Tourists can finally visit the Oval Office. A replica is opening near the White House on Monday

WASHINGTON (AP) — Washington is getting a new tourist stop that offers visitors the next best thing to being in the Oval Office: an identical replica of President Joe Biden 's office, right down to his desk, the armchairs in front of the fireplace and the weathered family Bible resting on a side table.

And when Biden's successor takes office next year, the full-scale replica Oval Office at “ The People's House: A White House Experience " will be redecorated to look exactly like the new president's office, said Stewart McLaurin, president of the White House Historical Association, which is opening the doors of its technology-driven education center to the public on Monday.

A separate space in the center called the “Immersive Theater” uses technology to transform into some of the more notable rooms in the White House every five minutes.

“A terrific thing about this Oval Office, unlike the current Oval Office, is if you’re visiting us you can come and you can sit in this chair and be the president of the United States," McLaurin said, talking about the desk chair as he led The Associated Press on a tour of the center before Monday's opening.

Few people ever set foot in the Oval Office. It is not on the White House public tour route. But at “The People’s House,” not only will visitors get to see what one of the most famous offices in the world looks like, they can experience it, too.

“You can take a call from Mr. Putin or anybody you’d like to receive a call from, have your photo taken there,” McLaurin said. "You can sit on the sofas or in the president's chair as you’ve visualized him sitting there and you see him on the news talking with a visitor or a head of state. You can do the same thing right there in front of the fireplace.”

The wallpaper, draperies, rug, furniture, paintings and other artwork are exact replicas of the furnishings as they are currently in the Oval Office. The plan is to change the decor with each future president.

“It is exactly like President Biden's, exactly,” McLaurin said. “Even the family Bible with the weathered elements are duplicated.”

Except for the “digital column” in the center of the room that shows visitors how the physical office has evolved throughout the presidency. It also turns into a mirror so visitors can see themselves standing in the Oval Office.

Technology is also used to transform the “Immersive Theater” every five minutes into each of the five rooms on the White House State Floor: the East Room, the Red, Blue and Green Rooms, and the State Dining Room. Images on the walls in each room were chosen by the association's historians. Visitors can touch the walls to unlock information about the art, furniture or other history that happened there.

"We want people to feel they are in that room of the White House,” McLaurin said.

Leaving the theater, visitors will walk to the replica Oval Office along a stone path resembling the White House colonnade with a view of art made to represent the Rose Garden.

Another exhibit shows how presidents use the White House for work, family and social functions. Visitors can attend Cabinet meetings and vote on a course of action for the president, sit at a table set as it would be for a state dinner to learn how presidents use these glitzy events to conduct diplomacy, or settle into a seat in the family movie theater.

In a separate gallery, the head groundskeeper, florist, lead military aide and chief usher are among White House staff members featured on video explaining what they do.

After entering the education center, visitors will come upon a large model of the south side of the White House, listen to an audio greeting from first lady Jill Biden and watch an orientation film narrated by Martin Sheen, who played a president on television's “The West Wing.”

The back side of the model looks like a dollhouse, exposing cutaways of the ground, state and residence floor rooms. Visitors can tap electronic kiosks to learn more about the rooms.

The education center covers three floors of an office building at 1700 Pennsylvania Ave., one block from the White House. Technology is used throughout to help teach the history of the executive mansion, the presidents and the families who have lived there, and the staff whose work keeps it functioning in its multiples roles as a workplace, a residence and a museum.

McLaurin said the center was designed to be an enhancement to the White House public tour, not a replacement. But with White House tour tickets hard to get, he expects “the vast majority of the people who have the opportunity to visit here will not have the privilege to visit the White House itself.”

Jill Biden visited twice during construction and has planned an event on the White House lawn on Saturday to celebrate next week's opening.

“This new immersive education center will take visitors on an incredible journey using technology and innovation to bring White House history to life,” said the first lady, a community college professor. “Especially as an educator, I'm so excited to see it opening to the public.”

Admission is free, but visitors must request timed tickets. The association is planning for 800 visitors every day, with most staying a little over an hour.

The association raised $60 million for construction and initial operating costs, and is working to build a $50 million endowment to sustain operations, McLaurin said.

The White House Historical Association was created in 1961 by first lady Jacqueline Kennedy to help preserve the museum quality of the interior of the White House and educate the public. It is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization that receives no government funding. It raises money mostly through private donations and merchandise sales, including an annual Christmas ornament.

