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All Smithsonian museums reopen on Monday

By Kate Corliss
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All of the Smithsonian’s museums will reopen on Monday after the longest U.S. government shutdown on record kept doors closed for weeks.

Smithsonian facilities, which closed Oct. 12, have been reopening on a rolling basis since the shutdown ended late Wednesday.

Both the National Air and Space Museum and the National Museum of American History resumed operations Friday.

The National Zoo welcomed its first post-shutdown visitors Saturday.

Museums that will reopen their doors by Monday include:

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National Museum of the American Latino to be housed in historic Smithsonian building

By Neal Augenstein
The Smithsonian Institution has decided to put the National Museum of the American Latino into an existing, historic building, rather than constructing a new one. The Smithsonian Board of Regents on Monday designated the Arts and Industries Building, a 145-year-old redbrick Victorian structure located between the Smithsonian Castle and the Hirshhorn Museum, as the permanent site of the National Museum of the American Latino, which Congress authorized in 2020. In 2022, the Smithsonian narrowed its survey for permanent locations for the National Museum of the American Latino and the American Women's History Museum to four locations near the National Mall on land owned by the National Park Service. The Arts and Industries Building, located at 900 Jefferson St. SW, was one of the four sites. New construction on National Park Service land would require congressional approval. However, since the Smithsonian already owns the Arts and Industries Building, the institution can place the National Museum of the American Latino in the existing building without additional legislation.
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