COVID-19 Preparedness Plan

Guidelines for entering & visiting the Minnesota Marine Art Museum (MMAM):

Respiratory etiquette: Cover your cough or sneeze

Staff, volunteers, and visitors are expected to cover their mouth and nose with their sleeve or a tissue when coughing or sneezing and to avoid touching their face, in particular their mouth, nose and eyes, with their hands. They should dispose of tissues in the trash and wash or sanitize their hands immediately afterward.

Signage is posted throughout the office and visitor areas reminding staff, volunteers, and visitors of the correct respiratory etiquette.

Hand sanitizer is available throughout the office and visitor areas.

Masks

To protect staff and visitors and accordance with the executive order from the State of Minnesota,, everyone must wear a mask to enter and remain in MMAM, and keep it properly over their mouths and noses at all times when in the building. Face shields may be worn in addition to a mask, but may not take the place of a mask that covers the mouth and nose. Children 2 and older may enter without wearing a mask.

Those unwilling to comply will be asked to visit at a later date when masks are no longer required. The health and safety of all visitors and staff is of the utmost importance, and wearing a mask is required for those wishing to visit MMAM.

All staff, volunteers, visitors, delivery people, service-providers, and all others entering the building:

  • Are required to wear a mask covering their mouths and noses, while in MMAM.

  • Face shields may be worn in addition to a mask, but may not take the place of a mask that covers the mouth and nose. 

  • Children under the age of 5 are not required to wear a mask.

  • Are not to remove their masks to speak with someone.

All staff and volunteers

  • Must wear masks in public spaces at all times, this includes entering and leaving the building.

All staff

  • Will be provided with a mask if they do not have one.

  • Office staff are to keep their masks while at their desks. Only when they are actively eating/drinking, may office staff remove their masks. Otherwise, masks must remain on.

  • If staff need to be near others, no matter the distance apart, masks must be worn.

All visitors

  • Are able to purchase disposable masks for $1 if they do not bring their own.

All delivery people, services, and all others entering the building

  • Will be provided with disposable masks if they do not have their own.

Social distancing:

All staff, volunteers, and visitors

  • Are to maintain a safe distance of at least 6 feet between themselves or their group, and all others at all times.

  • Are prohibited from gathering in groups, beyond their own and no more than 15 people.

  • Are prohibited from gathering in confined areas.

All staff and volunteers

  • Must wear masks in public spaces at all times, this includes entering and leaving the building.

  • Are to acknowledge visitors in the galleries but not engage unless approached. If engaged by a visitor, staff should maintain social distancing of 6 feet. keep masks on, and speak at a regular volume. This is also an opportunity to remind visitors of social distancing policies. 

  • Any meetings will be held in either the Atrium or Oberton Education Room, where proper social distancing can be maintained.

  • Are prohibited from using other staff members’ personal protective equipment, phones, computer equipment, desks, workstations, offices or other personal work tools and equipment.

All staff

  • Staff workstations have been adjusted to maintain a minimum of 6 feet between desks.

  • Are encouraged to continue to work from home when working on tasks that do not require being physically in the building.

All visitors

  • While at the front desk, visitors must maintain social distance from one another, by standing at the designated markers on the floor until called upon by museum staff to approach the register.

  • May purchase admission day-of onsite or in advance over the phone, if they wish. Reservations are not necessary. Credit cards are strongly preferred.

Additional measures to ensure a safe museum experience:

  • Plexiglass has been installed around the front desk as a protection for both visitors and staff.

  • Capacity limits have been set on each individual gallery. If a gallery is at capacity, visitors will be asked to wait to enter until the gallery is below capacity. Security staff, and volunteers when back onsite, will monitor and maintain gallery limits and ask visitors to come back when space permits.

  • Cafe tables and reading area couches have been removed and are unavailable at this time.

  • Space has been made within the museum store to aid in proper social distancing and demo items have been removed.

  • Outdoor Riverwalk tables have been spaced apart from each other to allow for social distancing. We ask visitors to maintain proper social distancing when using these facilities.

Handwashing:

Basic infection prevention measures are being implemented at MMAM at all times. Hand sanitizers are available for staff and visitors throughout MMAM.

All staff, volunteers, and visitors:

  • Are encouraged to wash hands frequently throughout the day, but especially after eating, using the bathroom, touching common surfaces, or touching their face.

  • Are encouraged not to touch surfaces within the museum. All hands-on activities have been removed from the museum.

