WASHINGTON — The Smithsonian will reopen four more of its D.C. museums to the public starting Friday.
The National Museum of African American History and Culture, the National Portrait Gallery, the Smithsonian American Art Museum, along with the Renwick Gallery of the Smithsonian American Art Museum will reopen with new COVID-19 prevention measures.
The museums will have reduced days or hours of operation, and visitors will need to reserve free timed-entry passes to visit most locations, according to the Smithsonian.
New Safety Measures
To protect the health of visitors and staff, new safety measures that the museums will implement will include:
- Requesting that all visitors who are sick or do not feel well stay home.
- Requiring that visitors ages 6 and older wear face coverings during their visit. Face coverings are strongly recommended for visitors ages 2 and older, per CDC guidelines.
- Closely monitoring and limiting the number of people in each museum. Most locations will require visitors to obtain a free timed-entry pass in advance of their visit.
- Implementing safe social distancing, including one-way paths and directional guidance where appropriate.
- Providing hand-sanitizing stations for visitors and conducting enhanced cleaning throughout all facilities.
- Establishing maximum capacity for restrooms to accommodate safe social distancing.
Museum cafes and retail shops will not be open, including the Sweet Home Café at the National Museum of African American History and Culture and the Courtyard Café in the Robert and Arlene Kogod Courtyard of the Smithsonian American Art Museum and the National Portrait Gallery.
All on-site public tours and events are temporarily suspended. Some exhibits, galleries, interactives, theaters, or indoor spaces may be closed or operating at limited capacity, officials said.
New Museum Hours:
The new hours for the four museums reopening this Friday are as follows:
- National Museum of African American History and Culture: Open Wednesday to Sunday with reduced hours of operation, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.
- National Portrait Gallery and Smithsonian American Art Museum: Open Wednesday to Sunday for its regular hours of operation, 11:30 a.m. to 7 p.m.
- Visitors will enter and exit through the G Street entrance.
- Renwick Gallery: Open Wednesday to Sunday for its regular hours of operation, from 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.
Back in July, The National Zoo and The National Air and Space Museum’s Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly opened their doors to the public after months of being closed due to coronavirus.
The two locations were chosen to re-open first "based on factors such as the ability to facilitate crowd management and social distancing, the ability to maintain a hygienic environment, and availability of parking."