservations.

Meeting Place
Keys Ranch tours begin at the Keys Ranch locked gate and parking area (not at the visitor center). Do not rely exclusively on your mobile GPS, Siri, or similar automated navigation systems for directions to Keys Ranch. Routes can be misleading and incorrect. Please be at the Keys Ranch gate 15 minutes before your scheduled tour time.
If entering the park through the West Entrance on Park Blvd., in addition to normal travel time, be prepared for an additional delay of up to 30 minutes due to congestion at the entrance gate.
Travel time to the Keys Ranch from Oasis Visitor Center in Twentynine Palms is approximately 40 minutes. Travel time from Joshua Tree Visitor Center is approximately 35 minutes, plus an additional delay of up to 30 minutes due to congestion at the gate. Travel time from Cottonwood Visitor Center is approximately 1 hour and 15 minutes. These times DO NOT include any delay caused by congestion at entrance gates. Please be on time. If you are not at the Keys Ranch gate by the time your tour is scheduled to begin you will miss the tour and will not receive a refund.

Restricted Area
Keys Ranch is a protected historic site. Visiting Keys Ranch is restricted to ranger led tours only. Unauthorized access without a ranger may result in arrest and/or fines.

Fee Area
Keys Ranch is located within Joshua Tree National Park and a fee is required to enter the park. Interagency Annual, Senior, and Access passes are accepted. For more information about park fees, please visit https://www.nps.gov/jotr/planyourvisit/fees.htm

Photo Gallery

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Keys Ranch Tour, Joshua Tree National Park Tours - Recreation.gov

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Find out more details and check site availability for Keys Ranch Tour in Joshua Tree National Park Tours at Joshua Tree National Park with Recreation.gov. Discover the colorful lives of Bill and Frances Keys and learn how they survived and raised a family in the harsh desert environment on the Keys Ranch Tour.

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List any sample plans your organization has drafted.

https://www.aam-us.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/Reopening-Plan.Imperial-Valley-Desert-Museum-CA.2020.June_.pdf

https://www.aam-us.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/Reopening-Plan.Baxter-Springs.2020-1.pdf

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What worries you the most about reopening?

Volunteer programs - high risk population are volunteers. How to run volunteer programs with limitations? Safety is biggest concern.

How permanent are modifications?

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Kevin Wright: Monterey Bay Aquarium: kwright@mbayaq.org

Christian Burrell: Living Desert Zoo: cburrell@livingdesert.org

Amber Colbert: Clark County Museum: Amber.Colbert@ClarkCountyNV.gov

Amy Erickson: Inside the Outdoors: aerickson@ocde.us

Jacque Guevara: Joshua Tree:
Jacqueline@joshuatree.org

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What are some creative solutions for ensuring safe interpretive programs?

Living Desert Virtual Tours:
https://www.livingdesert.org/learn/field-trips/virtual-field-trips/

Kayaking has been a good activity - in our experience.

If you have an amazing personality of a volunteer or staff - you can make a YouTube star of them (who visitors will be excited to meet when things are back in person).

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Making virtual materials accessible (captioning, screen reader, audio description)
Flexibility
Time - How are we using our time and how are others using there time?  How can things be streamlined?
Non-contact physical onsite  stations.
Scheduling virtual programs
Classroom management
Public vs school groups

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Conflict de-escalation for staff worried about dealing with covid violations

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Conflict de-escalation for staff worried about dealing with covid violations

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Conflict De-Escalation

As National Park Service employees, volunteers, and partners-we often find ourselves engaged in meaningful conversations and dialogue with visitors throughout our parks. Through these experiences we tend to see the best of humanity. However, periodically we find ourselves in a situation that requires practiced skills in de-escalation. Whether we are reminding visitors of guidelines, approaching an unknown situation or being approached by a visitor that is upset, how we handle ourselves and our emotional presence can make all the difference in the world.

At any moment you may find yourself in a situation of conflict that​ requires quick calm, safe actions, and a professional response. Awareness of the potential conflict and how you will respond is critical in de-escalating any situation in a professional and safe manner.

How Can You Think S.L.O.W.?

STAY COOL - Don't take it personally. It is hard to do, but allowing a visitor's words or actions to get under your skin will only escalate the situation. When people are feeling hurt, vulnerable, ignored, or unsafe, emotions tend to dictate their behavior. Keep a composed tone of voice and body language.

LISTEN - When a visitor is upset, often hearing them out will help. Allow them to express what is upsetting them. To show that you are listening, try restating, reflecting, or summarizing what you have heard. When someone feels like they are being listened to, they feel valued and important. This can often lead to a calmer conversation.

OFFER VALIDATION - We've all been there. Upset, angry, or frustrated with a situation or request that is beyond our control. Sometimes we just want someone to tell us that the way we are feeling is valid. You don't have to agree with a visitor's beliefs, values, or interpretation of a situation, but a simple, "that sounds frustrating" goes a long way. A part of offering validation is to acknowledge that what is happening needs to stop. Set limits, make requests, and be firm.

WALK AWAY - Sometimes, unfortunately, nothing you can do or say will calm a situation. Know when to leave, and trust your pre-planning with law enforcement colleagues. Pay attention to body language, reactions from others nearby, and other factors that point to the need to walk away. Don't let anyone else take control of you or your emotions. If the interaction is turning into an unsafe situation, walk away and get some help. A supervisor or law enforcement should step in at that point.

Resources to Help You Think S.L.O.W.

Quick Reference Poster

Looking for a handy reminder to post around your work spaces and break rooms to help interpreters and coworkers remember the ways of thinking S.L.O.W.? This poster will help you remember the four elements of S.L.O.W. and serve as a quick guide.

S.L.O.W. Lesson Plan

If you want to introduce your coworkers or staff to the S.L.O.W. model, this lesson plan can help you not only help introduce the four elements, but help you practice big and little ways to think S.L.O.W. in your park.

S.L.O.W. Scenarios

Want to practice thinking S.L.O.W. using real-life scenarios that might take place in your park? These quick narrative moments can help you gauge what your reaction might be to a stressful situation before you find yourself in one.

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Conflict De-Escalation Toolkit for Interpreters - NPS: Common Learning Portal

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As National Park Service employees, volunteers, and partners-we often find ourselves engaged in meaningful conversations and dialogue with visitors throughout our parks. Through these experiences we tend to see the best of humanity. However, periodically we find ourselves in a situation that requires practiced skills in de-escalation.