The article examines the transformations that have taken place in the social and communication activities of museums in Ukraine. These transformations are triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic and the imposition of nationwide quarantine restrictions. The introduction of severe social restrictions forced museums around the world to urgently switch their work to online mode and develop modern communication tools for remote access to museum collections. During the first six months of the restrictions, each museum has chosen the most effective forms of work. These measures have enriched the experience of organizing online activities in institutions of social memory. The authors analyzed the features of the organization of social communication of regional museums of local lore in Ukraine in the initial period of lockdown and quarantine. The article shows that regional museum institutions were guided by the recommendations of the government, international and Ukrainian museum committees and used their own experience. The museums were able to overcome the problems of the first days and weeks after the limitation of offline activities and offered the society optimal tools and forms of access to museum collections. The authors of the article found that the main channels of communication for regional museums of local lore were social networks, and primarily Facebook. The following forms of communication have begun to be actively used in the activities of regional museums: online exhibitions, online conferences, online flash mobs for adults and children, virtual meetings with curators of museum collections, master classes, and meetings of museum communities. In the process of establishing communication with local communities, Ukrainian local history museums have gained important and relevant experience, which is described in the article

museum, social communications, museum communication, communication tools, Internet communication, regional museum of local lore, online access, pandemic