First Lady Pool Reports of October 21, 2024

FLOTUS pool report - New enhanced public White House tour

FLOTUS entered the Rose Garden at 12:14 pm with the history teacher of the year and executives from the History Channel, the National Park Service, and the White House Historical Association (see names below).

She is formally unveiling the new enhanced public tour of the White House.

She spoke for about five minutes. Some quotes:

"Have any of you ever walked through a museum and wanted to touch one of the displays? Come on, be honest. Okay, have you ever heard a recording from years ago, and suddenly it feels like you're in that room, like the present and the past are coming together. Have you ever seen a picture of someone famous and it's helped you to understand that person a little bit better? Good."

"That's what I had in mind when creating this updated White House tour, and today with you, we are unveiling a reimagined White House Tour experience."

"As a teacher for 40 years, I know that we all learn in different ways. Some of us learn something through hearing, some of us learn something through feeling something. So we've added a dynamic, flexible and tactile tools of learning that let you follow your curiosity. Now you can do all the things that you always wanted to do in the museums."

"You may not know this, but the White House didn't always have running water or electricity, so they had to open up the walls to put it in, and that's what you'll learn on this tour."

"Serving as your first lady has been an honor. Being able to bring friends into the White House is special. We're doing it today, sharing it with all of you."

"To preserve our history, we must teach it. We learn from the wisdom of the past and weave it into our future. And, as you walk through this house, I hope you'll feel the history here. It's your history, and it lives in each of you, connecting you to those who have walked before you and to each other. One of the things that makes this house so special is that it belongs to you, the American people, and as your first lady, it's been a privilege to share it with all of you."

"Maybe one day, and I'm talking to all the students here, maybe one day your portraits, one of your portraits, will be hanging here, watching over the next generation of students. Thank you and enjoy the new tour."

Audience was made of those involved in the new tour - History Channel (who donated funds for the tour exhibits), National Park Service (which oversees the White House) and White House Historical Association. Also there are some students in the audience.

Some details learned this morning during the tour preview:

History Channel donated the funds (via the National Park Service) to pay for new exhibits. Cost was about $5 million.

The Diplomatic Room has been added to the public tour.

The tour has been expanded so guests can step into rooms like the library and China room to see them better. Previously ropes kept guests standing at the doorway, limiting their view of the room.

The rooms have digital exhibits. For example, the China room has a digital exhibit that includes a slide show of all the presidential China patterns.

A video message from the First Lady greets guests at the start of the tour. The president has a video message in the East Room. Next year these will be swapped out with messages from the new president and presidential spouse.

About 10,000 people tour the White House per week. Tour lasts about 30-45 minutes.

Event wrapped at 12:35 pm.

Remarks from FLOTUS and others were live streamed: https://www.whitehouse.gov/live/

Details on new tour are here: https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2024/10/21/first-lady-jill-biden-unveils-enhanced-and-expanded-white-house-tour/

Pics of new tour are here: https://www.flickr.com/photos/whitehouse/

REPORTABLE BACKGROUND FROM THE OFFICE OF THE FIRST LADY: October 21, 2024

Today, October 21st, First Lady Jill Biden is hosting an event in the Rose Garden to unveil a new enhanced, educational White House public tour for visitors. This event will be livestreamed at whitehouse.gov/live at 12:00 PM ET.

Remarks Program:

• First Lady Jill Biden
• Charles F. Sams, Director of the National Park Service
• Kim Gilmore, Senior Vice President Corporate Social Outreach; Chief Historian at The History Channel/A&E Networks
• Stewart McLaurin, President, White House Historical Association
• Alysha Butler, 2019 American History Teacher of the Year; DCPS Social Studies and History Teacher

Background on the New Enhanced, Educational White House Public Tour
First Lady Jill Biden is unveiling today a new enhanced, educational White House public tour for visitors. A classroom teacher for 40 years, Dr. Biden knows that learning has to be engaging and interactive. The public tour, which accommodates approximately 10,000 visitors per week, is a significant opportunity to educate students of all ages about the living history of the White House. The public tour of the White House has not seen significant improvements in decades, until now.

The enhanced White House public tour will now:

• include more educational and engaging elements along the tour route;
• incorporate more story-telling in the tour using technology and digital components;
• provide visitors with more historic context to their tour;
• entreat the senses with compelling and tactile content; and
• present more opportunities for learning about our nation's history, civics, and the lives of Presidents and first families, past and present.

The enhanced tour elements are supported by The History Channel, in partnership with ESI Design, which is known for its educational improvements to the Liberty Island and Ellis Island museums, which like the White House are also cared for by the National Park Service. The History Channel has previously produced short films for historic sites across the country including the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History, the Statue of Liberty, the Gettysburg National Military Park Museum and Visitor Center, and more.

You can view a full summary of the new enhanced, educational White House public tour HERE.