Entry and Visitor Guidelines | Smithsonian Institution (2024)

FAQs

Entry and Visitor Guidelines | Smithsonian Institution? ›

We ask all visitors who are sick or feel unwell to please stay home. The Smithsonian is open 364 days a year and we look forward to welcoming you when you are healthy. Visitors are encouraged to wash and sanitize hands frequently during their visit. Hand-sanitizing stations will be available throughout our facilities.

While strollers, cameras and bottle water are permitted, the museum asks that you do not bring camera stands, objects that can be used as weapons and aerosol sprays. Service animals are allowed.

The Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum will require free timed-entry passes for visiting the renovated and newly opened west wing of its building in Washington, D.C. The free passes will be available online starting Wednesday, Sept.

Yes, smaller backpacks are permitted although we have limitations to protect the artwork. Suitcases, large umbrellas, and large backpacks are not allowed in the galleries. Security officers will ask visitors to hand-carry smaller backpacks, or wear them on the front of their bodies.

No, free timed-entry passes are no longer needed to enter the museum.

Prohibited Items

Sharp items such as knives (including pocket or "Swiss Army" style knives), screwdrivers, scissors. Firearms. Pepper spray and Mace.

Bagged lunches must be stowed away at all times while visiting the museum and must be eaten outside of the museum.

Hope Diamond. Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History.

If you're visiting in the busy season, it's best to get there around 10am when the museum opens or wait until later in the day. Many school groups visit during lunch hour so try to avoid that time frame.

In 1939, sixteen-year-old Judy Garland donned a pair of ruby slippers and danced her way into moviegoers' hearts in The Wizard of Oz. The Smithsonian National Museum of American History (NMAH)—which reopened this past November after a two-year renovation—boasts a rare pair now on display.

Can you bring snacks into the Smithsonian? ›

Smithsonian food policy

There is no rule against bringing food to the Smithsonian.

Visitors are permitted to bring food and beverages in sealed containers inside a backpack or other bag. Food and beverages may not be consumed in the museum.

Atrium Café

Open 11:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m. The museum's largest café, featuring family-friendly menus such as Butcher Craft Burgers, a seasonal Chef's Market Table, desserts, beverages, wine/beer, and coffee. Outside food continues to be prohibited in the museum.

No. You must request separate rights to reproduce or use images. For example, if you plan to use one of our images in an exhibition as well as the printed catalog, there is an additional fee for the second use.

Admission is free of charge at all locations except the Cooper Hewitt in New York City. All Washington, D.C.–area museums and the American Indian Museum in New York are open every day of the year except December 25. The Cooper Hewitt in New York is open every day except Thanksgiving and Christmas.

The Smithsonian Museums are open daily in Washington DC. Most museums do NOT require tickets. THE NATIONAL ZOO, NATIONAL MUSEUM OF AFRICAN AMERICAN HISTORY AND CULTURE, AND AIR AND SPACE MUSEUM ON THE NATIONAL MALL WILL STILL REQUIRE TICKETS.

You can bring in most items (except weapons!) but food and drink must remain in your bag. You will walk through a metal detector at: Air and Space Museum and its Udvar-Hazy Center (DC & VA)

Get through security in a breeze by reviewing the museum's security policies. Visitors carrying prohibited items will not be allowed inside the museum. Dress Comfortably: A visit to the Smithsonian usually involves a lot of walking. Wear comfortable shoes and layers of clothing.

Visitors must either keep water bottles concealed or contained at all times or place them in bags and check them. Visitors must either keep umbrellas in their purses or backpacks or check them. Laptops, cameras, fur coats, and other items of value cannot be checked, but may be carried into the galleries.

The U.S. Capitol prohibits only large bags (18" x 14" x 8.5" is the limit, which is fairly big). You may bring larger bags (e.g. daypacks and backpacks) into the Smithsonian museums but you will have to stand in line to have them checked by security.

Can you bring water into the Natural History museum DC? ›

To ensure the enjoyment and safety of all museum visitors, these rules should be shared with each member of the group: Food, drinks, and gum are not allowed anywhere in the museum and must be kept in sealed containers. Water bottles, nursing, and bottle feeding are fine.

During peak visitation days at the Zoo, you may be greeted upon entry by one of the security personnel who will conduct a thorough but speedy hand-check of all bags, strollers, briefcases, purses and containers. You may also be hand-screened with an electronic wand.

The Hope Diamond | Smithsonian Institution.

As the premier branch of the Smithsonian's exemplary art portion, the National Gallery of Art is one of the most popular and impressive art museums in the US, rivaling MoMA and the Met in New York and Boston's Museum of Fine Art.

The Hope diamond, a flawless 45-plus gem of rare steel-blue color, was donated to the Smithsonian Institution in 1958 by New York City jeweler Harry Winston, and is the centerpiece of the Hall of Gems at the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History.

