Endless memories of my littles playing and creating in the Family Center, meeting new friends at Summer Camps, honing their talents in Art Classes, “It’s Friday” date nights, after school trips & snacks in the Glass Pavilion, where I runaway to when Mom Life gets hard (a ½ hour in the Galleries, a glass of wine in the Café or Glass Pavilion, and you’re a new woman, try it ;), TMI on what TMA means to me? I guess what I’m saying is, the Toledo Museum of Art is definitely an important part of our family’s life and while it was comforting to be able to view various works of art online during quarantine it just wasn’t the same. There’s something about physically standing in front of art, being present with each piece, giving it your undivided attention in order to interpret the artist’s purpose, intention, message, and emotion, it’s like taking a trip that expands your knowledge, imagination, & overall need to grow beyond your own boundaries. So when I received the news that our treasured museum would be reopening you better believe I jumped at the opportunity to snag FREE timed tickets!
How to get your FREE Timed Tickets
A timed museum pass is required to enter TMA at this time. You can click on the link to be directed to their website where you can reserve your pass today…tickets.toledomuseum.org or you can call, 419-255-8000 ext. 7448. The passes are timed in ½ hour increments, which is only for your arrival time, you have as much time as you need to go through the galleries.
Current Hours
The Museum, Museum Store, & Café (Grab & Go) are open Tues.-Sun. 12-4pm. They are offering special hours for at-risk populations Tues.-Sun. 10A-12P.
What to expect when you visit…..
Parking- Great news, parking is FREE till July 8th
Masks- Masks are encouraged but not required for visitors. TMA volunteers and staff will wear masks.
Physical distancing- 6 feet between parties is monitored by TMA volunteers and staff
Entrance- You must enter from the back of the museum; the Monroe entrance is temporarily closed. You’ll see the floor markers guiding you indoors. Once inside have your pass/tickets ready to hand to the front desk. One of the amazing museum employees will scan your tickets and you’re ready to go!
Restrooms- Do stop off at the restrooms before heading into the galleries, you cannot backtrack; once you’re upstairs you can’t go back downstairs to use the restrooms.
Map- Feel free to download the museum map. There is a one-way path that takes you through the West Wing galleries & includes the Cloister, New Media Gallery, Great Gallery and Levis Gallery. If for some reason you can’t or don’t want to that’s totally fine, there are plenty of staff and volunteers to guide you along the way. The East Wing, Community Gallery, Family Center, Works on Paper/History Hallway, Art Reference Library, & the Glass Pavilion remain temporarily closed.
Sanitizer stations- Sanitizer stations are set up throughout for your safety and convenience.
I have to be honest; at first I wasn’t a fan of having to follow a gallery path. I prefer to set my own path, but I must admit I enjoyed the pace, it slowed us down, and we actually soaked in practically every piece of art. I had no idea how much we missed with our old fast-paced way of life. We saw new artwork and artwork that was new to us.
What’s a visit to the museum without stopping in the Museum Store? Again there was a sanitizer station set up as you entered, floor markers, limit to store occupancy, great deals on clearance 😉 , oh, and FYI, the museum is currently a temporarily cash free environment.
Museum Café is also cash-free at this time & food is Grab & Go, the dining room is not open yet.
Want to expand your museum visit? Not ready to enter the museum yet? No worries, ‘The Welles Sculpture Garden’, is open!
It felt amazing to be back…to allow our minds, bodies, and souls to take a mini staycation trip that expanded our knowledge, imagination, & overall need to grow beyond our own boundaries. Huge shout out and thank you to the awesome TMA employees, staff, and volunteers for the warm and inviting welcome back!
Have you gotten your passes yet? Share, tag friends, & meet up at TMA!
Mom on the go in Holy Toledo 