Nick Adams couldn't help but smile as he showed his son the planes hanging in Washington's Air and Space Museum, which reopened Friday after a month closed due to the US government shutdown.

"We had been planning this trip for a little while and were nervous with everything shut down, but were excited to see everything open up again," said the 37-year-old visiting from Texas.

Washington is not only the US political capital but also a cultural hub with over a dozen free museums, many of which are renowned for their quality. Some 16 million people visited them last year.

But those institutions were forced to close after October 1 due to a budget deadlock among lawmakers that ended most federal funding for a record 43 days.

President Donald Trump signed a bill late Wednesday to reopen the

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