Armor Museum to reopen with COVID-19 protocols and a motivational “Call to Arms” from World War II
(Old Bethpage, N.Y.) How to motivate visitors to maintain social distancing upon entering the Museum of American Armor when it re-opens on Friday, July 31st?
The Armor Museum has enlisted the Army.
The Museum of American Armor, 1303 Round Swamp Road, Old Bethpage, has teamed up with Dr. Erik Villard, Digital Military Historian at the U.S. Army Center of Military History, to present his innovative reinvention of motivational posters first created by the War Department during World War II.
From G.I.s prepared to throw hand sanitizers (as opposed to hand grenades), to a masked Uncle Sam leading a charge against COVID, the posters will be situated throughout the museum, adjacent to its tanks, artillery pieces, and uniformed mannequins.
Dr. Villard explained, “I already have a massive collection of these posters. I just looked through them and thought, ‘Okay, which ones could be modified, so that they keep something of the original spirit, but would be applicable to the Covid crisis?’
“Some of the posters are kind of the traditional attack / over the top variety; but then others, like the ‘Knowledge Wins’ poster are more information-based. Certain images will resonate with some people, and others will prefer a different approach,” he continued.
Museum of American Armor founder and president, Lawrence Kadish, stated, “We are following all the CDC protocols to allow the museum to open on July 31st, but we wanted to make sure that our visitors’ behavior remains the first line of defense against spreading COVID-19. These imaginative re-envisionings of classic military posters by Dr. Villard are designed to get your attention, focus on COVID precautions, and to do so in a setting that reminds you America has gotten through much worse when it pulled together.”
The Museum of American Armor has some 40 operational military vehicles under cover within Nassau County’s Old Bethpage Village Restoration. Its re-opening hours are Friday to Sunday, 11:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. An admission donation of $15 for adults is requested, $10 for seniors and veterans, and $8 for children.
The goal of the Museum of American Armor is to bring the sights and sounds of American history to a new generation, and thereby pay tribute to those who have dedicated their lives to defending our freedoms. Our interactive reenactments present a virtual time machine designed to assist in telling the seminal story of American courage, valor, and sacrifice.
WWII Weekend features a sprawling encampment of living historians, armor, and exhibits, designed to capture the sights and sounds of a pivotal conflict, the outcome of which continues to shape our world.
Travel back to 1944 with the nationally-acclaimed Armor Experience, as individuals are given the opportunity to be immersed with living historians in a time and place when Allied forces attempted to push back German troops while fighting to liberate a continent.
Tanker Weekend has become a much anticipated Labor Day tradition for all of Long Island and the New York metropolitan area, as scores of historic tanks and armor vehicles take to the field in a unique and powerful display of America’s military might some 75 years ago.
1303 Round Swamp Road
Plainview, NY 11803
Phone: 516.454.8265
BETA