The 21 museums operated by the Smithsonian Institution, many of them top tourist attractions in Washington, closed on Sunday as the federal government shutdown stretched into its second week.
The Smithsonian had warned since the shutdown began Oct. 1 that it would most likely have to close its museums, as well as its 14 education and research centers and the National Zoo, if Congress did not reach an agreement on funding soon. For most of the last week, a bright red banner across the top of the institution’s website advised visitors that the museums would close to the public on Sunday.
The Smithsonian Institution, which was founded in 1846 and calls itself “the world’s largest museum, education and research complex,” operates some of the most popular museums in the country, including the Air and Space Museum, the American History Museum and the Natural History Museum. Most are on the National Mall in Washington, though two are in New York, and admission is generally free. They were visited nearly 17 million times in 2024.
The Smithsonian receives more than 60 percent of its annual funding from the federal government. It had announced two days after the shutdown began that it would rely on prior-year funds to remain open to the public until at least Oct. 6.
In a post on Instagram on Friday, the organization said it would update the public on its “operating status” as soon as “the situation is resolved.” After Instagram users expressed concern for the animals in the National Zoo, the Smithsonian added, “The shutdown will not affect our commitment to the safety of our staff and standard of excellence in animal care.”
Within days of the start of the shutdown, after Democrats and Republicans had entered a standoff over government funding that centered on health care spending, several tourist sites in Washington, including the Library of Congress, the National Archives Museum and the National Arboretum, had closed. The National Gallery of Art shut its doors on Oct. 4. Tours of the Capitol and the Pentagon were suspended, and while the national parks have largely remained open, many have limited their services.
Last week, a statue of George Washington that belongs to the National Park Service was installed in the White House Rose Garden after being removed from the grounds of the Washington Monument, which is closed because of the shutdown.
Roughly 600,000 federal workers are furloughed, and President Trump has seized on the impasse to reduce the civil work force. By Friday, more than 4,000 employees across seven federal departments, including the Treasury Department and the Department of Health and Human Services, had received layoff notices.
Mr. Trump said on Saturday that he had “identified funds” that would permit the government to pay members of the military during the shutdown, even though Congress had not approved additional money to do so.
Derrick Bryson Taylor is a Times reporter covering breaking news in culture and the arts.
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