California museums are starting to reopen. Here's the list

Deborah Vankin
·1 min read
COVID-19 closed the Asian Art Museum, but Chanel Miller's mural can still be seen from the street.
The Asian Art Museum in San Francisco, photographed during its COVID-19 closure. It is scheduled to reopen Thursday. (Asian Art Museum )

After the daily count of new COVID cases plummeted in California, more nonessential businesses such as restaurants, nail salons and gyms have been allowed to reopen at limited capacity. Museums have remained tightly shuttered to the public — until now.

Museums in some Bay Area counties, the state announced Tuesday, can reopen at 25% capacity or for 100 people at a time with COVID-19 safety protocols in place. As other counties including Los Angeles, Orange and San Diego inch closer from Gov. Gavin Newsom's purple tier to the less restrictive red tier, more museums that first closed nearly a year ago are likely not far behind.

Here’s a calendar of museum reopenings, which we will update regularly as institutions announce their dates.

Asian Art Museum, San Francisco, March 4

Aquarium of the Bay, San Francisco, March 4

De Young Museum, San Francisco, March 6 (member access March 4)

San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, San Francisco, March 7 (member access March 6)

California Academy of Sciences, San Francisco, March 17 (member access March 15)

The Tech Interactive, San Jose, May 29

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.