The shutdown of the U.S. Government has closed more than just National Parks and the museums of the Smithsonian. The shutdown has also closed down great scientific websites such as NASA, NASA's Earth Observatory, the Astronomy Picture of the Day, and the National Science Foundation.
But there are other downsides to the shutdown. For example, the Hubble Space Telescope is owned by NASA but operated in conjunction with an institute. This means it can continue to operate on existing funds provided the shutdown doesn't go on to long. However, scientists around the world compete for the chance to decide where the telescope points. As long as the government is shut down, the science panels that decide who wins those observing times are shut down as well. Literally hundreds of hours of observation are simply gone.
The following article from CNN explains how the shutdown will affect other science missions, and makes the US Government shutdown more harmful than we previously thought.
Shutdown a huge waste and cost to science
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