Children’s Museum In Denver To Close For 10 Days Due To Angry Reactions From Visitors Over Mask Policy

By Joel Hillan

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    DENVER, Colorado (KCNC) — The Children’s Museum of Denver at Marsico Campus will be closing for the next 10 days due to the behavior of some guests who have been objecting to the museum’s mask policy.

In an email sent to their members Tuesday afternoon, museum staff made the surprising announcement that they will be closed on Wednesday and the closure will last through Feb. 4.

The email says reservations for visitors during this time have been canceled.

A portion of the email is as follows:

“For nearly 50 years, the Children’s Museum of Denver at Marsico Campus has been a community gathering place where families can share moments of wonder and joy. Our staff takes this mission seriously, and strives to help your family create memories in a safe and welcoming environment.

Lately, this has been increasingly challenging. The Museum carefully follows public health guidelines, including mask wearing. We know the stress of the last two years has taken a toll on everyone in our community, but regrettably, some guests who object to the Museum’s mask policy have been inappropriately directing their anger toward our staff.

Therefore, we have made the decision to close our doors to the public January 26 through February 4 so that we can support our staff and bolster our policies with the hope of preventing this type of behavior in the future.

To our members and guests who respect our mask policy and cooperate with our staff, thank you. We are sorry that the unacceptable behavior of others means you cannot enjoy the Museum at this time.

We appreciate your understanding and look forward to serving you again soon. Please check our website for updates regarding our policies and upcoming reservations.”

On Tuesday evening, museum officials told CBS4 they were blown away by the response from the public about this decision. The museum’s president and CEO, Michael Yankovich, released this additional statement:

First, I would like to say we are overwhelmed with the outpouring of support we have received regarding our decision to temporarily close the Museum. Thank you to all who have sent messages filled with positivity and kind words. Objections to our mask policy have been increasingly directed at our staff in inappropriate ways, making it difficult to provide the type of welcoming and playful experience families expect when they visit the Museum. It became apparent that the only way to address the issue was through a temporary closure, allowing our staff space to take a step back. Our team will work their regularly scheduled hours and use this time to examine ways to support each other and bolster our policies in the hopes of ensuring the Museum is a safe place for both our community and our staff. Please check our website for updates in the coming days, and we look forward to welcoming you back to the Museum on February 5.

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