The White House Public Tour Is Getting an Upgrade

Source: Time/AP


A video of first lady Jill Biden welcoming visitors to the White House Public Tour is shown on Friday, Oct. 18, 2024 in the Booksellers Hall at the entry area to the tour. AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta


October 21, 2024 8:41 AM EDT


WASHINGTON — Jill Biden trained her educator's eye on the White House public tour and on Monday is unveiling an updated version she helped design to teach visitors more about the mansion's history and events that unfolded in some of its famous rooms. A new stop on the tour is the Diplomatic Reception Room, previously off-limits. This ground-floor room is where President Franklin D. Roosevelt recorded his “fireside chats.” Snippets of some of those conversations will now play for visitors.

Visitors will also be able to go into several other ground floor rooms that previously were cordoned off at the doorway: the library; the China Room, which houses the collection of presidential place settings; and the Vermeil Room, which houses a collection of tableware. The same goes for the East Room and State Dining Room one floor above.

Visitors can also play around with new digital displays that replace printed signs outside of rooms on the tour and offer an experience that engages multiple senses. “Education is my life's work and I know that there are three kinds of learners: visual, auditory and tactile,” Jill Biden, a teacher for 40 years, said Sunday night as she and President Joe Biden hosted a dinner to celebrate the updated tour.

After walking the tour route herself, the first lady decided she wanted to expand it and add more educational and historical content, according to aides. It had been decades since the tour was last updated. “The White House tour now lets visitors touch, hear and see their history up close," she said Sunday. Some 10,000 people tour the White House every week.

Read more: https://time.com/7095474/white-house-public-tour-upgrade/