D.C.’s Planet Word Museum will finally open its doors to the public next month. The museum, which was originally slated to begin welcoming visitors in the spring, announced Tuesday that it will now open on October 22.

The museum will feature interactive galleries and exhibits centered around words, reading, and public speaking, and is billing itself as the first voice-activated museum of its kind. Housed in the historic Franklin School building, where Alexander Graham Bell made the first wireless voice transmission in 1880, the museum was founded by philanthropist Ann Friedman.

“During the coronavirus pandemic, our focus has remained on the health and safety of our employees, contractors, and future visitors,” Friedman, also the museum’s CEO, said in a press release. “We’ve continued the work of designing immersive and interactive galleries, curating content to feature in our exhibits, and revitalizing the historic Franklin School, with deference to guidance from public health officials.”

Like other museums that have reopened during the pandemic, including the National Museum of Women in the Arts and the National Gallery of Art, Planet Word will open on a limited basis with safety protocols. General admission will be free but visitors must register in advance for timed tickets. Masks will be required and social distancing measures will be enforced. The museum will also provide stylus pens for its interactive exhibits so visitors won’t have to touch surfaces.

In addition to spaces for listening to poetry and solving puzzles, the museum will also host an immersive “Portal” from the arts collective Shared Studios. The shipping container Portal will be outfitted with immersive AV technology that will allow visitors to communicate with other people around the world like they’re in the same room.

Outside, in the museum’s courtyard, visitors can walk underneath “Speaking Willow,” a tree sculpture from artist Rafael Lozano-Hemmer that will play poems and sayings in various languages from motion-activated speakers.

Originally set to open this past May, the museum’s construction was delayed in 2018, when the city issued a stop-work order after discovering that parts of the building’s interior had been removed or changed, a violation of the District’s strict historic preservation rules. The building, which has served as a public school, homeless shelter, and more in its more than 150-year history, is an official National Historic Landmark and on the National Register of Historic Places.

Friedman cited her inexperience in real estate development as the reason for the mistake, according to the Washington Post, and implemented regular meetings and walk-throughs with city officials to avoid further issues.

The museum said in the release Tuesday that it has met its initial $20 million goal to cover the creation of the museum’s exhibits and its start-up operating costs. Donors include AT&T, Bloomberg Philanthropies, Microsoft Corporation, and more, including Friedman herself.

Until Planet Word opens, language fanatics can explore some of the virtual programming that the museum has been hosting, including conversations between artists, musicians, and poets from D.C. and countries around the world.

Previously: 

A Word Museum Is Opening In Downtown D.C. Next Spring
D.C. Council Gets (Some) Answers About Why City Didn’t Intervene Sooner In Damage Of Franklin School
A Developer Badly Damaged This Historic Site. It’s Still Unclear Why The City Didn’t Step In Sooner
Downtown’s Franklin School To Become A Linguistics Museum Called ‘Planet Word’