Kentucky Museum News

The Kentucky Museum at WKU is reopening this week under coronavirus prevention measures outlined in WKU’s Healthy on the Hill guidelines.

The Museum will open to the public on Thursday, February 4, and Friday, February 5. To limit the spread of COVID-19, the following measures are in place:

• Open hours for public visitation are Thursdays and Fridays from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.
• Visitors are required to wear a mask at all times and maintain a minimum six feet distance from those not in their household group.
• Visitors will follow a one-way path through the museum, provided via a printed map.
• Visitors are encouraged to utilize hand sanitizer stations located throughout the museum.

Additionally, the Museum has suspended all adult group tours or K-12 groups, due to COVID-19. No reservations or walk-ins will be accepted.

WKU faculty and students can visit the Museum during public hours or by making an appointment. Faculty should click here to schedule a Class Tour, or click here to schedule a Close Study of Collections session.

The Kentucky Museum has also implemented increased cleaning protocols, consistent with WKU Healthy on the Hill guidelines. The Museum team has worked to modify some parts of the Museum experience due to COVID-19. In particular, hands-on stations located in previous exhibits have been removed.

Visitors will notice other changes throughout the Museum. The exhibition A Star in Each Flag has been removed to make way for a new Teaching Gallery, set to open in Fall 2021 with exhibitions developed in partnership with Dr. Carrie Cox (Fashion Merchandising) and Dr. Tim Frandy (Folk Studies). Parts of the Teaching Gallery are now on view, including the newly opened A Seat at the Table and Kentucky Women Rising, which explore the history of Kentucky women in politics.

Visitors will also be among the first to see Gazing Deeply: The Art & Science of Mammoth Cave, which explores how scientists and artists work together at Mammoth Cave National Park to address critical conservation issues. Gazing Deeply was developed in partnership with Dr. Chris Groves (University Distinguished Professor of Hydrogeology) and former WKU instructor and science illustrator Julie Schuck, along with numerous WKU students, widely-known geologists working in karst studies, and Mammoth Cave National Park representatives.

About the Kentucky Museum

The Kentucky Museum celebrates all aspects of south central Kentucky’s art, history and culture. “Kentuckians need to know Kentucky” was the Museum’s earliest conceptual framework, which took shape under WKU’s founding President, Dr. Henry Hardin Cherry. Today, the Museum is a steadfast educational campus partner helping to inspire innovation, elevate the community and transform the lives of WKU students and the region.