T-errific dinosaur news for New Yorkers.
The American Museum of Natural History announced on Thursday that it plans to reopen on Sept. 9 at a 25 percent capacity and with COVID-19 safety measures set in place, pending permission from New York State and New York City officials.
Visitors must reserve tickets online for a timed-entry slot and face masks will be required for everyone two and older.
The museum will be open five days a week, instead of seven days from Wednesday, through Sunday from 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.
The museum previously had a pay-what-you-wish system for all guests, but now visitors from outside New York State, New Jersey, and Connecticut will have to pay for a ticket, $23 for adults, $18 for students and those 60 and under, and $13 for children under the ages 3 to 12.
To protect against the spread of COVID-19, the Museum will keep closed for now the Hayden Planetarium, certain halls with a high proportion of touchable interactives, and the Museum’s public education laboratories.
The Museum also will temporarily curtail services such as external visits to Museum collections, onsite professional development sessions for teachers, and non-employee visits to the Library. Food services will be closed as well.
The museum shut down on March 13 and laid off dozens of staffers and furlough hundreds more, in response to the dramatic loss of revenue from the coronavirus pandemic.
New York City Museums were set to open in July before Governor Andrew Cuomo delayed Phase Four of the Empire State’s economic reopening plan.
The Metropolitan Museum of Art has also announced tentative reopening plans for Aug. 29 if officials allow.
