Smithsonian Museums, National Zoo To Reopen On Tuesday

WASHINGTON, DC — All Smithsonian museums and the National Zoo in Washington, D.C. will reopen on Tuesday, the institution announced on Friday.

The announcement came the same day President Trump signed a continuing resolution to reopen the federal government for three weeks and end the longest government shutdown in U.S. history.

Pending passage of a continuing resolution to fund the government, all Smithsonian museums and the National Zoo will reopen Tuesday, Jan. 29 at their regularly scheduled times.
— National Zoo (@NationalZoo) January 25, 2019

The partial government shutdown — which began on Dec. 22 — sent the country into a tailspin. Federal workers weren't getting paid, national parks were overrun with trash, and museums were closed.

Through the use of carry-over funds from the previous fiscal year, the Smithsonian Institution was managed keep its museums and zoo open to the public for 11 days. When funding ran out on Jan. 2, museums shuttered its doors and the National Zoo's Giant Panda Cam went dark.

Smithsonian secretary David J. Skorton said in an op-ed for USA TODAY that the institution lost $1 million each week.

"The closure of restaurants, shops, IMAX theaters and other operations is costing the Smithsonian approximately $1 million in revenue each week," Skorton said in the op-ed published on Jan. 22. "These losses are not recoverable. They will have a lasting effect on our budget for this fiscal year. And that effect grows each day."

Photo by Mark Wilson/Getty Images