Hands On Children’s Museum readies an array of family programs to start in July

The Hands On Children’s Museum, closed since March, is once again abuzz with activity.

Summer camps begin July 6, and the museum staff expects to welcome members back to play and learn on weekends beginning July 11, with public and weekday hours planned by August.

“We’re really excited, and we’re working hard to keep everyone safe,” said Emily Ehrlich, the museum’s education manager.

“When we reopen, we wouldn’t want to go beyond 25 percent capacity to start,” said Patty Belmonte, the executive director.

Meanwhile, Hands On is supporting kids in learning at home, putting together new kits of science and art activities while continuing to create online content, including demonstrations by “Dr. Science,” played by museum educator Ben Michaelis.

“We’ve had videos to give parents activities to do with their kids and also to keep kids connected to the museum,” Belmonte told the Olympian, “but our first priority is to be able to safely educate kids in an interactive way at the museum if we can.”

The staff has been preparing to do just that while awaiting both approval for Thurston County to move into Phase 3 and specific museum guidelines.

Meanwhile, exhibits have been rearranged to allow for physical distancing. Stuffed animals and costumes have been stored away, and other props — blocks, plastic “food” and the like — will be switched out between timed visits and sanitized daily.

There will be more happening in outdoor spaces, and the museum’s roll-up doors will be up all summer to maximize air flow.

Many of the changes at the museum are similar to those made by grocery stores, restaurants, hair salons and other businesses reopening under the governor’s Safe Start plan — but there is one big difference.

The museum’s reopening plans also involve teaching the kids who come to play and learn how to do so in the safest manner possible.

“Our purpose is to help kids learn,” Ehrlich told The Olympian. “The way we’re presenting it is, ‘How can I keep myself and my friends healthy?’

“Kids are kids,” she said, “so the best thing that we can do is try to make it fun.”

Probably the biggest challenge for children will be wearing masks, which is now mandatory in Washington state. One of the exceptions is children under 5, but those ages 3-5 are strongly encouraged to wear them.

“Here’s the reality: When kids start back to school in the fall, it will be a requirement at schools as well, with some exceptions,” Belmonte said. “The museum might be the first place where kids get the chance to learn to wear masks successfully. We’re approaching masks as an educational opportunity.”

So how do you make wearing a mask fun?

Visitors will be greeted in the lobby by cutout figures of friendly-looking masked monsters created by Olympia artist P. Calavara, also known as Rick Perry. “The kids will get to take pictures with the monsters,” Belmonte said.

Campers will decorate their own masks, and the museum plans to remind young visitors that superheroes wear masks.

“They can be safety superheroes,” Ehrlich said.

There’ll also be lots of signs and gentle reminders about the need to keep a physical distance, she said.

And to show the importance of washing hands, the museum uses a gel that glows under black light. Kids rub the gel on their hands, wash their hands and then look at them under black light to see what areas they might have missed.

That activity isn’t a new one, Ehrlich said. “We’ve always been big on hand-washing in museum programs,” she said.

For those who don’t feel comfortable visiting the museum despite precautions, there are options. One is the Personal Play Date program, which allows families to rent the entire museum for two hours in the evening. It’s expensive ($295-$395) but there are low rates available for families in need, and even the standard rates are lower than the $595 the museum has charged for party rentals.

And there are the new art and science activity kits, featuring experiments and projects to do at home.

“We heard from parents that they were tired of digital learning, and they really were looking for us to help them with interactive learning,” Belmonte said.

The first kits are being distributed to organizations such as Family Education and Support Services and the Thurston County Food Bank, but Belmonte and visitor engagement manager Amanda Wilkening plan to make them available for sale to the public later in the summer.

“We know that people won’t come to the museum as frequently right now,” Belmonte said. “It will be more of a special outing, so the idea is to extend the learning to the home.”

Hands On Children’s Museum

• Where: 414 Jefferson St. N.E., Olympia
• Opening soon: The museum is scheduled to open on weekends July 11, with the first few weeks open to members only. (The schedule will change if Thurston County hasn’t entered Phase 3 of the Safe Start reopening plan.)
• Camps: Spaces are still available in the camps, which will be divided into small groups of eight children and two teachers. They will run July 6-Aug. 27 and cost $135-$395 per week, with discounts for more than one week.
• Hands On 2U@Home: Kids can experience some of the museum’s fun at home with video story times, craft projects and recipes, plus demonstrations by Dr. Science.
• Kits: The museum’s kits of art and science activities, already being distributed to partner organizations including the Thurston County Food Bank and Boys and Girls Clubs of Thurston County, will be available for purchase later.
• Personal Play Dates: Once it reopens, the museum will offer 2-hour evening rentals so family groups can have the entire space to themselves. The cost is $395, $295 for members, $20 for EBT cardholders and pay what you can for families in need that don’t have EBT cards.
• More information: 360-956-0818, http://hocm.org