At this time of year, the Kearny County Historical Society has typically either just had our annual meeting and election of officers or are planning the event. Due to concerns over Covid-19, the board decided not to have an annual meeting this year. While our county is currently in an Alert Level 1, as recently as two weeks ago we were at a Level 3. This meant that local health officers recommended decreased in-person interactions with others, necessary travel only, and limited attendance at gatherings of any number. Until Kearny County is consistently in a Level 1 and we learn more about the virus, KCHS activities will continue to look differently.
The Museum is open during regular hours, but we still have a mask mandate in place. This is because many of our visitors come from out of town, and we have no way of knowing whether they came from or traveled through an area of greater Covid infection. Rather than make exceptions to the rule for certain persons or groups, we have made face masks a blanket policy.
We also kindly ask visitors to maintain a safe distance from other guests, and displays are strictly hands off. Children under 12 must be accompanied by an adult and closely supervised. We continue to limit the number of visitors in the Museum and have not resumed guided tours.
Our greatest priority is our staff, volunteers, community AND collections. As conservators, we know that we must do no harm to historic artifacts and want our cultural resources to be here for future generations. Unlike hospitals, schools and other public buildings, many of our artifacts cannot be disinfected without compromising them.
Our board will periodically re-evaluate our policies, many of which have been adopted based on Museum Industry Standards. We appreciate your cooperation during this trying and uncertain time and hope that Covid-19 will be behind us soon so that we can safely return to business as usual.
GOD BLESS!