ORLANDO, Fla. – The Orlando Science Center reopened for the first time in three months on Monday with new safety guidelines in place to help prevent the spread of COVID-19.
While museums in Florida are allowed to open at 50 percent capacity, admission to the science center is limited to 25 percent during the initial reopening with guests required to purchase timed tickets in advance.
“When museums were starting to open up, we kind of held back because we knew we had extra work to do,” Vice President of Marketing Jeff Stanford said. “We’re an interactive hands on place, so we had to figure that out.”
Among some of the first changes, guests over the age of three are required to wear masks and have their temperature checked when entering the building.
With social distancing measures in place, some exhibits have been temporarily closed, while others have limited the number of people who can participate at one time.
"There will be more people in the exhibit area to facilitate experiences, to answer questions and to help support social distancing," Stanford said.
Jennifer Rothermel and her daughters were some of the first to explore the science center as it reopened.
“We’re trying to do the best we can and we’re kind of just seeing how it goes,” she said. “The biggest thing for us is just making sure that it’s more of an open space and that that distance is kind of maintained as best as we can.”
Officials said continuous cleaning procedures have been put in place for high touch areas and hand sanitizing stations are available throughout the building. Hours have also been reduced during the initial reopening with the facility closed on Wednesdays for deep cleaning.
For further details on the changes and how to purchase tickets, visit https://www.osc.org/reopening-plan/