The Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture reopened last Friday.

Alan Karchmer / Provided by the Smithsonian

Since the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture opened in 2016,  it has been somewhat of a puzzle to score much-sought after tickets. The policy has varied over the years, and, among the top-visited Smithsonian museums, the NMAAHC is the only one that still requires timed passes (though there’s good reason for that: avoiding overcrowding).

But museum-entry hopefuls can take heart: From Thursday, December 26 through Monday, December 30, the NMAAHC will welcome visitors without passes. The museum will also have extended hours on those days—from 10 a.m. to 7:30 p.m, staying open two hours later than usual, according to a museum press release.

Plan wisely, though, if you’re going with a bunch of people: Groups of 10 or more will still require timed passes every day during this holiday week. The NMAAHC will resume normal timed entry system on December 31.

The 400,000-square-foot museum has welcomed nearly 7 million visitors since its opening day, and has collected more than 36,000 artifacts, spanning nearly six centuries of African American history. “Part of the museum’s job is to collect today for tomorrow,” Founding Director Lonnie Bunch told DCist in 2017. Now, Bunch is in charge of the entire Smithsonian Institution.

A new exhibit at the museum covers the experiences of black soldiers who fought abroad during World War I, only to return and fight for democracy and freedom on their home soil.

A full list of ways to visit the NMAAHC can be found here.

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