Collingwood Museum was measured yesterday for a plexiglass barrier, but that’s one step of many toward a reopening plan.
There’s still no firm date for when the museum will be welcoming visitors again.
Melissa Shaw, museum supervisor, said a plexiglass sneeze guard is one of many engineering changes being made to the building’s public space.
“When we do reopen, the museum experience will be quite a bit different,” she said.
There will be a designated direction and path for people to follow, masks will be required, and some of the interactive “touch” components of displays will be removed. The museum will also have to have a supply of PPE and cleaning supplies on hand before opening. The reopening plan will be vetted by municipal leadership and not up to the sole discretion of museum staff.
Simcoe County Museum is opening next week, but pre-bookings are required, and some interactive displays and outbuildings are not open to the public.
Shaw said Collingwood Museum will also likely implement a requirement that museum visits be booked in advance.
“We received a lot of advice from other museums across Canada … one of the recommendations is that visits be booked in advance … at least within the initial stages of reopening,” said Shaw.
She and museum staff have still been taking care of the collection at the museum, but typically there was only one staff member in the building at a time. A few weeks ago, they increased it to two staff members who still keep their distance from each other.
“In the beginning … there was a very stark realization that the museum without visitors is a very lonely place,” noted Shaw. “I’m looking forward to welcoming people back, we just need to make sure we’re taking precautions.”
When COVID hit, the Collingwood Museum was nearing the end of an exhibit redesign project with the third and final core exhibit being designed.
The last exhibit features the story and artifacts from sidelaunches at Collingwood shipyards. A new display case on order is large enough and safe enough to fit a full mannequin. Shaw said the museum will be dressing the mannequin in a women’s dress to represent the women and young girls who often performed a ship’s christening before it was launched. The exhibit will also feature some christening bottles and photos.
This is the first time the museum has been able to feature the historic dress.
In the meantime, Shaw said museum staff have sought to stay engaged with the community through virtual content.
Staff have produced several short videos with information about different historical sites and plaques in Collingwood like Millennium Park, Keith’s Dairy, the Smart Brothers broiler (at the arboretum) and the mural on the Eddie Bush Memorial Arena celebrating the African-Canadian history of Collingwood residents.
The museum is also contributing material to Camp Collingwood, including trivia and parts of the all-ages scavenger hunts posted each week.
“We’ve enjoyed how these virtual offerings have allowed us to continue to engage with the community,” said Shaw.
The museum has also started collecting items from residents for a COVID-19 project. You can learn more about that here.
The Collingwood Museum website includes online resources for researchers and for children. And the Town of Collingwood’s RallyPoint site has a list of family resources including weekly Camp Collingwood challenges.
