Smithsonian museums, National Zoo close as government shutdown drags on
By Camila DeChalus, Sarah Davis, Kaanita Iyer, CNN
(CNN) — Smithsonian museums and the National Zoo shut their doors Sunday as the government shutdown enters its third week, the Smithsonian Institution posted on its website.
The Smithsonian Institute’s 19 museums and the zoo had remained open since the government shut down on October 1 by using budget funds from previous years.
The institution previewed its closing Friday, saying in a post on X: “Due to the government shutdown, Smithsonian museums are temporarily closed beginning on Sunday, Oct. 12, along with our research centers and the National Zoo.”
The zoo reassured the public on its website that the animals “will continue to be fed and cared for.” However, the zoo’s live animal cams will not be operating, according to the website.
The museums and the zoo will remain closed until Democrats and Republicans pass an agreement to reopen the government, but Congress is showing no signs of reaching a deal.
Roughly 1.4 million federal employees have been furloughed or are working without pay, according to a Bipartisan Policy Center review of the major agencies’ shutdown contingency plans. On Friday, more than 4,000 federal workers received layoff notices.
During the 2018-2019 funding lapse, the museums and the zoo were also open for 11 days at the start of the five-week shutdown.
Some tourists on the National Mall in Washington, DC on Sunday were disappointed to discover they could not access Smithsonian museums during their first day of closure.
Jeff Walsh walked up the steps of the National Museum of Natural History only to discover a sign taped to the door notifying visitors that the building was closed. Walsh, who was visiting the US from Canada for a work trip, had hoped to visit several of the 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.”
Other tourists were similarly surprised to discover the exhibits they’d traveled to see were unavailable. Deborah Silva flew to the nation’s capital with fourth grader Luke Skopek from Alabama after he said he wanted to see the history he was learning in school up close.
“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.”
Emily Macpherson, who flew from Australia to DC for a work trip, said touring the museums was her only planned activity for the day.
“That’s sort of my plans for the afternoon gone, I guess,” she said. “I don’t know what I’m going to do now.”
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