Relying so heavily on a hands-on experience, many children’s museums around the country have struggled or closed permanently during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Delaware Children’s Museum on the Wilmington’s Riverfront has stayed closed since March.
Delaware Public Media’s Roman Battaglia chats with the museum’s executive director Jen Bush about how it’s handling the pandemic and how COVID could change the way it operates once it reopens.
Bush says the museum has focused on proiding activites in a home setting, such as selling activity kits, with experiments kids can perform at home. Bush says these kits have been highly succesful, and their online sales have boomed wince the pandemic.
The museum is also holding a pop up shop Saturday, December 5th with actitives and photo opporitunities from 11am to 5pm. Bush says they're doing the shop in conjunction with the holiday light show the Grand is hosting next door.
Bush says she hopes the museum will open up soon, and says they'll be looking at a combination of public health professionals and museums elswhere to see what the best practices will be post pandemic.