CEO Bob LaPrelle said museum staff are doing regular inspections and getting in some needed repairs on its collection of more than three dozen cars and locomotives.
“One of the things this has given us an opportunity to do is to get out of the office and even get out of working at home and go out there and work on things and catch up on some things outside with the collection,” LaPrelle said. “It's a big collection, [and] it's out in the elements until we get our big, permanent building. There's plenty to do in addition to working from home.”
Among the work being done from home is the creation of online educational outreach videos that detail various pieces in the museum’s collection, which ranges from freight and passenger cars to steam and diesel locomotives. The museum also has a host of railroad memorabilia. The videos also give some of the cultural history behind the items, LaPrelle said.
“This is something we'll probably stay with even when everything opens back up,” LaPrelle said.
He said the museum’s videos have gotten a “great response” from both the rail enthusiast community and the museum’s regular visitors.
“We'll be putting them out, hopefully, at the rate of about one a week so we can we can take the museum to them,” LaPrelle said.
The museum CEO said his entire staff is still employed, and the nonprofit museum should be able to withstand the closure “for a while.”
“We have asked for relief through this Paycheck Protection Program [from the Small Business Administration],” LaPrelle said. “If it goes too long, though, we'd have to start diverting capital dollars from projects that are in the works to just sustain operations, and we don't want to do that.”
One of the biggest losses the unexpected closure has dealt the museum is not getting to host 25 Frisco ISD schools that were scheduled to visit over the last months of the school year, he said.
“That's a big hit on our educational programs, not only from the financial standpoint, but [also] from our educational outreach programs, which we really value,” LaPrelle said. “We enjoy having the schools come. That's one of the most disappointing parts of this whole thing. We love those kids.”
Still, LaPrelle said he believes the museum and the tourism industry in Frisco will bounce back.
“Once it's safe to go out, it may take a while for everybody to get that level of comfort, but I think it's going to come back,” LaPrelle said. “In fact, it might come roaring back, and we'll start filling hotels and restaurants again, and museums. I don't see it as a long-term loss for us. I think we're just kind of on hiatus here for a while.”
