Shrewsbury Museum & Art Gallery to reopen on 28 July with free entry

Shrewsbury Museum & Art Gallery (SM&AG) is to reopen on Tuesday 28 July 2020, and will be also offering free entry to visitors until the autumn.

The Government announced that museums and art galleries could reopen from 4 July, and staff have been working tirelessly to make the museum safe for all ahead of reopening.

Visits to SM&AG typically last up to two hours. To enable social distancing to be followed, a maximum of 50 people will be permitted entry into the museum in the morning, and another 50 in the afternoon.

Medieval Gallery at Shrewsbury Museum & Art Gallery

Tickets must be pre-booked for each person in your party, including babies and children. This is so museum staff are aware of how many people will be visiting and to make sure social distancing can be followed, to give all visitors a safe and relaxing experience while journeying through the galleries.

You can pre-book your visit by visiting the website.

Fay Bailey, museums service manager at Shropshire Council, said:

“We are delighted to be reopening the museum again in time for the school summer holidays. Our staff have worked so hard, and we can’t wait to welcome people back and continue to share the stories of Shropshire. As a welcome back offer, we are offering free entry for a limited time, which we’re very excited about.

“We have put a number of measures in place in line with Government guidance so things may look a little different. These have been done to keep you safe, and we kindly ask that people follow these when visiting. You will find further details on the museum website and at the point of booking.”

Lezley Picton, Shropshire Council’s Cabinet member for culture, leisure, waste and communications, said:

“Whether you are local to the area or visiting, Shrewsbury Museum & Art Gallery is one of the ‘must see’ visitor attractions in Shrewsbury and Shropshire.

“It is fantastic news that the museum is now able to open in time for the school holidays, and for those looking stay in the UK for their summer holidays this year. I would urge everyone to visit this stunning museum and support the county’s community assets.”

During your visit

Visitors will be able to journey through five stunning galleries within the historic Music Hall and see the highlights of the permanent displays, including the launch of the ‘10 must see’ objects.

The Evolving Shropshire exhibition invites you to experience millions of years of the Shropshire landscape.

Stop. café bar, with measures in place to keep you safe, will be open for visitors to get refreshments… and they have signed up to the Government’s Eat Out to Help Out scheme which will make things a little cheaper too!

Although it has been necessary to remove interactive exhibits, an all-new Maximo Mouse trail will keep families entertained as they explore the galleries.

Keeping you safe

A number of important safety measures have been put in place to help achieve our top priority – to protect the health and safety of staff, volunteers and visitors.

When visiting you will notice signage, screens and social distancing queuing systems in place, as well as a clearly marked one-way system around the museum.

Toilets and touch points will also be cleaned more regularly, with hand washing facilities for visitors and staff readily available. Toilets are also only available to customers of the Museum and stop. café bar, to limit the number of people in the building and help keep them clean.

Uniformed staff will also be available to help ensure safety measures are being followed. But they’re also very knowledgeable about the collections so feel free to ask them any questions too!

For more information, visit the website.

Further information

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