Additional measures to ensure a safe museum experience:

  • Hand sanitizer is available within the museum and two sets of restrooms are available for hand washing, where signage is posted on proper handwashing techniques. Foot pulls are installed on the main bathroom doors and office doors to avoid touching handles throughout the building.

  • Push button electronic door openers are to be used at entrance doors; and galleries doors will remain open.

MMAM’s commitment to a clean museum:

Cleaning and disinfecting practices are being implemented, including routine cleaning and disinfecting of office and public spaces. Regular cleaning and disinfecting is conducted in high-touch and common areas including work surfaces, café areas, restrooms, front desk, store surfaces, door handles and push plates, copy machines, credit card readers, etc. We have a daily morning cleaning and disinfecting schedule in place, which has been enhanced.  Additionally, public and office spaces are regularly cleaned and disinfected throughout the day. The day prior to reopening, MMAM had a deep cleaning and disinfection completed of office and public spaces.

Cleaning and disinfecting throughout the day will include:

  • Door handles/push plates

  • Front desk area

  • Benches

  • Bathrooms

  • Staff’s own workspaces

Disinfectants used onsite are products by Ecolab and/or Dalco, both on the EPA’s list of COVID-19 disinfectants.

Communicating and training on MMAM’s new guidelines:

The first version of this Preparedness Plan was approved by the Board of Directors on June 9, 2020. A mandatory, full staff meeting was held on June 10, 2020, to ensure that all staff were aware of the Preparedness Plan, and fully trained on new guidelines.

  • The final Preparedness Plan was sent by email to all staff members, posted in the office, and a public version was posted on MMAM’s website.

  • MMAM guidelines are posted in office and throughout the museum (inside and out) for visitors and staff.

  • Additional communication and training will be ongoing for and with staff, and provided to all staff members. This will include emails, in-person (socially distanced) additional training, and signage.

  • Any adjustments to guidelines and procedures will be clearly communicated to staff.

An updated version was sent to all staff on January 10, 2021 prior to the 2021 reopening, and the most recent version, updated March 27, 2021, was shared with staff on March 29, and with volunteers in advance of their shifts.

With the 2021 reopening, volunteers are invited to sign up for a shift starting as early as February 2, 2021.

  • Phase 2/February 2, 2021: There is one volunteer shift Tuesday - Sunday from 11:30am-2pm, to cover Security lunches and assist in gallery coverage.

  • Beginning April 1, 2021, MMAM will return to the pre-COVID19 volunteer schedule of three volunteer Greeter shifts per day, with couples allowed to volunteer in the same slot. Shifts will be filled with the following priority: weekday lunch, weekend, morning, and finally, late afternoon. 

  • The updated Preparedness Plan will be sent to volunteers who sign up for a shift, along with a copy of the daily health screening check.

  • Volunteers will check in at the front desk, signing the health screening check form, noting their hours, and picking up their nametags. There will be no need for volunteers to visit the volunteer room.

  • Continued communication and any updates/adjustments will be ongoing via emails, in-person (socially distanced) additional training if necessary, and signage. 

The new guidelines included in the Preparedness Plan that pertain to visitors will be clearly communicated:

  • All guidelines will be posted on the website.

  • Visitors will be reminded of and shown guidelines by:

    • front desk staff

    • signage outside and throughout the museum

    • security and staff throughout the museum

  • Any customers doing store pick-up for online orders will be contacted by a MMAM staff member to coordinate their purchase pick-up and ensure guidelines are followed

For deliveries, services, and all others entering the building that do not fall under staff, volunteers, or visitors:

  • The staff member who arranges the service or delivery will convey MMAM’s guidelines that apply to all who enter the building. The staff member may send the website page that states all guidelines.

Staff are to monitor how effective the program has been implemented by getting regular feedback from staff, volunteers, and visitors.

Staff are to work through this new plan, procedures, and guidelines together and update the training as necessary. This COVID-19 Preparedness Plan has been certified by the Minnesota Marine Art Museum Executive Director and Board of Directors, and was originally posted throughout the workplace on June 10, 2020 It is updated as necessary. An updated copy of the full Preparedness Plan was shared with all staff on January 10, 2021, March 29, 2021, and again on April 14, 2021.

Certified by: Nicole Chamberlain-Dupree, Executive Director

Updated April 14, 2021. Shared with staff and posted on MMAM website April 14, 2021.