By The Associated Press

INDIANAPOLIS — The Children’s Museum of Indianapolis, one of the nation’s largest museums of its kind, is opening to the general public later this week for the first time since shutting down in mid-March during the pandemic.

While it will open its doors on Saturday, the museum management is putting a variety of measures in place to lower risks of infection, according to a recent museum news release. That includes setting visitor capacity at 3,000 and requiring the wearing of masks for everyone older than 2.

The museum says it has also stepped up cleaning protocols and improved the circulation of air through the facility in a bid to stem any spread of the novel coronavirus.

“We are firmly committed to doing everything within our power to make it safe for children, families, our staff and volunteers to return to the world’s largest children’s museum,” the museum’s CEO, Jeffrey H. Patchen, said.

He said that also included “additional resources to deep clean and sanitize the entire museum from top to bottom” and changing some interactive exhibits to keep touching of objects to a minimum.

The museum had over 1.3 million visitors last year, and it has taken a hit financially because of virus-related shutdowns.

The museum has been phasing in its opening by first allowing donors inside starting on June 24 and then letting museum members in beginning June 29.

To help control numbers, the museum is also requiring that people buy tickets in advance on the museum’s website.