White House engages visitors on public tour, with more sound and touch

WASHINGTON, D.C.: First Lady Jill Biden unveiled a reimagined White House public tour this week that engages visitors' senses and teaches them about the mansion's history and events.

The Diplomatic Reception Room, which was previously off-limits, is now on the list. Here, President Franklin D. Roosevelt recorded his "fireside chats," and some of those conversations will now play for visitors.

Tourists now have access to several previously restricted ground-floor rooms, including the library, the China Room, which displays a collection of presidential place settings, and the Vermeil Room, home to gold-plated silver tableware.

Additionally, greater access is available to the East Room, State Dining Room, and the Red, Blue, and Green Rooms on the State Floor above.

New "reader rails" provide written information about each room, its contents, and key historical events associated with them. These displays also offer interactive experiences, allowing visitors to engage through touch, sight, and sound.

For instance, in the China Room, a short video loop shows the place settings, while in the State Dining Room, visitors can now read a replica of a prayer inscribed on the mantel beneath a portrait of Abraham Lincoln, previously too distant to view closely.

After walking the tour route herself, the first lady decided to expand it and add more educational and historical content, according to aides.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," Jill Biden said.

Some 10,000 people tour the White House every week.

The First Lady's office has worked on the project for the past two years with the National Park Service, the White House Curator's office, the private, nonprofit White House Historical Association, presidential libraries, and the History Channel, which partnered with ESI Design on the interactive experiences.

The project was funded by a US$5 million gift from the History Channel to the National Park Service. The White House is a national park.