SAN DIEGO — The San Diego Air & Space Museum had to close their doors for a second time in early July but as of Monday, they have reopened to the public.
Jim Kidrick is the President and CEO of the Air and Space Museum.
"Being open, having Balboa Park open, is a symbol that we are open," Kidrick said. "We closed on March 17, re-opened on June 12, re-closed on July 7, and just now are reopening on August 31."
And if all that wasn't bad enough there was a flooding incident at the museum.
"All of a sudden somebody knocks over a fire hydrant and we have Old Faithful," Kidrick said. "Essentially we suffered minor damage but nothing that was valuable to the collection."
Those that came to the Air and Space Museum Monday basically had it to themselves. For Alexandria Pedraza, it was her first time.
"I feel like I have more time to sit there and look at everything," she said. "I didn't feel rushed."
That's good because there's plenty to see. Kidrick told News 8 about a few of the exhibits they have.
"I think we have a wonderful space exhibit highlighted by the Apollo 9 capsule," he said. "You'll see, probably, the best World War 1 displays in the world today. You'll see the Tuskegee Airmen Red Tail colors. We've got a plane with Jerry Coleman's name on it."
Pedraza had the day off from work to explore the museum.
"I feel there's so much to see that if I were to go back, there would be things to see that I missed the first time," she said.
To keep visitors safe the museum is wiping areas down, providing hand sanitizer, and keeping touch screens hands free. When visitors enter they are given a pen that has a stylus on the end to ensure no one is touching surfaces and can use the stylus to work with interactive screens.
Another hurdle for the museum has been the renovation of the Palisades Parking Lot at Balboa Park and the loss of 144 parking spaces.
"So there's plenty of parking, it's just a little harder to get to us," said Kendrick.
The good news is the San Diego Air & Space Museum is open seven days a week, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.