Art Institute, MCA and Illinois Holocaust Museum will reopen, too
The Art Institute of Chicago, Museum of Contemporary Art and Illinois Holocaust Museums have made plans to reopen soon as the state loosens COVID-19 restrictions on indoor entertainment.
They join a handful of other institutions that announced reopening plans earlier in the week. The institutions are limiting attendance to 25% of capacity, requiring masks and employing other COVID-19 safety measures. An updated list is at the bottom of this story.
The Art Institute said it will reopen Feb. 11 with the popular “Monet and Chicago” exhibition extended and still on the walls.
Additionally, the impressive “Bisa Butler: Portraits,” which had just been hung in November when the museum had to close its doors for the second time due to the pandemic, will also remain.
The museum will be open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Thursday through Monday and it is reserving the first hour of each day for members.
Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago said it will reopen in the coming weeks, with details expected later today.
Illinois Holocaust Museum reopens Feb. 3. That and subsequent Wednesdays through March will be free (with tickets, purchased online, still required). The museum will be open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Wednesday through Sunday.
In addition to the powerful permanent exhibition on the history and lessons of the Holocaust, the Skokie museum plans to open “Mandela: Struggle for Freedom” Feb. 20.
The announcements follow the Illinois decision this week to change back to Tier 2 COVID-19 mitigation rules.
The area’s two major zoos, Brookfield and Lincoln Park, are closed for the first two months of the year as a cost-saving and safety measure. The two big nature preserves, Morton Arboretum and Chicago Botanic Garden, remain open with their primarily outdoor offerings.
Adler Planetarium, Notebaert Nature Museum and the National Museum of Mexican Art have been closed since the onset of the pandemic last March.
These are the reopening plans known so far of other major cultural institutions:
Field Museum: Open to members Thursday and Friday and then to the general public on Saturday, with next Monday and Thursday being free to Illinois residents.
Shedd Aquarium: Members can return Jan. 27-29 and the general public Jan. 30, with additional members-only hours available on the 31st. Ticket sales on the aquarium’s website begin Thursday at noon for members, then Saturday at noon for the general public.
Chicago History Museum: The museum at 1601 N. Clark St. will reopen with a free day March 4, Chicago’s birthday, and will subsequently maintain regular opening hours. More information at www.chicagohistory.org.
Kohl Children’s Museum: The Glenview play palace is starting with a limited reopening plan. Beginning Jan. 29 so-called V.I.P. (Very Important Play) Sessions give groups of up to 10 solo access (with private bathrooms) to the Thomas the Tank Engine exhibit, the Main Street area or The Works exhibit.
The visiting spaces at Kohl are sanitized between the 90-minute sessions, available Friday through Sunday, with reservations ($100-$250) opening at noon Jan. 22; more at www.kohlchildrensmuseum.org.
The Tribune’s Doug George contributed.
Twitter @StevenKJohnson
