Museums to start closing

MUSEUMS and galleries in Washington DC will begin closing next week if the partial shutdown of the federal government drags on.

The attractions have stayed open by using unspent funds but they are about to run out of money.

Museums and galleries under the Smithsonian Institution umbrella will close from January 2.

That includes the National Zoo, as well as the National Air and Space Museum, the National Museum of African American History and Culture, the National Museum of Natural History, and several galleries, including the National Portrait Gallery.

Smithsonian museum facilities will be open on January 1. The National Gallery of Art will close from January 3, a spokeswoman said.

That includes the iconic West and East buildings as well as an ice rink in the National Gallery of Art Sculpture Garden, which is a favourite with families.

National Gallery of Art facilities are usually closed on New Year’s Day.

The shutdown is also affecting national parks.

Some remain accessible with bare-bones staffing levels, and some are operating with money from charitable groups, but others are locked up.

With no resolution in sight, the shutdown is forcing hundreds of thousands of federal workers and contractors to stay at home or work without pay.