Smithsonian To Temporarily Close National Museum of Natural History

The National Museum of Natural History is closed effective tomorrow, Thursday, Dec. 30, and is scheduled to reopen Wednesday, Jan. 5, 2022.

Like many other organizations, the Smithsonian has been managing the direct and indirect outcomes of the latest surge in covid infections caused by the omicron variant. Over the last few days, the Smithsonian has seen an increase in positive covid cases and associated quarantine periods among our essential and operational staff.

On Tuesday, the Smithsonian announced that the National Museum of African Art, the National Postal Museum, the Anacostia Community Museum and the National Museum of Asian Art (Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery) are closed starting Dec. 29 and are scheduled to resume normal operations beginning Monday, Jan. 3, 2022. The additional closure of the National Museum of Natural History will allow the Smithsonian to reallocate staff and keep all other museums open for the remainder of the week.

The Smithsonian strives to keep as many of our museums open to the public as possible without sacrificing the health and safety of our visitors and staff.

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