The African American History and Culture Museum opens on September 24. (Photo by Rachel Sadon)

Update 2: The African American History And Culture Museum is extending its hours when it first opens to accommodate the visitors planning on attending.

On opening weekend, it’ll be open from 1 p.m. to 8 p.m. on Saturday, September 24, and 7 a.m. to midnight on Sunday, September 25. The following work week, hours will be extended to 10 a.m. through 7:30 p.m. The weekend of October 1 and 2, it’ll be open from 10 a.m. to midnight on Saturday and 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. on Sunday.

The museum is making 80,000 additional free passes available for the extended hours. The Smithsonian says the passes are required for entry into the museum, and will continue indefinitely.

On Tuesday, September 6 at 9 a.m., visitors can start signing up for free tickets from September 24 through the end of December.

Update 1: Visitors can sign up for free tickets to the African American History And Culture Museum starting August 27 at 9 a.m. on the museum’s website (passes can also be obtained by calling the ETIX Customer Support Center at (800) 514-3849 or (919) 653-0443). Each email address can obtain up to six passes. A limited number will also be distributed to walk-up visitors on a first come, first served basis starting at 9:15 a.m., but they will not be available on the museum’s opening weekend. There’s no time limit on how long visitors can stay.

Original:

Expecting extremely high interest in visiting the African American History And Culture Museum immediately after it opens on September 24, the Smithsonian will required timed passes for entry on opening day and the following few weeks.

More details and a way to sign up for the passes online are forthcoming, but it is likely that the free tickets will be required for more than a month, according to Smithsonian spokesperson Chanel Williams. A limited number of passes will also be available to visitors on a first come-first served basis.

More than a decade in the making, Congress authorized the museum in 2003 and President Barack Obama helped break ground on the building in 2012. Since then, Washingtonians have watched as the glass building—encased in a three-tiered, bronze-coated structure—rose out of a 60-foot hole on the country’s most prime real estate. The exterior was completed in November, and curators have been working on building out the exhibits. At a preview in May, it was already clear that the museum will be stunning.

“There’s triumph, and there’s also incredible tragedy. To actually honor that is part of what we felt was our responsibility,” said architect and lead designer David Adjaye.

The earliest installations include a slave cabin, segregation-era Southern Railway car, and a plane flown by Tuskegee airmen. High-profile donations have led to a Michael Jordan Hall in the sports gallery and a 350-seat Oprah Winfrey theater. And the restaurant (recently renamed the Sweet Home Cafe) is expected to be as much of an attraction as Mitsitam Cafe at the National Museum of the American Indian.

President Obama will dedicate the museum at a ceremony beginning at 9 a.m. on September 24. The public will be able to watch the dedication on screens across the street at the Washington Monument, before the doors formally open at 1 p.m. A three-day festival will follow, and the museum will stay open from 10 a.m.-10 p.m. on September 25. More details can be found on the National Museum of African American History and Culture website.