Museums reopening: utmost care taken to welcoming the public

While a majority of cultural institutions will have reopened by the end of June (at least, in Germany and France), we wanted to know how they intend to meet the public’s No. 1 requirement: the guarantee of maximum hygiene (see our previous article).

We interviewed the visitor experience and accessibility departments of 13 museums* in Europe and North America and identified 30 key practices in terms of reception and mediation. The first part of the study deals with welcoming the public.

4 priorities of museums for welcoming and protecting the public:

1 – increased information on welcoming conditions, online and on site. Example of MuCem,

2 – limited and regulated flow of visitors (in particular thanks to the system of time-entry tickets),

3 – hydroalcoholic gel systematically offered and increased cleaning of the museum,

4 – staff training and preparation.

Limited number of visitors, adapted visit circuit… This sanitary episode offers conditions of visit to their public if not comparable to a private visit, at least privileged.

Download the first part of our Survey post lockdown here

Available in 4 languages: French /English / German / Spanish

*Interviews carried out by Tactile Studio and MUXXE (Museum & Exhibition User Experience) from 5 May to 2 June 2020. We greatly thank the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Musée national des Beaux-Arts du Québec, Musée de la Banque du Canada, MuCem, la Villette, la Cité des sciences et de l’Industrie, Centre national des Monuments historiques, Fondation Louis Vuitton, Portal der Industriekultur – Zollverein, Kultur Stiftung Weimar, Anne Frank Zentrum, Deutsches Hygiene-Museum Dresden, Museu Nacional d’Art de Catalunya.