Orange County NC Website
Please explain <br />measures taken by <br />your organization to <br />mitigate the spread <br />of COVID-19. <br />Kidzu closed on March 15, 2020, in response to the COVID-19 <br />pandemic. In April 2020, all part-time staff were furloughed and all <br />remaining staff took 50% salary reductions. All non-essential <br />expenditures were suspended. Earned rev enue (admissions, <br />program fees, etc.) accounts for 50% of the museum’s annual <br />operating budget, all of which was eliminated completely during the 9 <br />months the museum was closed. <br />The remaining Kidzu team aimed to meet families at home, while <br />recognizing the div ersity within our community and v ariability of <br />family circumstances. The “Kidzu@Home” v irtual museum launched <br />in April, 2020, and has grown ov er the years into a resource <br />garnering not only local, but national attention for its rich array of <br />resources, online kits and curriculum guides, v ideo activ ities, story <br />times, and Facebook Liv e ev ents for families and teachers. All of the <br />v irtual material is open-sourced and many activ ities and story times <br />are av ailable in Spanish and Mandarin in addition to English; all is <br />meant to inspire full family engagement and augment home and <br />school-based learning. <br />Kidzu re-opened its doors for pre-registered, limited v isitation mid- <br />Nov ember 2020 in accordance with the State of NC’s indoor capacity <br />limitations. The museum is currently serv ing 20% of its pre-COVID <br />capacity on-site, and is av eraging 15% of it’s pre-pandemic earned <br />rev enue each month. As a part of our health and safety <br />requirements, all v isitors (ages 2+) must wear masks while inside our <br />museum space (regardless of v accination status), there are <br />enhanced cleaning schedules in accordance with CDC guidelines and <br />standards set forth by the Association of Children’s Museums, 12 <br />hand sanitizer stations throughout the exhibit areas, and multiple <br />baskets around for “touched toys.” Extensiv e surv eying of Kidzu <br />member families has guided our decision-making, and the <br />ov erwhelming message is that, for a majority of families, until the <br />v accines are av ailable to children, caregiv ers continue to be <br />extremely cautious about returning to heav ily tactile, indoor spaces. <br />COVID-19 IMPACT <br />DATA <br />This data is for the OCAC's informational purposes only and may or <br />may not be applicable to your organization depending on your <br />structure. <br />Number of Staff <br />Eliminated since <br />March 15, 2020 <br />6PT <br />Number of Staff <br />Positions <br />Furloughed/Hours <br />Reduced since <br />March 15, 2020 <br />15 FTE furloughed in March 2020 and gradual rehires beginning <br />December 2020 and continuing; 9 FTE reduced hours between <br />March-August 2020 <br />DocuSign Envelope ID: 18FE1632-1968-4813-8295-6CB28BF1FBB7