Day 5: Despite The Pandemic
Date & Time: 3-14-2020 9:30am - 5:15pm
Duties: Baumgartner Galleria Entrance Attendant
Today was an unusual one, the news of the COVID-19 virus being classified as a global pandemic has been declared today. People are advised to stay at home, take precautions and keep clean. The morning meeting became quick due to all gatherings and events being canceled due to the pandemic. After talking with some security guards who were stationed near me, it became apparent how recent events are impacting people differently. When the museum opened, it wasn’t long until people began to show, but 2 hours into the opening of the museum we had only obtained 13 guests so far. This was highly unusual for the museum on a Saturday. As the day progressed the count rose but still came at only half the usual visitors. Throughout my shift I was thanked by visitors for being open and for keeping cleanliness in mind. Although I did a “open to close” shift again at the museum, I made time go by quicker by doing a few sketches of the building in my buckets of free time. When I came home for my shift, I was called by the museum saying they are unfortunately shutting down due to the pandemic. I’m thankful I got to spend the last day there, as well as the other experiences and people I had come to know at the museum. I hope that soon our lives can get back to normal.
