The Tennessee State Museum will reopen to the public beginning Wednesday, July 1 at 10 a.m., welcoming visitors back to experience Tennessee history, art and culture from the state’s natural history beginnings through the present day. The Museum has taken the Tennessee Pledge and is committed to protecting the customers that it serves. In preparation for its reopening, the Museum is sharing the following important information, also made available on the Museum’s website at TNMuseum.org.
The following information is provided by the Museum:
The Museum is located at the corner of Rosa L. Parks Boulevard and Jefferson Street, adjacent to the Nashville Farmers’ Market at the Bicentennial Capitol Mall State Park. Free parking is available in lot shared by the Museum and the Farmers’ Market, 1000 Rosa L. Parks Blvd., Nashville, Tn. 37208.
The Museum will be open its normal hours:
Sunday: 1 p.m. – 5 p.m.
Monday: closed
Tuesday-Wednesday: 10 a.m. – 5 p.m.
Thursday: 10 a.m. – 8 p.m.
Friday-Saturday: 10 a.m. – 5 p.m.
Admission to the Tennessee State Museum is free.
Based on Metro Nashville Davidson County Phase 3 Reopening Guidelines, the Museum will be able to welcome visitors at 75 percent of the normal capacity.
The Tennessee State Museum is housed in a State of Tennessee building which requires that all employees and guests receive a temperature check when entering the facility and wear a mask or similar face covering over their nose and mouth. Patrons will be permitted to wear their own face covering or be provided a disposable mask at the visitor desk. According to CDC guidelines, children under the age of 2 should not wear a face covering. Those not wearing a mask, or presenting with a temperature higher than 100.4 degrees, will not be allowed to enter. Notice for entry requirements will be posted at the visitor entrances.
Staff will be maintaining the recommended six feet distance when interacting with Museum visitors. Social distancing signs will be placed in the Grand Hall, gallery spaces and store and near elevators to assist in directing patrons to keep a safe distance from each other.
During this initial phase of the Museum’s reopening, our Children’s Gallery will be closed to the public. We invite visitors looking to engage their children with kid-specific programming to visit the new TSM Kids section of our website at TNMuseum.org/kids.
During this initial phase of the Museum’s reopening, all interactive touchscreens throughout the Museum will be disabled to further protect the visitor.
All Guided Tours, at both the Museum and the State Capitol, and public events at the Museum are currently postponed and will be evaluated again by Aug. 1. Keep an eye on our events calendar at TNMuseum.org for updates on events. We continue to offer many events, like our Lunch with a Curator lectures, classes, and book club discussion online. You may also wish to sign up for our newsletter at TNMuseum.org or follow us through our social media accounts for updates.
The opening of Ratified! Tennessee Women and the Right Vote, the Museum’s temporary exhibition commemorating the 100th anniversary of the ratification of the 19th Amendment, has been delayed and will be announced soon. Please check TNMuseum.org soon for updates. We invite visitors to visit Ratified! Statewide!, an online component of the exhibition that surveys activity related to the women’s suffrage movement in every county in the state.
All of the Museum’s current permanent and temporary exhibitions will be open to visitors. These include the permanent exhibitions, Tennessee Time Tunnel, Natural History, First Peoples, Forging a Nation, Civil War and Reconstruction, Change and Challenge and Tennessee Transforms, and the temporary exhibitions, Early Expressions: Art in Tennessee Before 1900, In Search of the New: Art in Tennessee After 1900, Tennessee and The Great War: a Centennial Exhibition, and Why Do Museums Collect?
While the functionality that enables visitors to refill their own personal water bottles at our water foundations will be enabled, the water fountain functionality will not. Remember to bring your own water or a refillable bottle.
If you have a fever, are exhibiting any COVID-19 symptoms, or have been exposed to anyone else with symptoms within a two-week period prior to your visit, we ask that you not visit the Museum at this time. If you experience any symptoms within two weeks of your museum visit, let us know by emailing info@tnmuseum.org
For questions about the visiting the Museum, contact us at info@tnmuseum.org or 615-741-2692.