and space museum on the national mall. david mattingly at the great smoky mountain national park in tennessee. kate, let s start with you. the smithsonian museum is one of the most popular destinations along the mall. how many people could be turned away this weekend in just d.c., alone, i m wondering? reporter: in just d.c. alone, it would reach into hundreds of thousands honestly. we re on the national mall by the smithsonian museum. i want to bring in linda st. thomas, a spokeswoman with the smithsonian institution. to help us understand that very question. linda, what could a potential shutdown mean for the smithsonian museum and for visitors? for the visitors the impact is huge. you can see how crowded the mall is. i talked to a group of 98 kids that were here from north carolina. they came up on a bus. they were visiting washington through saturday. so i m hoping that maybe the