The Danish Windmill will be re-opening on Tuesday, May 26. We will offer curbside pick-up of purchases made online or by phone. We ask that you are respectful of us and your fellow shoppers/visitors by maintaining social distance, wearing masks, touching products minimally and if you are not feeling well, please stay home. Thank you for your support over the past two months. We’re excited to see your (masked) faces again!
Initially our hours of operation will be Monday-Saturday from 10-4 and Sunday from 12-4 to allow time to clean for the next day.
We want to assure you that we are aggressively responding to protect the health and safety of our visitors. We strongly encourage everyone to follow the recommendations of local public health and healthcare providers.
Before opening…
The entire building has been thoroughly cleaned including carpets. Staff is trained on the cleaning procedures including how to wipe down surfaces after every interaction. We’re limiting access to areas and avoiding using other employees’ phones, desks, offices, or other work tools and equipment, when possible. If necessary, clean and disinfect them before and after use.
What to expect— Keeping visitors and staff safe
Cleaning the facility We will clean AND disinfect frequently touched objects and surfaces such as workstations, keyboards, telephones, handrails and doorknobs.
Upon your arrival—All staff and volunteers are required to wear face masks covering mouth and nose and we request visitors to do the same. If you don’t have a mask, we are offering them for sale in the gift shop for $2. For every mask purchased, we are donating a medical grade mask to Salem Nursing Home here in Elk Horn.
All visitors will be asked to “sign in” with a telephone number. Museum staff will actually record the data including visitor name, city, and phone number.
Everyone will be asked the following questions:
▪ Have you traveled outside of Iowa in the past 2 weeks? If so, where?
▪ Have you interacted with anyone who has COVID-19 within the last 2 weeks?
▪ Have you yourself recovered from a diagnosed case of COVID-19 in the past month?
If you choose not to answer the questions, we will remind you that this is for your safety and the safety of others. You will not be denied entrance if you don’t answer the questions, but your name and contact information will be required.
Practicing good hygiene —We encourage good hygiene practices including regular hand washing and use of hand sanitizer and sanitizing spray that will be available throughout the complex.
Social distancing guidelines We ask that you honor social distancing guidelines. Our staff has clear instructions to enforce these guidelines if visitors are not following health and safety protocols.
Tours
At this time tours of the Windmill will be very limited due to the age and fragile nature of this very large artifact. Additionally because the VikingHjem and Morning Star Chapel are such a small space for people to gather they will need to be viewed from the outside.
Limiting Capacity and Access
Capacity will be limited to 25% during the first month and/or during Phase 1. We will monitor entry and exit, evaluate this new process and make modifications if necessary. Since there is the possibility of a second outbreak, things may change and we may have to close again for Staff and Volunteer safety.
Museum store
The Museum gift shop is set up for one-way traffic throughout and there will be floor markings or ropes to define personal space parameters within the building. The maximum number of people in the store at one time will be limited to 25 people.
Sneeze guards have been installed to serve as barrier between staff and visitors at the front desk. We ask visitors to refrain from touching items unless you’re acquiring them including brochures in the Welcome Center.
Thank you for your cooperation and we look forward to seeing you soon!
