White House and Google Unveil Virtual Tour with Audio Descriptions and Spanish Language Option

If you can’t make it to Washington or didn’t manage to secure a ticket for a White House tour, there’s no need to fret.

The White House, Google Maps and Google Arts & Culture launched a new virtual tour of the famous estate on Friday, which also happens to be National Civic Day.

Using a computer or smartphone, users can pass the time by zooming into all the rooms they would have seen if they had been able to take an in-person tour.

We are now on WhatsApp. Click to join.

The updated Virtual Tour is part of first lady Jill Biden‘s desire to make the White House accessible to as many people as possible. Biden, a longtime community college professor, hopes teachers will use it to educate students about the White House and its history, said his spokeswoman Elizabeth Alexander.

“Not everyone can travel to Washington, D.C., to tour the White House, so he brings the White House to them,” Alexander said.

Biden traveled to Philadelphia on Friday for a National Civics Day event hosted by Nickelodeon, ATTN and iCivics, where they unveiled “Well Versed,” a new short-form series that uses animation and music to teach kids about democracy and the Bill of. Rights.

He spoke of the Constitutional Convention held in Philadelphia’s Independence Hall in 1787, where the founders of the United States created a government in which power rested with the people, not kings and queens.

“That’s how our country still works, and that’s one of the things that makes it so special,” Biden said. “And when we understand civics, how our government works and how to hold it accountable, we can help each other and make our country the best it can be.”

The Virtual Tour is the first Google Virtual Tour of the White House that includes audio captions for the disabled. Captions are narrated by White House Social Secretary Carlos Elizondo and appear on screen to provide viewers with historical information about each room.

It’s also Google’s first White House Virtual Tour with Spanish translation and official portraits of former President Barack Obama and former First Lady Michelle Obama.

The tour begins with a short video of President Joe Biden and the first lady welcoming guests, the same message as the White House Visitor Center for those who visit in person.

Google Street View was used to capture images starting at the East Wing entrance and moving through all the rooms on the public tour route, including the Library, China Room, Green, Blue and Red Rooms, East Room and State Room. Dining room.

The tour was created using Google Arts & Culture’s storytelling tool.

Ben Gomes, Google’s vice president of learning and sustainability, said its arts and culture division’s mission is to open up the world’s culture to people everywhere.

The tour is available on the White House website, as well as on Google Maps and the Google Arts & Culture page.