News

Cosmosphere staff and volunteer’s health and safety, in addition to the health and safety of our visitors, is of utmost importance!  The policies outlined below have been put in place to ensure the Cosmosphere can be the Safe Place for Space for everyone during this time. Cosmosphere will continue to follow COVID-19 safety guidelines, as directed by state and local health and governing authorities.

Staff, Volunteer and Visitor Safety

• All Front Line Staff and Volunteers (Box Office, including all venue ticket takers; Cafe; Gift Store and Maintenance) will be required to wear a mask during their shift when they are in public areas.
• It is required that all other staff and volunteers wear a mask when they are in public areas of the building of the Cosmosphere or in groups where it’s difficult to maintain a distance of six feet between themselves and others.
  • Visitors, employees and volunteers are required to wear a mask. Free disposable masks are available at the Box Office.
  • A clean mask will be required to be worn daily during an employee/volunteer’s shift.
  • Employees/Volunteers will be responsible for laundering their mask.
  • Masks will be recommended until the State of Kansas/Reno County Phase Out is announced.
• All staff/volunteers at retail points of sale will be required to wear gloves.
  • Cafe points of sale will need to use new gloves when switching between register transactions and handling food.
• Staff and volunteers are required to maintain safe behavioral practices:
  • social distancing (specifically, staying 6 feet away from others in shared spaces)
  • follow appropriate hand washing protocol to wash hands frequently and/or use hand sanitizer when soap and water are not available
  • wear face masks according to guidelines
  • avoid touching eyes, nose, and mouth
  • stay home when sick
  • clean and disinfect frequently touched objects and surfaces
• A temporary plexiglass shield will be installed at all retail points of sale.
• 6’ markers on the floor at Box Office, Gift Store, Cafe, and outside all venues will indicate social distance for visitors.

Staff Health

Staff and volunteers are asked to stay at home if they are sick or not feeling well. Staff/volunteers who have sore throat, nasal congestion, cough, a temperature in excess of 99 degrees, body aches, etc. will be required to stay at home.

Disinfect and Sanitize

• All high-traffic, hard/non-porous materials and more will be sanitized daily or multiple times during the day, including:
  • hard/non-porous materials:
    • surfaces
    • railings
    • tables
    • doorknobs
    • light switches
    • countertops
    • handles
    • desks
    • phones
    • keyboards
    • toilets
    • faucets and sinks
    • touch screens and more will be sanitized daily or multiple times during the day
• Outdoors: Outdoor areas require routine cleaning and do not require disinfection.
• Unoccupied area: If an area is unoccupied for seven days or more, it will only need normal routine cleaning to reopen. This is because the virus has not been shown to survive on surfaces longer than this time.

Contactless and Limited Contact Pay

• Online and phone sales will be encouraged.
• Access to information racks and other sources of paper that can be handled by multiple individuals will be eliminated.

Additional Precautions

• The toys and activities in the main lobby will be temporarily removed as will the scale, the penny machine and the wishing well.
• Neither the CosmoKids area nor the simulator will be open for use until further notice.
• Seating in the theaters and Dr. Goddard’s Lab will be limited to no more than 30 and visitors will be asked to adhere to social distancing guidelines for space between themselves and other visitor groups. Every other row in these venues will be unoccupied.

Click here to see our Coronavirus Safety Plan infographic for the public. 

For questions on any of the Cosmosphere COVID-19 safety procedures, or to plan your visit, call the Cosmosphere Box Office at: 620.665.9312.

Find out what safety measures you can expect when you visit:

✅ Safety of the public, here.

✅ Safety of our campers and camp staff, here.