Discovery Park Announces Reopening Plans

Union City — While Discovery Park of America remains closed to the public through May 2020, the museum and heritage park plans to reopen the outside areas for members only on Sat., May 30 and Sun., May 31, 2020 following strict social distancing guidelines.
The 50-acre heritage park opens to the general public June 1, 2020, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., and be closed Tuesdays and Wednesdays for deep cleaning. Discovery Center, the museum at Discovery Park, will remain closed at this time. While most of the outside areas are open to the public beginning June 1, the Children’s Discovery Garden Playground is closed until further notice. The entrance to Discovery Park is through the outside North Ticket Gate.
A task force made up of managers of various departments at Discovery Park worked extensively on guidelines for employees and guests to the park that incorporate the “Tennessee Pledge” guidance from Gov. Bill Lee’s Tennessee Economic Recovery Group.
“As one of our leading museums and attractions in the state, we’ve been working closely with Discovery Park’s leadership to provide information and guidance as they create their reopening plan,” said Tennessee Department of Tourist Development’s commissioner, Mark Ezell, who is also chairing the Tennessee Economic Recovery Group. “We need Tennessee businesses like Discovery Park to step up and pledge to follow the guidelines developed by the recovery group. It is critically important that we maintain our commitment to social distancing and adhere to these new guidelines so that we can continue to reopen our economy.”
Employees of Discovery Park will follow new procedures that include temperature checks, masks and a strict social distancing policy. Guests will follow guidelines to allow them to enjoy the park while ensuring their health and safety. A complete list of the new guidelines for guests can be found on Discovery Park’s website.
“Since Discovery Park of America first closed on March 17, 2020 because of the threat brought on by the worldwide COVID-19 outbreak, our goal has been the safety and welfare of our community, guests and staff,” said Scott Williams, Discovery Park’s president and CEO. “Our plan for reopening continues that commitment by incorporating a nurse on duty when we are open, extensive deep-cleaning procedures, limiting the number of guests in our smaller areas and ongoing evaluation and implementation of best practices as we make this incredible outdoor space available to guests once again.”