It’s time once again to get on in to your Children’s Museum!

This past weekend (April 23-25, 2021), Children’s Museum of Illinois re-opened its’ doors to the public after 13 long months of closure due to COVID-19 guidelines in place. Though only open to 25% capacity (due to IDPH, and Restore Illinois Guidelines), it felt like a packed house after an extended period of no one in the facility.

“Seeing all the excited faces, on both kids and adults, was a pretty incredible experience,” says Abby Koester, President & CEO of CMofIL. Koester says the museum welcomed 344 guests over the three days.

The museum reopened with guidelines in place, including but not limited to timed-ticket sessions, to make space for staff to sanitize play areas and items throughout the day; everyone 2 and over required to wear masks while in the facility; and certain exhibits closed and toys unavailable due to their nature of interaction.

Koester says welcoming families back is a sigh of relief to staff and board members, though cautions that the hard work of rebuilding the museum back into pre-pandemic stability is far from over. “The reality is we have got a long way to go to get back to recover fully.”

Koester stresses that the generosity of donors and supporters, like official Re-Opening sponsors Jerger Pediatric Dentistry and Sue & Kevin Breheny, is still critically needed to continue day to day operations of the museum. “Every little bit helps, even those who add an additional five dollars on when purchasing a ticket,” she says.

All in all, Koester is more than happy the museum is able to be open again to the community it serves. “We did little things to stay on mission during the closure, what we could with the small on-hand staff we had, but it was a far cry from what we were built to do,” Koester says. “This is the beginning of Children’s Museum of Illinois getting back to where we can fully carry out our mission; to enhance our community through the informal education of the Arts & Sciences.”