The White House Visitor Center is a good option if you are unable to obtain tickets to visit inside the White House.
This is a National Park Service site (which means you can get a Junior Ranger badge here too) but there is also the brand new as of October 2025 White House Experience, called "The People's House".
As a tour guide in DC with two school aged kids, I've been to the White House Visitor Center numerous times and we were some of the first visitors the new People's House experience.
Since they provide two different experiences, both great options if you aren't able to go on a tour inside the White House,
I'll talk about both the
- White House Visitor Center
- The People's House: White House Experience
If you only have time for one, I recommend The People's House. It is interactive and has a lot of great information about the White House presented in a fun way. My kids much preferred this visit - though they did like the scavenger hunt and badge at the White House Visitor Center.
The White House Visitor Center is open daily 730pm-4pm. It's completely free to visit and no tickets are needed.
You will need to go through brief security screening before you can enter - it is similar to most of the security you'll go through in Washington, DC.
Not as intense as the Capitol building, but be sure not to bring any prohibited items - this includes nail clippers, aerosol sprays, irritant gas sprays.
These three items trip people up often!
There are over 90 new artifacts on display, many of which have never before been on display.
There is plenty to see in the White House Visitor Center, but it is not that extensive.
I usually spend about 30 minutes to 1 hour here.
Within the White House Visitor Center, you can watch a 14-minute film that takes you inside the White House and the lives of the First Families.
Even though this theater is in the back of the visitor center, I recommend watching it first.
You'll find the theatre section all the way to the left when you walk in. This sets up the rest of the visit well.
There are interactive exhibits of the White House that lets you tour inside and 3D models that you're encouraged to touch. These are always my kids favorite part.
Throughout the visitor center are lifesize photographs of the White House through various administrations.
Some of our favorite exhibits from the White House of years past:
- President Abraham Lincoln's telegraph key - the actual telegraph key Lincoln used to communicate with General Grant during Robert E. Lee's surrender.
- The desk used by President Franklin D. Roosevelt, where he sat as he spoke to Americans during his fireside chats.
- A golden eagle finial that was the top of the White House flagpole in the late 1800s.
My family enjoyed the White House Visitor Center Junior Ranger scavenger hunt.
It is probably better suited to ages 8 - 13, but my 5 and 7 year old kids had fun and learned more than I expected.
The White House Visitor Center is located at 1450 Pennsylvania Ave NW (map).
The entrance to the White House Visitor Center is on Pennsylvania Ave NW, just before you get to 15th St NW and across the street from Pershing Park.
The White House Visitor Center is not actually that close to the White House, though its is easy walking distance!
While I usually recommend people head to the north side of the White House (by Lafayette Square) for the best photo stop of the White House, many people get confused because the White House Visitor and the line up location to enter the White House on a public tour are not right next to the White House.
If you were lucky enough to get approved for a White House public tour, the White House Visitor Center is just across the street from the meeting spot. You'll exit the White House on the north side, so you won't be near the Visitor Center so be sure to visit it first if the timing works out.
Parking near the White House Visitor Center will be limited as many of the street parking in the area is restricted to federal employees, bus parking, or subject to rush hour restrictions.
I recommend not driving there but if you must, there are parking garages nearby that offer day rates.
Personally, I love to park at the Willard Hotel - costly, but its valet and you get to enter through the beautiful lobby!
In the grand scheme of parking in downtown DC, the rate is pretty much to same as other garages in the area.
The White House Visitor Center is easy to get to by public transportation.
The two closest metro stations (Metro Center, Federal Triangle) are both about 7-minute walk.
The White House Visitor Center has a great gift shop.
This is one of the places where you can get the official White House Christmas Ornament!
If you follow DC by Foot on social media, you've seen my collection of over a decades worth of official White House ornaments!
The People's House: White House Experience
This is a exciting, new experience in downtown DC that is far more interactive than the National Park Service's White House Visitor Center.
It opened in fall 2025 and to accommodate the excitement, it does require timed tickets to visit.
On the day we were planning to go (a Tuesday in October), the only timed tickets were available for 2:45PM. We snagged those but did not arrive until 3:15PM and it was not a problem at all.
They are free to reserve and a small number of same day walk in spots are available.
The People's House is located at 1700 Pennsylvania Ave NW at the corner of 17th and Pennsylvania Ave NW. It is essentially on the opposite side of the White House from the White House Visitor Center.
We spent about an hour and half at The People's House, this was visiting with a 5 and 7 year old. We were able to stay that long because of how interactive it all was. We did not read everything or stay for all the films, so we could have stayed longer if the kids allowed.
The People's House is open daily 9 AM - 5 PM except Thanksgiving, Christmas Day, and New Year’s Day.
Where the White House Visitor Center is run by the National Park Service, this is operated by the White House Historical Association, an organization founded by First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy in 1961.
Fitting for a museum opening in 2025, the exhibits are interactive and immersive.
There are main rooms:
White House South Portico Movie
The first thing you see as you enter is a replica of the White House portico that shows a movie via the windows of the building. It is very innovative.
Part of the story it tells is of the 1812 Burning of Washington, as seen in this eerie photo of the White House on fire!
The next section is an interactive interior of the White House.
The different tablets control the different rooms and you can choose what "scene" you want played in the room. My daughter's favorite was the 1960s fashion show!
Every few minutes, interactivity is paused while the whole structure displays a snippet of White House history.
There were only a few of us in the exhibit at the time of our visit but I can see this becoming complicated if it were crowded!
You do not have to visit the exhibits in a certain order and can backtrack so I suggest skipping this room if it looks crowded!
Learn about furniture in different rooms...
The next room has interactive pictures on the wall where you can touch different objects to learn about them. We were there for about 10 minutes learning about furniture in the State Dining Room when it changed to the Red Room.
Sit in the Oval Office
In the next room, you'll get as close as you can get to some of the famous scenes from the Executive Mansion.
Even though I've been inside the White House and on a special West Wing tour, I've never been able to sit behind the resolute desk in the Oval Office!
However, at The People's House you can ... kind of! It sure will look like it as least.
From here you head upstairs to what looks like a library...
This room has interactive portraits with interviews of real White House staffers and a selection of "history books" on certain topics you can "read" at the desk.
White House Theatre Trivia
I loved sitting in the replica of the in-house theatre - mostly for the comfy chairs. But I'm also a huge trivia nerd. Each chair has voting buttons so you can play a game of trivia!
hint: look at the screen at the back of the room for a clue if you need one!
You'll also get to sit in on Cabinet Meeting
The adults in the group loved this the most - you sit in on cabinet meeting on real historic events and at the end you get to help the President decide whose advice to listen to! We arrived to hear the discussion on the Cuban Missile Crisis.
Unfortunately, the countdown to advise the President doesn't allow enough time to explain what each option means to a 5 year old!
My favorite room was the State Dinner!
The way the room is laid out, its like you're sitting at the table dining with congresspersons, ambassadors and celebrities. Thanks to my kids, I can attest that everything is glued down to the table.
There are three tables, each sitting at least 5 people so there are plenty of places to join in.
The final room is an interactive exhibit using objects to tell stories...
This giant room has dozens of objects. Each time you touch one, a story related to that object will either appear on a screen or you'll hear the audio related.
