Please Touch Museum to undergo floor renovations

What's happening: Crews begin removing and replacing thousands of original red, black and white marble tiles in the museum's main hall and surrounding areas on the first floor today.

• The $4.2 million project is expected to take 13-15 months.

🤸🏿‍♀️ Be smart: Please Touch will remain open during the makeover.

• Crews are limiting their work to small areas at a time and within transparent tents and barricades, allowing daily operations and events to continue plus visibility into the construction.

Zoom in: The original floors, littered with chips and cracks, direly need repair.

• Memorial Hall opened in 1876 as the centerpiece of the Centennial Exposition marking the 100th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence.

Details: The areas slated for floor replacements include Hamilton Hall, near the entrance where the Statue of Liberty's arm and torch is located, plus a handful of rooms, hallways and the cafe.

• The new marble floors will look identical to the original.

By the numbers: The project includes 128 tons of new European marble stretching over 17,000 square feet.

What they're saying: The project will "bring the floor back to the grandeur it was in 1876," Mark Page, senior director of operations at the museum, tells Axios.