The White House, Google launch virtual tour

WASHINGTON — Can’t come to Washington? Couldn’t get a ticket to tour the White House? Don’t worry.

The White House, Google Maps and Google Arts & Culture launched a new virtual tour of the famous mansion Friday, which is also National Civics Day.

With a computer or smartphone, users can zoom in on all the rooms they would have seen had they been able to go on an in-person tour.

The updated virtual tour is part of a desire by first lady Jill Biden to make the White House accessible to as many people as possible. Biden, a longtime community college professor, hopes teachers use it to educate students about the White House and its history, spokesperson Elizabeth Alexander said.

“Not everyone can make the trip to Washington, D.C., to tour the White House, so she’s bringing 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 announced “Well Versed,” a new shortform series that uses animation and music to help teach children about democracy and the Bill of Rights.

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

“That’s still how our country works, and it’s one of the things that make it so special,” Biden said. “And when we understand civics, how our government works and how to hold it accountable, we are able to 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 to include audio captions for people with disabilities. The captions are narrated by White House social secretary Carlos Elizondo and pop up on the screen to offer viewers historical information on each of the rooms.