FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: March 22, 2022
Ongoing systems failure alters Cincinnati Museum Center and Freedom Center reopening
Reopening targeted for Freedom Center on March 30, Cincinnati Museum Center on March 31
CINCINNATI – Cincinnati Museum Center (CMC) and the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center updated their timelines for reopening following a temporary closure due to an ongoing systems failure. The systems failure has impacted museum ticketing and email systems, as well as exhibit-specific systems including lighting, digital interactives and theatrical programs that prevent the museums from reopening to the public. The Freedom Center is targeting a reopening of Wednesday, March 30 reopening and CMC a reopening of Thursday, March 31. 
CMC’s systems were impacted by a virus on March 12, which disrupted both CMC’s and Freedom Center’s public operations. In addition to exhibit-specific systems, the virus has damaged CMC’s networking capabilities, disrupting how various internal systems communicate with each other. CMC is working with trusted partners to repair the damage to its systems, methodically working through each system and each device. The complexity and scope of the process has necessitated CMC and the Freedom Center to push back their reopening dates.
“We are taking the painstaking, necessary steps to restore and secure our systems in a way that allows us the most complete recovery and to protect our museums in the future,” said Elizabeth Pierce, president and CEO of Cincinnati Museum Center, and Woodrow Keown, Jr., president and COO of the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center. “We understand the inconvenience this presents to our guests, and we are working to welcome each of you back into our museums as quickly as possible.”
There continues to be no indication that personal data has been compromised.
The Nancy & David Wolf Holocaust & Humanity Center located at Union Terminal will also be closed to the public during this time and is planning to reopen on March 31.
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About Cincinnati Museum Center
Cincinnati Museum Center (CMC) at Union Terminal is a nationally recognized, award-winning institution housed in a National Historic Landmark. CMC is a vital community resource that sparks curiosity, inspiration, epiphany and dialogue. CMC was awarded the 2009 National Medal for Museum and Library Service from the Institute of Museum and Library Services and received accreditation from the American Alliance of Museums in 2012, one of a select few museums in the nation to receive both honors. Organizations within CMC include the Cincinnati History Museum, Museum of Natural History & Science, Children’s Museum, Robert D. Lindner Family OMNIMAX® Theater, Cincinnati History Library and Archives and the Geier Collections and Research Center. Housed in historic Union Terminal – a National Historic Landmark restored in 2018 and recognized as the nation’s 45th most important building by the American Institute of Architects – CMC welcomes more than 1.8 million visits annually, making it one of the most visited museums in the country. For more information, visit www.cincymuseum.org.