Air Force Museum opens today as funding is restored

After Dark: Bombers & Brews happened at the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force on Saturday, Nov. 8, 2025. Hosted by the Air Force Museum Foundation, the ticketed after-hours 21 and up ticketed event featured food, games, trivia, caricature artist, cash bar, live music by 5 and beer samples from Fifth Street Brewpub, Heavier Than Air Brewing Co. and Warped Wing Brewing Company. Attendees had up close and personal encounters with the Memphis Belle (look-in), EC-121D Constellation (open aircraft), Boeing B-1B Lancer (open aircraft) and the Convair B-58 Hustler (look-in). TOM GILLIAM / CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHER

Credit: Tom Gilliam

Credit: Tom Gilliam

After Dark: Bombers & Brews happened at the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force on Saturday, Nov. 8, 2025. Hosted by the Air Force Museum Foundation, the ticketed after-hours 21 and up ticketed event featured food, games, trivia, caricature artist, cash bar, live music by 5 and beer samples from Fifth Street Brewpub, Heavier Than Air Brewing Co. and Warped Wing Brewing Company. Attendees had up close and personal encounters with the Memphis Belle (look-in), EC-121D Constellation (open aircraft), Boeing B-1B Lancer (open aircraft) and the Convair B-58 Hustler (look-in). TOM GILLIAM / CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHER

The National Museum of the U.S. Air Force, along with the rest of Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, is expected to be open today.

The House of Representatives passed a federal funding bill 217 to 214 Tuesday aimed at ending what had been a partial federal government shutdown, sending the legislation to President Trump’s desk. Trump signed the bill.

The Air Force Museum will reopen to the public at 9 a.m. today, following the end of the shutdown.

The museum will resume its regular hours of 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily. All museum galleries and exhibits, including the outdoor Memorial Park and Air Park, will be open.

The Air Force Museum Foundation and National Aviation Hall of Fame, both on the museum campus, will be open as well.

Wright-Patterson is expected to be open, too. The base exchange and commissary remained open during the brief lapse in funding, which began early Saturday.

Every federal government department except Homeland Security is to now receive their full fiscal 2026 appropriations. Homeland Security is funded just through Feb. 13.

The funding lapse that started Saturday morning affected the departments of Defense, Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, State, Treasury and other agencies.

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