Message Regarding Reopening |
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Monday, May 3, 2021
Wednesday, March 10, 2021 Dear Members, Imagine Children’s Museum is excited about the day we can reopen…we have missed everyone! We plan to reopen on June 2, 2021. We are grateful to see that vaccinations are now expected to be available to the general adult population by the end of May. It is one more step to getting back to the playful learning times we all cherished. You may recall from past communications that, despite being closed since March 2020, we are working hard to make sure great things are still happening at Imagine. Our virtual programming has grown, along with the positive feedback. While virtual programming will never replace the in-person Museum experience, it has allowed us to serve so many during the time we could not be together at Imagine. The Expansion Project is another great thing occurring at Imagine. We have used the time we’ve been closed to accomplish some of the most difficult work which includes the demolition of the south end of the building – home to the new expansion. Here is a video of the Expansion Project Ground Breaking you might enjoy along with the new Expansion Project Website, so you can learn more and follow the progress: Expansion Ground Breaking Video Expansion Website It is important that we can accomplish a few more important construction related items before we reopen. In addition, we will need to hire staff as many were laid off a year ago when the pandemic hit. When we reopen on June 2, we will ramp up using reservations, starting with fewer days and shorter hours. At this time, the state still limits capacity to 25%. Prior to reopening we will provide additional information on our website regarding days, hours and the reservation process. Membership extensions will automatically be applied when we reopen. As a reminder, the number of days you would have had remaining on your membership when we closed on March 13, 2020, will be credited beginning on June 2. We are so grateful for all of you that have been so encouraging and supportive this past year. We especially want to thank those who have sent in donations to help cover the devastating losses to our operational budget that have occurred from being closed. We also want to ask your help by suggesting names of those that may be able to assist us to complete our capital campaign for the Expansion Project. There is $8.5M left to raise to reach our goal. Capital funds are totally separate from operating dollars and they can only be used for their designated purpose. Moving forward with expansion, despite the pandemic, was vitally important as we could have lost millions in grant funding if we halted the project. Plus, as you all know, the Museum has needed more space for a very long time. If you know of an individual, business or foundation that would like to learn more about our funding project please let me know at NancyJ@ImagineCM.org. Nancy Johnson
Monday, February 1, 2021 Imagine’s Board of Directors has determined that it is in the best interest of our members, visitors, staff and the community to wait until April 1st to consider reopening. We believe the high number of COVID cases and new variants arriving with unknown impacts, along with the urging of many scientists and epidemiologists to remain vigilant, supports this decision. To make the best use of our time during this difficult pandemic the Museum has been working on a new expansion. When the pandemic hit, the Museum was already in the middle of the expansion project capital campaign. To prevent losing funds designated specifically for the expansion, the decision was made to continue moving forward. This exciting project will provide new exhibits, expanded learning opportunities and more space to alleviate overcrowding. We look forward to the time when we can safely play together again. Until then, thank you for your understanding. Dr. Clay Wertheimer, Board President |
