Eureka the national children's museum in Halifax reveals plans for its re-opening

Eureka the national children's museum in Halifax has been closed since the lockdown restrictions were introduced.

Last week the Government announced that many venues, including most museums and visitor attractions, will be permitted to reopen from July 4 2020.

The museum in Halifax has given an update on its plans.

Leigh-Anne Stradeski, Eureka! Chief Executive, said: "Our priority has always been, and continues to be, ensuring the safety and wellbeing of our visitors and staff.

"We will not reopen until we are confident that we have effective measures in place to deliver a great day out, within this new context of social distancing.

"We are therefore not planning to reopen until early August – the exact date to be confirmed.

"A few weeks back we asked you – our visitors – how you felt about us reopening. A huge thank you to the 1,200+ of you that took the time to respond. Your answers have informed our decision making at every stage.

"The world has changed, and we must adapt.

"We will remain the Eureka! that you know and love, but there are some things that we know we need to do differently, such as changing the way people book their visits to limit the number of people in the building, and installing more facilities such as screens and more hand sanitizing points, just for starters.

"Importantly for us, most of our team has been furloughed for a number of months now, and we are committed to supporting their return to work and to embracing new ways of working.

"Simply put, we’re just not ready to reopen in July and, more importantly, we wouldn’t be doing right by you, our visitors, or our team if we rushed to open our doors too soon.

"We’ll keep you updated, will be extending annual passes to cover the closure period, and will be asking you for your thoughts again before we open our doors once more.

"Until then, thanks for your ongoing patience and support – it has meant the world to our team here during this difficult time, and we look forward to seeing you again soon."