Closed signage is seen at the National Museum of American History on the National Mall in Washington, DC on Sunday. Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images
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