(AFP) – 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 government after some Democrats sided with his Republicans on a temporary spending bill.
German tourist Johanna Tennigkeit, 30, told AFP she was “so happy” to see the museums open again as she visited with her partner.
“I couldn’t imagine that this is closed. This is so sad for every tourist but also for the people working here because they didn’t get money,” she said.
– ‘Meant to be’ –
Mitzi Sobash, a retired 66-year-old who lives in Washington, was thrilled to be able to guide her cousin Dorita Vargas on her first trip to Washington.
“It’s been almost six weeks since we’ve been able to go to the museums, and they’re really wonderful here,” Sobash said. Vargas, a nurse, agreed: “This is my first time in DC, and I’m super excited. It was just meant to be.”
More than 100 people were waiting to enter the Air and Space Museum around 30 minutes before it opened on Friday.
“We were so lucky that we were able to book a pass because there was so much traffic on the website and on my phone it actually worked,” Tennigkeit, the German tourist, said in the entry hall. She added that she wanted to visit as many Smithsonian Institution museums — run by the US government — as she could and was most excited about the Museum of Natural History.
Staff will also be pleased to see the institutions back open as many were furloughed during the shutdown, while other federal personnel like air traffic controllers had to work without pay.
“Honestly, I’m just glad to see it reopened,” said Adams, the Texas father. “Glad to see everybody come to the table and come to an agreement that could get it opened back up and get paychecks back in people’s pockets and get stuff like this open for these kids to come see.”
– Paul NOLP
© 2024 AFP