Most visited Smithsonian museums and institutions in the U.S. 2021. Among the Smithsonian museums and institutions in the United States, the National Museum of Natural History was the most visited establishment in 2021, with approximately 983 thousand visits.

While the Library of Congress, Supreme Court, National Gallery of Art and Smithsonian museums do not require tickets, you may want to check schedules in advance to take advantage of guided interpretive tours, lectures, IMAX movies and other programs.

25 ceremony at the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History. Dr. Biden's presentation of both sets of inaugural attire is a historic first for the exhibit. The two ensembles were immediately placed on display at the center of the museum's popular “The First Ladies” exhibition.

Fonzie's Jacket, worn by Henry Winkler on Happy Days | National Museum of American History.

The very elaborate curled-toe "Arabian" pair was owned by actress and memorabilia preservationist Debbie Reynolds. She acknowledged she got them from Kent Warner. These slippers were sold for $510,000 (not including the buyer's premium) as part of the June 2011 auction of part of the actress's collection.

Are masks required in the Smithsonian? ›

While it will not be required, all visitors who feel more comfortable wearing a face mask during their visit are encouraged to do so. The Smithsonian welcomes millions of visitors each year.

The OPS Security Operations Division oversees the security and police operations in the Smithsonian facilities that display exhibitions to the public, collection storage areas and leased facilities, as well as Smithsonian research facilities around the world.

Any Washington, DC, tour guide will tell you that a backpack is an excellent way to carry all your items as you walk throughout the city. It needs to be large enough to hold all your things while not being heavy enough to weigh you down.

The TSA has no problem with travelers bringing stainless steel water bottles through airport security. The water bottle should be empty and placed in your carry-on bag when you go through the security checkpoint.

Bathrooms are located throughout the Smithsonian museums. All bathrooms have an accessible stall, and some museums have a Family/Companion Care restroom.

When in public spaces where you are lawfully present you have the right to photograph anything that is in plain view.

Right of publicity.

Someone can violate your right of publicity by using your photograph for commercial purposes without your consent. In this situation, it is possible to establish a lawsuit against this person in an effort to regain control of your image.

First, camera flashes, which emit intense light, are believed to hurt paintings and the patina of delicate objects. Eliminating flashes, even inadvertent ones, keeps paintings in pristine shape and reduces expensive restoration costs.

The Zoo is free, but Entry Passes are required for all guests, including infants.

What museums in Washington, DC are free? ›

Starting Tuesday, July 20, the Smithsonian will no longer require timed-entry passes to visit most of its museums.

You can't possibly see everything there is to see. In fact, if you spent 1 minute at each exhibit it would take more than 258 years to see them all, but we're to help make sure you see the highlights.

There are no fees to enter National Mall and Memorial Parks and most of its hundreds of sites. However, timed entry tickets are required for Ford's Theatre National Historic Site and the Washington Monument.

Visitors may bring their own food and non-alcoholic drinks into the Zoo. However, all trash must be properly disposed of. Visitors may not bring in alcohol. Glass bottles are discouraged; broken glass presents a danger to visitors, employees and animals.

Food. Food, chewing gum, and beverages are prohibited in the theater and exhibition areas.

Only bring what you need with you – the fewer items you have, the quicker it will be for us to check when you arrive. We are carrying out contactless checks upon entry to the reading rooms for security reasons. No coats, bags and umbrellas. No food and drink, including chewing gum and sweets.

Smithsonian food policy

There is no rule against bringing food to the Smithsonian. However, you should be aware that there is nowhere where you are allowed to sit down and eat the lunch you brought with you.

Everyone carries a bag, including backpacks. Just make sure the bag is of reasonable day bag size. The big exception is the White House, where no bags of any kind, not even small purses are allowed.

Why can't I take photographs in the National Archives Museum? Historical documents are fragile and can fade when exposed to light. The National Archives must balance keeping documents available for visitors to view with our need to preserve them for future generations.

Can you take an empty metal water bottle through customs? ›

Yes, you can take a stainless steel water bottle on an airplane. The TSA has no problem with travelers bringing stainless steel water bottles through airport security. The water bottle should be empty and placed in your carry-on bag when you go through the security checkpoint.

Sweaters and sweatshirts, with or without hoods; short (waist length), indoor business attire (such as suit jackets, sports coats, blazers, or waist-length indoor jackets with or without zippers). Note: All clothing in the research rooms must be worn at all times as designed.

Can I bring food or beverages into the museum? Visitors may bring a bottle of water into the museum. All other outside food or drink must be properly closed and secured and may not be consumed in the Museum.

Get through security in a breeze by reviewing the museum's security policies. Visitors carrying prohibited items will not be allowed inside the museum. Dress Comfortably: A visit to the Smithsonian usually involves a lot of walking. Wear comfortable shoes and layers of clothing.

Find us on the second floor of the National Museum of Natural History, within the Last American Dinosaurs exhibition.