Smithsonian announced Monday that it plans to reopen four additional museums on Friday, September 18, with Covid-19 safety precautions and timed-entry passes. The National Portrait Gallery, the National Museum of African American History and Culture, the Renwick Gallery, and the Smithsonian American Art Museum will all open their doors as part of the institution’s phased reopening.
All institutions under the Smithsonian umbrella closed on March 14 due to the Covid-19 lockdown, but some facilities with ample space for social distancing reopened in July, including the Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly and the National Zoo. Last month, they reopened Smithsonian Gardens.
The four museums will require face masks for visitors 6 years old and over, and the cafes and shops within each museum will still be closed.
The museums will have reduced hours: They will only be open Wednesdays through Sundays. Only the Renwick does not require timed-entry passes; all others do.
For admittance to the Portrait Gallery, the NMAAHC, and the SAAM, you can reserve free passes online or by calling 1-800-514-3849, ext. 1.
Rosa joined Washingtonian in 2016 after graduating from Mount Holyoke College. She covers arts and culture for the magazine. She’s written about anti-racism efforts at Woolly Mammoth Theatre, dinosaurs in the revamped fossil hall at the Smithsonian’s Natural History Museum, and the horrors of taking a digital detox. When she can, she performs with her family’s Puerto Rican folkloric music ensemble based in Jersey City. She lives in Adams Morgan.
