Museum prepares for its re-opening

WHILE the doors of Arklow Maritime Museum remain closed, preparations are already under way for its re-opening this month.

The popular attraction is hoping to open its doors to the public on June 29 after the Government announced an acceleration of the easing of Covid-19 restrictions. The Arklow museum shut its doors on March 13.

Jim Rees of Arklow Maritime Museum said the museum volunteers will spend the next few weeks putting additional hygiene measures in place and assessing the numbers that can be accommodated while maintaining physical distancing.

A further deep clean of the space in the Bridgewater Shopping Centre is due to take place shortly before the museum’s grand re-opening. In the meantime, the musuem has continued to share glimpses of its vast collection about Arklow’s maritime and social history on social media with between 4,000 and 6,000 views per post.

Work is also continuing on the expansion of the Arklow Maritime Museum with further details of the plans set to announced shortly.

A new pre-booking system for visitors to the museum is also being considered. Larger groups or families may be asked to contact the museum ahead of their visit to help with physical distancing.

‘We don’t know how the season is going to go, but we would love it if more local people were to visit as our takings have been badly hit for the year so far,’ Jim said.

‘We’d love to see them but would encourage them to phone ahead or pre-book.’

More details about a booking system and the re-opening of the Arklow Maritime Museum will be available shortly.