BATON ROUGE - One of Baton Rouge's newest museums has announced that it will reopen to the public just in time for summer.

The Knock Knock Children's Museum announced Thursday that after months of work and weeks of back-and-forth negotiations, it's finally set to reopen in June.

The museum says its COVID safety protocols and reopening plan were approved by both the Louisiana Department of Health and the State Fire Marshal's office, making Knock Knock the first children’s museum in the state to be cleared to fully reopen with tactile and hands-on exhibits.

Knock Knock also says that its comprehensive COVID safety plan is now being used as a model for other children’s museums around the state.

“This is exciting news for Knock Knock and children’s museums statewide,” Executive Director Peter Claffey said. “We have been developing detailed reopening plans for months. Of course, those plans have continued to evolve as the science and guidelines have changed, but with the recent approval by the State Fire Marshal and LDH, we are confident we can finally provide our visitors the full Knock Knock experience safely and without sacrificing our mission.”

Knock Knock’s newly approved COVID safety protocols include extensive new cleaning procedures, visitor entry, and exit protocols, and even modifying some Learning Zones to ensure the safest experience possible.

Things will be a little different when visitors return to Knock Knock, but playing with purpose is just as everyone remembers.

Staff members are set to welcome back visitors in June, after more than a year of uncertainty. 

"We have a lot of heart in this. We really love what we do each and every day. We're happy that we're able to continue to do it," Claffey said.

He says the museum's COVID safety protocols and reopening plan were approved by both the Louisiana Department of Health and the State Fire Marshal's Office. This news makes Knock Knock the first children's museum in the state to be cleared to fully open with tactile and hands-on exhibits.

"The core mission of Knock Knock is very much alive. It's vibrant, and it's in tact. We did everything we could to build a protocol that allowed us to keep that experience as in tact as we could," Claffey said.

Since the door's closed to the public last March, the children's museum has faced many challenges. Claffey says that inlcuded letting go of much of their staff.

"We reduced our staff by 71 percent. A much smaller staff really helps that burn, but now that we're getting ready to reopen we are hiring."

Staggered play times, limited capacity rules, and frequent sanitation are all a part of the museum's reopening plan. The goal is to keep kids safe while letting their creativity soar.

All visitors will be required to purchase tickets online due to capacity limitations. Registrations will be limited to a preset number of people on a first-come, first-served basis.

Additionally, hand sanitizing stations have been set up throughout the museum and each Learning Zone has a capacity sign indicating the maximum number of people allowed so social distancing can be maintained.

The museum says it looks forward to hosting guests in all 18 of its Learning Zones when its doors reopen in June.