California Science Center, Huntington, Autry Museums Announce Reopening, New Exhibits
LOS ANGELES (CNS) - Museums across Los Angeles County are preparing to reopen after a year of closures due to the coronavirus, with three museums announcing reopening dates today now that the county has entered the less restrictive red tier of the state's reopening framework.
California Science Center
The California Science Center announced a March 27 reopening date and plans for a COVID-19 exhibit to debut next month.
The center, located in Exposition Park next to the Natural History Museum and the USC campus, will be open daily from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., with COVID-19 safety precautions in place, including limiting visitors to 25% capacity and timed entry reservations for all guests.
"We are thrilled to reopen and invite guests to enjoy the power of real experiences. Science is core to everything we do and our reopening protocols reflect the guidance of state and local health agencies as well as the Science Center's public health and infectious disease expert advisers," Science Center President Jeffrey Rudolph said. The Science Center's IMAX theater will also reopen March 27, showing the films "Hubble" and "Under the Sea."
Exhibitions at the Science Center include "The Art of the Brick," built entirely from LEGO bricks, "Space Shuttle Endeavour" and "Kelp Forest." Two new exhibitions will also premiere soon. ``All in This Together'' will explore the facts about COVID-19 and the science behind the most powerful public health tools for fighting the pandemic. The exhibition, which opens in April, features a special display from the COVID Memorial Quilt honoring individuals lost to the virus.
Opening in June will be "Life! Beginnings," in which guests can experience the human journey from conception to birth inside an immersive "womb room" and explore real fetal specimens.
More information can be found at https://californiasciencecenter.org.
Huntington Library, Art Museum and Botanical Gardens
The Huntington Library, Art Museum and Botanical Gardens in San Marino will reopen its art galleries on April 17. Attendance will be limited to 25% of capacity and visitors must obtain tickets in advance at huntington.org.
Available for viewing will be the newly restored masterpiece of 18th-century British portraiture, "The Blue Boy" by Thomas Gainsborough. In addition, "Made in L.A. 2020: a version," the fifth iteration of the Hammer Museum's biennial exhibition, will debut at both the Hammer Museum and the Huntington in two versions that make up the whole, and will remain at both institutions through Aug. 1.
Planning for the reopening of other galleries at the Huntington, including the Library Exhibition Hall, is underway.
The Huntington's gardens remain open for visitors, with online reservations also required.
More information can be found at www.huntington.org/.
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Autry Museum of the American West
The Autry Museum of the American West will reopen its doors to members on March 30, with the general public able to visit the facility at Griffith Park starting April 6.
Advance reservations will be required, with tickets and visitor information available at theautry.org/visit.
"After a challenging year for so many, we are ecstatic to reopen the museum and welcome the community back into our building. We are thrilled to share our three new onsite exhibitions with the public and, complementing our growing online offerings, continue telling the diverse stories of the American West in person," Autry Museum President and CEO W. Richard West Jr. said. "I am grateful to our dedicated staff, who had to adapt quickly to bring the museum online in 2020 and who are now working diligently to reopen the physical space in 2021."
