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Shutdown to close DC museums and galleries by midweek

In this photo taken April 19, 2015, people walk in the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum in Washington. A record number of U.S. tourists visited Washington last year.
The city’s tourism bureau, Destination DC, announced Tuesday, May 3, 2016, that the nation’s capital welcomed 19.3 million domestic visitors in 2015. That’s up one million from the 2014 total, and it shows the continuing strength of Washington’s tourism industry after the Great Recession. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik) — In this photo taken April 19, 2015, people walk in the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum in Washington. A record number of U.S. tourists visited Washington last year. The city’s tourism bureau, Destination DC, announced Tuesday, May 3, 2016, that the nation’s capital welcomed 19.3 million domestic visitors in 2015. That’s up one million from the 2014 total, and it shows the continuing strength of Washington’s tourism industry after the Great Recession. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik) In this photo taken April 19, 2015, people walk in the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum in Washington. A record number of U.S. tourists visited Washington last year. The city’s tourism bureau, Destination DC, announced Tuesday, May 3, 2016, that the nation’s capital welcomed 19.3 million domestic visitors in 2015. That’s up one million from the 2014 total, and it shows the continuing strength of Washington’s tourism industry after the Great Recession. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)

By Associated Press December 29, 2018 2 min read

WASHINGTON (AP) – Museums and galleries popular with visitors and locals in the nation’s capital will close starting midweek if the partial shutdown of the federal government drags on.

So will the National Zoo and a lively ice rink near the National Mall.

The attractions have stayed open by using unspent funds, but they are about to run out of that money.

Museums and galleries under the Smithsonian Institution umbrella will close starting Jan. 2, the Smithsonian said on its website.

That includes the zoo, as well as the National Air and Space Museum, the National Museum of African American History and Culture, the National Museum of Natural History, and several galleries, including the National Portrait Gallery, with its paintings of former presidents.