One of D.C.'s most popular museums will close this year

Say it ain't so! Newseum, one of the most beloved museums in Washington, D.C., will close at the end of the year.

According to a statement, the interactive museum "has struggled financially for a number of years and continuing to operate in [the] current location has proven unsustainable."

After 11 years and receiving more than 10 million visitors, the museum dedicated to journalism and freedom of the press will shut its doors on Dec. 31.

The museum has a storied history that dates back to 2000, when the Freedom Forum began developing plans to move its Arlington, Virginia museum across the river to Washington, D.C. The original Newseum closed on March 3, 2002, and did not reopen its doors until April 2008, when it moved into its striking new James Stewart Polshek-designed home on Pennsylvania Avenue. The mission of the museum is clear, thanks to 75-foot-tall slab of pink Tennessee marble on the facade with the first 45 words of the First Amendment etched into the surface.

Newseum tweeted out the somber announcement of its closure this week, and reactions on social media were met with a mix of sadness and disappointment — although many said they weren't surprised.

Saba Hamedy, a Huffington Post news editor and adjunct professor at USC Annenberg, said, "Even though we knew this was coming, [it's] still pretty sad to see an official end/closing date."

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As the museum notes, you're "on deadline" to visit by the end of the year — and whether it's your first time or you've been 50 times before, you'll undoubtedly be mesmerized and entertained by all the information inside the museum's walls. We recommend checking out the museum's moving Sept. 11 gallery, the interactive NBC News newsroom and taking time to appreciate the Pulitzer Prize-winning photographs and the Stonewall Inn exhibit. There are also a number of films that air throughout the museum's 15 (yes, 15) theaters.

Plus, if you buy your tickets online, you'll save 15%. They cost $21.21 with the 15% discount; if you buy them at the door, tickets will cost you $24.95.

No matter how you're purchasing your tickets, make sure to pay with a credit card that will earn you bonus points on entertainment purchases. Better yet, if you have a Bank of America, Merrill Lynch and U.S. Trust credit or debit card, you might be able to get free access to museums across the country throughout the rest of the year. Although the Newseum isn't one of them, there are plenty of others to consider in both D.C. and beyond — including the National Museum of Women in the Arts; the Intrepid Sea, Air and Space Museum; the Jewish Museum and LACMA.