You can go on a 3D tour of the White House guided by President Obama
President Barack Obama may be preparing to leave the White House, but luckily for us we can pretend he’s still there with the help of a little virtual reality magic.
Thanks to Oculus, you can now take a virtual tour of the White House, led by President Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama.
Viewers can choose to experience it as a 360-degree video on Facebook. Or, to really maximize the experience, they can use an Oculus Rift headset to view the video fully in 3D. The video shows nine famous parts of the White House, providing an immersive experience like you’re really there just hanging out with the Obamas. So cool, right?
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“Every president moves to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue with the full awareness that it is a temporary address,” Obama says in the tour.
And, since he’s on his way out, nobody knows that better than him. Obama then added some personal thoughts to what the building has meant to him.
He said, “This is where we watched our daughters grow up. This is where we came to know the talented, devoted, optimistic Americans from every corner of the country and every station in life. Because as beautiful as these buildings are, it’s the people in them and the work that’s done here, the triumphs and tragedies you experience over course of your years here — that’s what imbues a place with meaning.”
Turns out, Obama is not a VR rookie.
In honor of the centennial anniversary of the National Park Service, the president also took part in a VR video during a trip to Yosemite over Father’s Day weekend, as part of a partnership with Oculus and National Geographic.
In case you missed it, Obama gave his final address to the country on Tuesday. He used it to once again seeking to instill hope in the American people in the same way he did when he first took office in 2008. We had to admit we were pretty misty eyed by the end, when Obama thanked his tearful wife and daughters for their support over the past eight years.
In an interview with Jimmy Fallon this week, Michelle Obama said the experience of leaving has been tougher than she anticipated.
“I didn’t think that it was gonna be that emotional because it’s like: ‘Yeah, we’re ready. We’re good, we’re good. We’re ready to go. It’s been eight years. Eight years is enough. We’re packing up,'” Obama said. “But no, it has been surprisingly emotional for all of us in ways that we didn’t expect.”
Stop, we’re crying all over again.