Museum staff made the decision to close Sunday after learning someone who had recently been on site had tested positive for the Coronavirus. All visitors with reservations during the closure will be contacted by the museum to reschedule or refund their tickets. Museum staff were notified the afternoon of Sunday, March 14 that an individual who had recently been on site tested positive for COVID-19. Visitors, staff, and contractors who may have interacted with the individual will be contacted and their information will be shared with the Pittsfield Board of Health to aid in contact tracing efforts. During the closure, the museum will undergo a thorough cleaning to sanitize the facility from top to bottom.
The museum has offered summer camps to area children for over a decade, pausing in 2020 to offer digital camp experiences due to COVID-19. Registration begins Feb. 12 for Berkshire Museum members and March 18 for the general public at berkshiremuseum.org/programs/camp. Encouraged by the availability of vaccines, we re hopeful that conditions will permit in-person programming by early summer, said Berkshire Museum Executive Director Jeff Rodgers. We take Coronavirus very seriously and are making careful plans to ensure the safety of everyone; but we also believe it is critical that our kids are allowed to be kids, that summer is made fun again, and that our campers have opportunities to play together, explore new ideas, and discover life-long passions for science, culture, and learning.