UPDATE (11/1/20) – This announcement was originally posted on June 3, 2020. The 2020 season has now concluded. As of this update, the museum is scheduled to reopen on its traditional date of May 1 for the 2021 season. Updated information about our COVID-19 procedures will be announced as the 2021 season approaches.
Dear Friends of the Wright Museum:
After delaying our traditional opening date of May 1, we are happy to announce that the Wright Museum is planning to reopen to the public on Monday, June 22, 2020, subject to approval by the state’s reopening task force.
Upon reopening, our hours for the 2020 season will be Monday-Saturday 10am-4pm, and Sundays 12pm-4pm.
As we reopen, our top priority is the health and safety of our visitors, community members, volunteers, and staff. With that in mind, we have carefully reviewed state and CDC guidelines and will be implementing several safety measures. We have secured many necessary supplies including masks, gloves, Plexiglas safety barriers for our point-of-sale areas, and more. While visiting the Wright Museum this season, you will also notice some of the following operational steps being taken:
- Hand sanitizing stations will be available in key areas of the museum.
- Masks will be required for visitors inside the museum. Staff and volunteers will be required to wear masks while interacting with the public.
- Visitors will be asked to keep six feet of distance from others outside of their own group.
- Museum capacity will be limited to 25% or an adequate number to allow for social distancing, whichever is less.
- Doors to galleries will be propped open to minimize contact, and interactive features will be temporarily unavailable.
- A designated one-way flow (with signage) will be encouraged throughout the museum building.
- High-traffic surfaces will be cleaned on a scheduled basis throughout the day and after close.
- Docents will available for assistance in the museum, but our traditional introductory segments will be abbreviated to reduce crowding in consideration of social distancing.
- Visitors, staff and volunteers are asked to stay home if they are feeling unwell.
- For the safety of our staff and donors, the museum will not be accepting donations of artifacts or books through the end of 2020. As the end of the year approaches, we will reassess the situation and consider plans for resuming the acceptance of artifact donations.
In addition to these steps, we will be implementing specific guidelines and training for our volunteers and staff to ensure safety for all. As state guidelines are updated, we will continue to adapt our procedures as necessary.
We are confident that these new procedures will help us adhere to public health standards while also maintaining a safe and enjoyable visitor experience. We thank you for your support of the museum throughout this difficult time, and we look forward to seeing you again soon!
Additional 2020 Schedule Changes
Due to the ongoing situation with COVID-19, we have made the difficult decision to cancel major events for our 2020 season. This includes Family Day, Cruise in to the Wright (Car Show), and Wright at Night.
While we look forward to these events each summer, our priority of keeping our visitors and the Wright community safe is paramount. We appreciate all of the effort that our volunteers and staff had already put into preparing for these events, and we look forward to resuming them during our 2021 season!
The 2020 Ron Goodgame & Donna Canney Education Series has also been cancelled because of the ongoing pandemic.
Wright Museum executive director Mike Culver said that the 2020 education series was one of the best, most diverse lineups in many years. He said, “We were looking forward to this great group of speakers and to “christening” our new DuQuoin Education Center. It was a tough, but correct decision to cancel. We are fortunate that Ron Goodgame and Donna Canney have pledged to sponsor the Education Series for 2021 through 2023, and that certainly makes it easier to plan and implement a great lecture series. The Goodgame & Canney education series WILL be back better than ever.”
We are pleased to announce that more than half of our 2020 speakers have already been rescheduled for the 2021 season!
Any additional changes to our 2020 schedule will be posted to our social media channels and here on our website.
