Shutdown sojourn: Free museums and music for furloughed US workers

Cultural institutions are moving to help unpaid federal workers spend some of their otherwise idle hours with loved ones enjoying art, science history or music

It may not put a meal on the table for furloughed federal employees, but some US museums and symphonies are supplying food for the mind in free admission for workers affected by the longest partial federal government shutdown in US history. 

With the shutdown in its fourth week with no end in sight, cultural institutions from Massachusetts to Oregon are moving to help unpaid federal workers spend some of their otherwise idle hours with loved ones enjoying art, science history or music.

Museums in at least 27 states, along with at least 19 orchestras, offered free admission to federal workers who have