National Infantry Museum has been closed for 16 months. It’s soon opening again to public
The National Infantry Museum will reopen to the public on Saturday after being closed for 16 months due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The museum will be open to the general public on weekends, and will schedule soldier training tours on weekdays. Soldiers are required to avoid mingling with the public to avoid spreading COVID-19, according to a news release.
NIM will continue following CDC safety protocols including social distancing and placing hand sanitizer stations throughout the building. Masks are not required, but strongly encouraged, the release states.
These protocols could change without notice depending on city, state and federal updates, the release states.
“We’re monitoring the level of infection in our community as well as updates from the government and healthcare professionals and will adjust as needed,” Cyndy Cerbin, the director of communications at NIM, said in an email to the Ledger-Enquirer.
Not all attractions in the museum will be open. The Fife and Drum restaurant and the Giant Screen Theater will remain closed. However, concessions and the Soldier Store will be open. The Combat Simulators will be active, but availability may be limited due to staffing shortages.
“We’ve stayed very busy over the past 16 months, completely overhauling both the Soldier Store and the museum gallery that traces Infantry history from 1989 to the present,” Cerbin said in the email.
She said with the help of a state economic development grant, NIM was able to gut the gallery, which was designed in 2007, and completely rebuild it.
NIM receives a portion of its operating costs from the Army, but relies on donations for the rest of its funding. Although it has free admission, the museum asks visitors to consider donating $5 per person to help it achieve its mission, the release says.
The museum is open to the public from 9 a.m. - 5 p.m. on Saturdays and 11 a.m. - 5 p.m. on Sundays. However, on Aug. 21 the museum will close at 3 p.m. for its annual gala, and it will not open until noon on Sept. 11 for the Global War on Terrorism Memorial Rededication events.
