Military history buffs near the nation's capital can rejoice: Within a month, all three national museums for individual service branches in the Washington, D.C., area will be open for business after temporary closures due to the coronavirus pandemic.

 

Here's a look at the reopening schedules for the the Army, Marine Corps, and Navy facilities in the region. The National Museum of the U.S. Air Force, located at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, reopened to the public in July 2020 after a brief closure in March and recently updated its mask guidance.

 

Army

The National Museum of the Army is expected to open June 14 to celebrate the Army’s 246th birthday. The museum, located just outside the gates of Fort Belvoir, Va., features artifacts, documents, images, and selections from the Army Art Collection that tell the Army story in a 185,000-square-foot building. The museum includes one of the six surviving plywood boats from the invasion at Normandy Beach on D-Day.

 

The museum officially opened in November 2020 but closed the following month because of COVID-19 concerns. 

 

Marine Corps

The National Museum of the Marine Corps reopened May 17. The museum staff is monitoring the latest guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) but has said visitors over age 6 must wear a mask.

 

The museum, located on 135 acres adjacent to Marine Corps Base Quantico, Va., covers 240 years of Marine Corps history. Among the museum’s iconic artifacts, are the American flags raised by Marines on Mount Suribachi on Feb. 23, 1945.

 

Navy

The National Museum of the U.S. Navy, which has been closed since March 2020, will reopen June 1. Naval History and Heritage Command runs nine other museums nationwide, which are all expected to be open by June 14.