The Western Development Museum (WDM) has been closed for nearly five months due to the pandemic, but the organization’s head office recently announced its four locations would soon reopen.
“We are thrilled to welcome visitors back to our Museums!” CEO Joan Kanigan said by email. “It’s been a long five months, and staff have been working tirelessly to ensure visitors have a safe experience when they visit.”
Western Development Museum locations will reopen in August with revised hours and limits on how many visitors are allowed inside at one time, the email explained. Volunteering activities will not resume yet, as the WDM head office is reviewing the results of a volunteer survey and intends to form a plan from that data.
Museum members and volunteers will be able to visit the WDM in Moose Jaw, North Battleford and Yorkton starting on Wednesday, Aug. 5. These locations will welcome the public on Wednesday, Aug. 12. The WDM in Saskatoon will reopen to member and volunteer visits on Aug. 12 and the general public on Aug. 19.
All four WDM locations will be open from Wednesday to Sunday from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. On weekdays, the first hour of the day — from 11 a.m. to noon on Wednesday through Friday — will be reserved for seniors and anyone with compromised immune systems or who is more vulnerable to the Wuhan flu.
To ensure the safety of visitors, staff and volunteers, the WDM head office has put in place enhanced cleaning and disinfecting protocols for all four locations, the email continued. Visitors are encouraged to wear masks and will be required to provide contact information upon arriving for contact tracing purposes. Hand sanitizing stations will also be available in multiple locations. More information on the protocols and procedures can be found at wdm.ca soon.
All public programming and summer events will remain cancelled, while the K+S Potash Canada Short Line 101 at the WDM Moose Jaw will not operate this year. The corporate office will also remain closed to the public will not accept artifact donations until further notice.
For more information, visit wdm.ca or watch its Facebook page.
