The People’s House: A White House Experience — Attraction in Washington

I am definitely going to be taking people who come to visit here! Even having already done the White House Visitor Center, White House Garden tours and touring the actual White House by applying thru my representative, I still enjoyed the Peoples House experience. It's very interactive and tech oriented.

My favorite part was sitting in on Cabinet meetings (with actors recreating what was really discussed) of historical events like the attack on Fort Sumpter, Cuban Missle Crisis, and the Great Depression. The audience was also considered part of the cabinet and was asked to weigh in on what to do. We then found out what the President actually did and what the result was.

Be sure not to miss the photo booth, which is more like a hidden room on the second floor, to the right past the interactive library and staff info.

If you like to take your time and see everything, plan on at least 2 hours.

ACCESSIBILITY AUDIT I did not see any braille or large print guides/maps, however a lot of the exhibits had audio, video and caption (though no audio description). There was no tactile paving in the exhibit to guide you from room to room. I am not sure about their service dog policy.

There is an accessible door opener to enter. The front desk is thru a metal detector that is the exact width of a standard wheelchair and with a threshold. There's not a ton of room to navigate around it so this could be an issue for larger chairs. The desk, shown in white by the blue wall, has a lowered countertop, so check-in is otherwise accessible.

The flooring is turf like at first, stone pavement towards the oval office exhibit, and a skinny throw rug in the oval office. Other flooring is smooth and cement like.

There are plenty of places to sit throughout: benches in the first two exhibits, sofas in the "Oval Office", office chairs in the cabinet meeting room, dining chairs in the dining room and movie theater chairs in the mock movie theater trivia room. There are spots for wheelchair in the movie theater. In the dining room, you'd have to remove/move chairs out of the way to be at the tables, but that's also not necessary per say.

There is a functional elevator from the 1st to 2nd floor. In the event of an emergency, it is unclear whether they have an evac chair for wheelchair users or non-stair climbers on the second floor to get out thru the stairwell. It is also unclear if alarms have both auditory and visual cues.

There is enough room to navigate in each room with a wheelchait as long as there's no crowds of people. The gift store is a little tight, though, so turns are challenging.

This exhibit has a lot of projections and interactive tech. It may not be suitable for people with light sensitivity, epilepsy, or sensory sensitivity without proper...

The People’s House – History You Can Truly Feel Visiting The People’s House in Washington, D.C. was one of the most meaningful parts of my trip. There’s something powerful about standing in a place where so many important decisions have shaped our country — and what makes this experience even more special is how interactive and accessible it is. You don’t just walk through and look at things behind glass. You get to touch, feel, and connect with history. The exhibits are thoughtfully designed, and everything feels alive — from the architecture to the stories told throughout the Capitol Visitor Center. The guided tour was informative without being overwhelming, and I appreciated how the space truly welcomes people from all walks of life. You get a real sense of the history and purpose of the building — and of the people who have walked its halls. This is a place that makes you feel connected — to democracy, to history, and to each other. I left inspired and grateful that this space belongs to all of us. If you’re in D.C., don’t skip it. The People’s House...

What an awesome experience!

My husband and I took our two boys and we all loved it. We were impressed with the interactive and engaging exhibits, really interesting and innovative in their design. We all learned a lot and enjoyed ourselves along the way.

A shout out to a wonderful gentleman in the gift shop who took the time to explain the origin of the Christmas ornaments that have been designed each year since the 80s. He provided us with some extremely interesting information and you could tell he was sharing information that he was genuinely interested in. It was a very nice finishing touch to our trip that really stuck with us. We ended up getting a neat ornament from the year the White House caught fire, a little fire truck with a Christmas tree in the back. We got a JFK commemorative ornament for a family member.

Also a shout out to the woman who checked us in and handed out the kids scavenger hunt. She was so kind and got the kids motivated to learn fun things throughout our visit.

So glad we were able to visit! Great exhibits and...