The Smithsonian museums and the National Zoo have closed until further notice. The news comes amid a lack of funding from the federal government due to the ongoing shutdown.
After using reserve funds since Oct. 1, the Smithsonian said it has run out of money and will be closing its doors indefinitely.
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A notice on its Instagram page said, “Due to the government shutdown, Smithsonian museums are temporarily closed beginning Sunday, Oct. 12.”
The national zoo is also closed, but officials reassured the public that the animals will still be fed and cared for. However, the popular live animal cams won’t be available until funding returns.
The closure is similar to that of 2018-2019, when the government shut down for approximately five weeks. In that instance, the museums and zoo remained open for 11 days before closing, only to reopen once the government did.
Visitors turned away
Thousands of tourists were turned away at the National Mall this weekend, with some saying they had flown from Canada and Australia only to find locked doors.
Jeff Walsh, a Canadian visiting Washington on a work trip, told CNN he had planned to visit several museums.
“I didn’t realize the museums would be shut down today,” he said. “It’s disappointing the government can shut down like this. It doesn’t happen like this in Canada.”
Deborah Silva and her son, a fourth-grader in Alabama, went to D.C. over the weekend and were also disappointed to find the museums closed.
“They’re out of school this week, so we went ahead and got everything together and came here,” Silva said. “To say that he’s highly disappointed is an understatement.”
Shutdown enters third week
The museums and zoo will remain closed until Congress reaches a deal, and for now, there’s no end in sight.
The Senate will not reconvene until Tuesday, when it will require at least 60 votes to pass a bill to reopen the government. Both sides of the aisle blame the other for the shutdown.
