PORT ANGELES — Feiro Marine Life Center, a prime tourist attraction and educational institution at Port Angeles City Pier, will reopen its doors to walk-in visitors today.
The aquarium had closed completely in early 2020 and later reopened under a strict reservation system following state guidance for COVID-19.
The state lifted most restrictions on Wednesday. However, with today’s resumption of services, there will still be capacity limits.
Feiro Executive Director Melissa Williams said Thursday that the center would operate at reduced capacity.
“Because kids can’t be vaccinated and because, of course, this facility is a big family attraction, we want to keep the kids as safe as possible,” she said.
“We are going to be at 50 percent capacity, which is about 25 people, and we will have added ventilation in the exhibits.”
Feiro was closed to visitors in March 2020 as part of a statewide shutdown of non-essential services as a precaution against the rising spread of COVID-19. At that point, the front door was locked and educational programs were delivered to North Olympic Peninsula school children virtually.
When restrictions were eased in July 2020, the center reopened to groups of up to eight people through a reservation system that allowed 45-minute visits with a 15-minute interval in between for staff members to clean and disinfect all surfaces accessible to the public.
The reservation system will end with today’s reopening.
Williams said unvaccinated visitors still will be asked to wear masks, but there are no plans to verify vaccination status.
“We’re going on the honor system with masks,” she said.
Most exhibits that require touching surfaces, which were removed under COVID restrictions, have been restored, with the exception of the sandbox, which encouraged children to crowd together, Williams said.
Feiro Marine Life Center Facilities Director Tamara Galvan, left, discusses admission procedures on Thursday with guest service specialists Disa Wilson, center, and Kennedy Cameron in preparation for today’s reopening for walk-up visitors at Port Angeles City Pier. (Keith Thorpe/Peninsula Daily News)
Also missing will be the plastic shields that separated visitors from docents.
Feiro also is reinstating admission fees, which had been on hiatus for the past year. Summer admission is $5 for adults, $4 for seniors and $3 for children ages 3-17. Children younger than 3 and member patrons can enter for free.
Offseason admission is by donation.
For now, hours will be from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. Thursday through Monday, depending upon staffing.
In a change from previous practices, Feiro will have additional staffing to assist with capacity control, Williams said.
“We’ll have two staff members on duty this summer at the same time, which is different for us,” she said. “We’ll be having a staff member outside, checking capacity, doing line engagement, talking to folks as they’re waiting.”
Staff members spent part of Thursday trying to work out protocols for keeping track of visitors.
Facilities director Tamara Galvin said she was confident the system would work.
“We’re figuring that out today because we’ve never done it before,” she said. “We’re going to work out the kinks and figure out the best way to keep track of people, and how to maneuver so we’re not blocking the front door area for people waiting to come in.”
Galvin said it will be good to get back to a semblance of what the center was like in the days before the COVID-19 pandemic.
“I’m excited. I think a lot of the volunteers are excited to have people back coming back in,” she said. “They were already excited when we went back to appointment-based.
“They had really great in-depth conversations (with visitors), but I think they’re also excited not to have to follow the same family around for 45 minutes.”
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Photojournalist Keith Thorpe can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 59050, or at photos@peninsuladailynews.com.
