For nearly two months, museums across the country have been physically closed due to the coronavirus. In response, cultural professionals have developed and delivered exciting new content across a range of platforms to keep their audiences engaged during these unprecedented times. Now, as some states lift their stay-at-home orders and the world prepares to slowly reopen, museums are thinking about what reopening is going to look like.

On May 6, 2020, over 4,700 guests joined Brendan Ciecko (CEO and Founder @ Cuseum), Mark Sabb (Senior Director of Innovation, Marketing & Engagement @ Museum of the African Diaspora), Holly Shen (Deputy Director @ San Jose Museum of Art) & Ellen Busch (Director of Historic Sites Operations @ Texas Historical Commission) as they talked through the strategy, operations, process, and planning involved in reopening your museum successfully. This webinar will explore strategic planning, design thinking, and innovative approaches to welcoming your audiences back.

View the full video recording here.

Read the top takeaways below!

Communicate Changes Throughout all Phases of Reopening

As institutions look to implement a phased approach to their reopening process, communicating with staff and visitors at each step can help ensure a safe return for everyone.

Many organizations have created an interdepartmental task force to ensure each department’s input and needs are being taken into consideration and that every department has a clear understanding of local and state guidelines. Ellen explained that the Texas Historical Commission’s approach was to provide different departments with these guidelines and let them create specific plans based on their different departmental needs.

“What we felt what we really needed to do centrally was to provide more of an approach and policy solutions rather than plans, and leave it to our site staff to really develop the plan.”
– Ellen Busch

In addition to communicating reopening plans internally, organizations must communicate new protocols with visitors, so that they understand what policies are in place before they enter your institution. All panelists agreed that social channels are a good place to provide such messaging, as are email notifications and updates to your website. Upon arrival, having clear signage for sanitation stations, face mask regulations, and any other new policy will contribute to a safe environment, as well as reassure your visitors that their safety is top of mind at your institution. As Holly explained, the San Jose Museum of Art is getting creative with their signage by repurposing their logo to encourage social distancing. This is one example of a creative way to keep new safety precautions top of mind.

Involve your Community in the Decision-Making Process

As museums begin to reopen, many are seeing this as an opportunity to put solutions in place that will have a long term effect on their organizations.

All of our panelists agreed that the community should play a pivotal role in determining what programs museums should focus on after reopening. Using tools like online surveys and gathering feedback can help organizations understand how they can build community-centric programs around their constituents.

“In a lot of ways for us, it's been going through that entire process, and looking at everything that we've done before, and asking ourselves, what worked? What didn't work? What does our community really want from us going forward?”
– Mark Sabb

Involving your community and communicating clearly the steps you are taking to ensure visitor safety will go a long way in giving your guests the confidence they need to start returning to your institute.

Consider Design Thinking and Other Frameworks to Guide Your Process

At this point, many organizations are looking to create long term plans around what the future guest experience may look like. As Mark explained, using a design thinking approach to understand what the community thinks is working, what they think can be improved, and what they hope to see in the future can allow institutions to better serve their constituents during this time and beyond. Mark explained the value of design thinking:

“A lot of it is based on the idea of throwing out old ways of doing things and looking at the problem from a completely new lens that's also influenced by the communities that it'll serve.”
– Mark Sabb

Indeed, the in-house and virtual programming changes that museums are implementing may very well change the way institutions work forever. By systematically identifying what constituents want, experimenting with new delivery methods, and being flexible in the approach, museums can build long-lasting programming that truly resonates with the community that they represent.

Adapt to New Guidelines

With a shortage in facemask supplies nationwide, many are finding creative solutions to provide their guests with the proper PPE. As Ellen noted, the Texas Historical Historical Commission has been able to provide their staff with facemasks, but they don’t have enough to give to visitors. In response, they’ve sent out messaging stating that guests are expected to bring their own PPE and have also made bandanas available at a fee to visitors.

In an effort to encourage social distancing, organizations are looking towards other sectors like grocery stores to enact special hours for their seniors, as well as placing plexiglass paneling in front of ticketing booths. Ellen noted that the Texas Historical Historical Commission has had success in requiring visitors to book ahead by phone, and has also been metering their gates at their larger sites to ensure there aren’t too many people at once. In an effort to limit physical contact, they are also switching to single-use print material. Ellen noted that these procedures were put into place quite rapidly and that they are currently looking into digital assets to help facilitate a better in house experience.

“Right now we are mostly working on how to set up the physical environment of the museum so that it is conducive to following the social distancing guidelines.”
– Holly Shen

Shared devices and materials will pose a challenge to all museums’ efforts to limit contact and social distancing practices. As a result, leveraging visitors’ personal devices is a viable option to keep visitors engaged while adhering to local and state guidelines. Holly expressed that the San Jose Museum of Art is looking into engaging visitors through their personal devices by offering digital experiences that can be posted back to their social media circle, which they hope will create an open dialogue around the art.

Integrate Digital into Regular Programming

Institutions have had great success with digital programming over the past few months and are now looking to integrate virtual options into their regular events. Indeed, the opportunities that digital programs provide have never been more relevant. Mark expressed that through offering digital programming, the Museum of the African Diaspora now has a truly global audience and they are using their digital channels to break down physical and geographical limitations. In using new virtually distributed channels to convey their messaging, the Museum of the African Diaspora has in many ways become a distributed museum.

Through these new online channels and digital offerings, many are seeing an opportunity to create new revenue streams. When considering monetization, Ellen suggested that museums look towards the entertainment industry to understand that people will pay for what they value. She challenged museums to ask themselves the question, “What do people value about us?” If you can bring quality and value to your digital programming then chances are you can turn that into a viable revenue stream.

“There are so many cultural sites in this world that need people's advocacy and support for their continued existence. And what better way to do that than through the internet and through building our digital assets?”
– Ellen Busch

As Holly noted, the San Jose Art Museum has already had success in transitioning their donor events online. They plan to host a virtual version of their gala in September. They are also piloting a virtual camp program this summer using digital as a means to attract unique artists who would not have been able to attend in person.

Reopening will take an organizational-wide effort but many are seeing it as an opportunity to involve their community and reinvent their institutions. Although it looks a little different, it is now time to welcome back your audience!

Looking for more information? Check out our coronavirus resources page.

Further Reading:

How Museums & Attractions Are Increasing Safety & Convenience With “Contactless” Experiences