Sharing a cup of chai while swapping stories about museums feels like a slow morning conversation: curious, unhurried, and full of small discoveries. Museums are more than collections of art or artifacts; they’re archives of feeling, preserving how people have seen and shaped the world. This week, our wander takes you from New York’s timeless icons and Chicago’s lakeside masterpieces to Los Angeles’ open-air light-scapes, ending under Egypt’s desert sky, where the new Grand Egyptian Museum finally welcomes the world.
What’s Open During the Shutdown: The current federal shutdown has dimmed the lights at Washington’s Smithsonian museums and the National Gallery of Art but America’s cultural landscape remains brilliantly alive elsewhere.
Open: All major New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, and Boston museums are fully operational. Privately or city-funded, they’ve kept doors open and exhibits humming.
Closed: Smithsonian museums and the National Gallery of Art in D.C. are temporarily closed until federal funding resumes.
Work-around: Explore private gems like The Phillips Collection or Hillwood Estate in D.C., smaller, serene, and open throughout the shutdown.
East Coast: Legends
The Metropolitan Museum of Art (New York)
An encyclopedia of human creativity. Two million objects. 5,000 years of history.
Stand before the Temple of Dendur, an Egyptian temple bathed in Central Park light or wander through the Rockefeller Wing (reopened 2025), where art from Africa, Oceania, and the Americas glows anew.
Go when: Weekday mornings in late winter or spring. Doors open 10 a.m.; so should you.Museum of Modern Art (MoMA)
Where Starry Night meets the pulse of now. MoMA’s glass atrium houses the modern canon, van Gogh, Kahlo, Warhol, alongside immersive installations that change with every season.
Go when: After 11:30 a.m. on weekdays. Skip the Friday free hours (too busy), choose a calm midday instead.American Museum of Natural History (AMNH)
Dinosaur bones. Whale models. The universe itself projected in the planetarium.
Go when: Weekday mornings (10 a.m.) or after 3 p.m. once school groups leave.
Note: All New York museums are open as usual, no shutdown impact.
Midwest: Masterpieces
Art Institute of Chicago
Home to American Gothic, The Bedroom, and centuries of global craft. A city treasure by the lake. Go when: Thursday evenings (extended hours), or weekday mornings for quiet galleries.Field Museum of Natural History
Meet Máximo the Titanosaur and Sue the T. rex under a cathedral of fossils. Go when: At opening (9 a.m.) Tuesday-Thursday. Avoid free days unless you’re first in line.
West Coast: Wonders
Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA)
A sun-drenched epic of art and architecture. Wander through Chris Burden’s Urban Light or Michael Heizer’s Levitated Mass. A new David Geffen Galleries building opens in 2026. Go when: Weekday mornings (11 a.m.) or late afternoons (3 p.m. on). Thursdays = extended hours and lighter crowds.The Getty Center (Los Angeles)
Art meets skyline in Richard Meier’s travertine sanctuary. Van Gogh’s Irises, lush gardens, and views that stretch to the Pacific. Go when: Weekday mornings just after 10 a.m. Spring and fall bring the most color and clarity. Status: Privately funded and open throughout the shutdown.
Washington, D.C.: National Treasures (Paused)
National Gallery of Art: Free, vast, and currently closed.
Smithsonian Museums (NMAAHC, Air & Space, Natural History): All temporarily closed.
What to do instead: Visit The Phillips Collection (Modern Art), Planet Word Museum, or Spy Museum, all private and open.
Beyond the Mall: Other Gems
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston: Open; visit on Third Thursdays (5-10 p.m.) or weekday mornings.
Gettysburg National Military Park Museum: Remains open thanks to nonprofit management; best on weekdays outside summer.
A New Global Landmark: The Grand Egyptian Museum
Under the shadow of the Pyramids, Cairo’s new Grand Egyptian Museum ( opened Nov 1, 2025 ) is a triumph two decades in the making, 120 acres of history and light. It houses the entire Tutankhamun collection and a colossal 83-ton Ramses II statue.
Go when: Weekdays (Sun-Tue in Egypt) at opening (9 a.m.), October-April for cooler air and clearer skies.
Slow Travel, Deep Seeing
From the Met’s ancient temples to LACMA’s urban lights and Cairo’s shimmering pyramids, museums are places to see art, and also to remember who we are. Visit them slowly. Notice the light on stone, the echo in a hall, the story behind a color. Even in a shutdown, the world’s curiosity remains open.
The Weekly Chai sees the world the way one wanders through a museum, noticing patterns, connecting eras, finding meaning in the details. We blend data and narrative to help you see what endures, what’s changing, and why it matters. ☕ Brewed with perspective, poured with heart. Subscribe at theweeklychai.com