Remarks as Prepared for Delivery by First Lady Jill Biden at the Unveiling of the Reimagined White House Public Tour

The Rose Garden

Have any of you ever walked through a museum and wanted to touch one of the displays?

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 understand that person a little better?

That’s what was on my mind when creating this updated White House tour.

Today, with you, we are unveiling a reimagined White House tour experience.

Thank you for joining me and welcome to the White House!

As a teacher for 40 years, I know that we all learn in different ways.

Some of us learn through hearing something. Some of us through seeing or feeling something.

So, we added dynamic, flexible, and tactile tools of learning that let you follow your curiosity.

Now, you can do all the things that you’ve always wanted to do in a museum.

We made replicas, so that you can feel the features of some of the sculptures’ faces and touch the shining fabric on the furniture in the Blue Room. 

You can now hear President Roosevelt’s fireside chats in the room in which he recorded them—so you can feel as if you are there beside him.

We added screens and information, so you can read about what you see in each of the rooms.

One of my favorite parts of this new tour is walking past those glowing pictures in the Colonnade, going around the corner, and coming to that model of the White House on the wall. 

It changes every couple seconds, so you can see all the renovations that have taken place over the years.

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 and add it!

That’s what you’ll learn on this tour. The rendering tells you that story: who added each piece of the house and when.

Serving as your First Lady has been an honor.

Being able to bring friends into the house is special—and that’s what we’re doing today—sharing it with all of you.

So many people put months of hard work into this project.

I’m grateful to Paul Buccieri and the History Channel, the National Park Service, the White House curators and Executive Residence Staff, ESI Design, the White House Historical Association, and presidential libraries staff for all their work.

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 here before you and to each other.

One of the things that makes this house so special is that it belongs to the American people.

And as your First Lady, it’s been a privilege to share it with all of you and keep opening the doors wider and wider.

Thank you. 

Like the Grand Canyon or Yosemite, the White House is a national park.

And I’m grateful to the National Park Service who work so hard to preserve and protect it for all of you.

They help make sure the White House is a place where you can be inspired and learn.

So, please help me welcome, National Park Service Director, Chuck Sams.

***

Thank you, Alysha.

Teaching isn’t just a job, it’s a calling. And we can all see that you were called to this profession for a reason. I’m so glad you answered that call. 

I’m grateful to everyone here for spending some of your day with us—for being a part of this moment.

And after you leave here, keep telling the world what you learned here. Keep exploring new parts of our history—keep that wisdom with you as you shape the future of our nation. And maybe one day, we’ll see one of your portraits hanging here, watching over the next generation of students.

Thank you. And enjoy the new tour!

###