Charlotte museums, attractions temporarily close in response to new county directive

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — The Mecklenburg County Health Department issued a directive aimed at preventing further spread of COVID-19 on Tuesday.

The directive, which included a recommendation to only leave home for essential activities, will remain in effect for the next three weeks, until Feb. 2.

Following the announcement, several museums and attractions announced temporary closures, including:

Bechtler Museum of Modern Art

The museum will be closed through Feb. 2.

Click here for a full list of upcoming virtual programs at the Bechtler.

Carolina Raptor Center

The center will be closed from Jan. 15 through Feb. 2.

If you have purchased tickets for a time during the temporary closure, contact Laura Kennedy here.

If you are registered for a Tour of Homes on Jan. 23 or Feb. 6, these events have been canceled.

Discovery Place Museums

Discovery Place Science, Discovery Place Nature and Discovery Place Kids-Huntersville will be closed through Feb. 2.

Anyone with reservations to visit one of the museums during the temporary closure will be fully refunded for their ticket purchases.

Educational activities and instructions for experiments from home are available here.

Discovery Place Kids-Rockingham, located in Richmond County, will remain open.

Harvey B. Gantt Center for African American Arts + Culture

The Gantt Center is closed until further notice.

All upcoming programming will continue to be presented virtually, including Martin Luther King holiday weekend activities consisting of a virtual film series starting Friday and a full day of music, performances, discussions and activities on Monday.

The Mint Museum

Both locations will be closed through Feb. 2. Any tickets that had been purchased for time slots during the temporary closure can be either refunded or used at another time when the museum reopens.

Virtual offerings, such as curator-led gallery tours, create-at-home activities, community conversations and artist Q&As, are available at mintmuseum.org.

President James K. Polk State Historic Site

The visitor center and all buildings are closed through Feb. 2.

In addition to these temporary closures, the Charlotte Mecklenburg Library announced it will limit its services from Jan. 15 through Feb. 2. Reduced operations include “grab and go” pickups of holds and mobile printing, along with returns at all branch locations.

All programming and events for children, teens, adults, Outreach and the Job Help Center have moved to online or virtual formats and can be found here.

Library hours are Monday through Thursday 9 a.m. - 8 p.m., and Friday and Saturday 9 a.m. - 5 p.m.

Here’s what Meck County’s new 3-week COVID-19 directive means

Cox Media Group