The replica of the White House movie theater room, shown at The People's House exhibit, Monday, Sept. 16, 2024 in Washington. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)

Members of the media tour an interactive 3D room of the White House Green Room as is today, shown at The People's House exhibit, Monday, Sept. 16, 2024 in Washington. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)

White House Historical Association President Stewart McLaurin tour members of the media in an interactive 3D room of the White House East Room as is today, shown at The People's House exhibit, Monday, Sept. 16, 2024 in Washington. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)

A 3D interactive room with dinner tables, music and videos of State Dinners at the White House shown at The People's House exhibit, Monday, Sept. 16, 2024 in Washington. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)

White House Historical Association President Stewart McLaurin tours members of the media in an interactive 3D room of the White House East Room as is shown at The People's House exhibit, Monday, Sept. 16, 2024 in Washington. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)

The replica of President Joe Biden family bible is seen in a replica of the Oval Office as is today, shown at The People's House exhibit, Monday, Sept. 16, 2024 in Washington. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)

The White House Red Room as is today, shown at The People's House exhibit, Monday, Sept. 16, 2024 in Washington. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)

White House Historical Association President Stewart McLaurin tours members of the media in a replica of the Oval Office as is today, shown at The People's House exhibit, Monday, Sept. 16, 2024 in Washington. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)

A 3D interactive room with dinner tables, music and videos of State Dinners at the White House, shown at The People's House exhibit, Monday, Sept. 16, 2024 in Washington. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)

A replica of the Oval Office as is today, shown at The People's House exhibit, Monday, Sept. 16, 2024 in Washington. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)

A 3D interactive room with dinner tables, music and videos of State Dinners at the White House, shown at The People's House exhibit, Monday, Sept. 16, 2024 in Washington. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)

White House Historical Association President Stewart McLaurin tour members of the media in an interactive 3D room of the White House Blue Room as is today, shown at The People's House exhibit, Monday, Sept. 16, 2024 in Washington. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)

A 3D interactive room with dinner tables, music and videos of State Dinners at the White House, shown at The People's House exhibit, Monday, Sept. 16, 2024 in Washington. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)

A replica of the Oval Office as is today, shown at The People's House exhibit, Monday, Sept. 16, 2024 in Washington. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)

White House Historical Association President Stewart McLaurin tour members of the media in an interactive 3D room of the White House Green Room as is today, shown at The People's House exhibit, Monday, Sept. 16, 2024 in Washington. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)

White House Historical Association President Stewart McLaurin tour members of the media in a replica of the Oval Office as is today, shown at The People's House exhibit, Monday, Sept. 16, 2024 in Washington. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)

JERUSALEM (AP) — Hezbollah pounded northern Israel with 140 rockets Friday, a day after the militant group’s leader Hassan Nasrallah vowed to retaliate against Israel for a mass bombing attack, the Israeli military and the militant group said.

Israel’s military said the rockets came in three waves Friday afternoon targeting sites along the ravaged border with Lebanon.

Following the attacks, the Israeli military said it had struck areas across southern Lebanon targeting Hezbollah infrastructure but did not provide details of damage.

Hezbollah said its attacks had targeted several sites along the border with Katyusha rockets, including multiple air defense bases as well as the headquarters of an Israeli armored brigade they said they’d struck for the first time.

The Israeli military said 120 missiles were launched at areas of the Golan Heights, Safed and the Upper Galilee, some of which were intercepted. Fire crews were working to extinguish blazes caused by pieces of debris that fell to the ground in several areas, the military said.

The military did not say whether any missiles had hit targets or caused any casualties.

Another 20 missiles were shot at the areas of Meron and Netua, and most fell in open areas, the military said, adding no injuries were reported.

Hezbollah said the rockets were in retaliation for Israeli strikes on villages and homes in southern Lebanon, not two days of attacks widely blamed on Israel that set off explosives in thousands of Hezbollah pagers and walkie-talkies.

Hezbollah and Israel have exchanged near-daily fire since Oct. 8, a day after the Israel-Hamas war’s opening salvo, but Friday's rocket barrages were heavier than normal.

Nasrallah on Thursday vowed to keep up daily strikes on Israel despite this week’s deadly sabotage of its members’ communication devices, which he described as a “severe blow.”

At least 20 were killed in the attacks and thousands were wounded when pagers, walkie-talkies and other devices exploded in Lebanon on Tuesday and Wednesday.

The sophisticated attacks have heightened fears that the cross-border exchanges of fire will escalate into all-out war. Israel has neither confirmed nor denied involvement in the attacks.

In recent days, Israel has moved a powerful fighting force up to the northern border, officials have escalated their rhetoric, and the country’s security Cabinet has designated the return of tens of thousands of displaced residents to their homes in northern Israel an official war goal.

Fighting in Gaza has slowed, but casualties continue to rise.

Overnight, Palestinian authorities said 15 people were killed in multiple Israeli attacks in the Gaza Strip.

Those included six people, including an unknown number of children, in an airstrike early Friday morning in Gaza City that hit a family home, Gaza’s Civil Defense said. Another person was killed in Gaza City when a strike hit a group of people on a street.

Israel maintains it only targets militants and accuses Hamas and other armed groups of endangering civilians by operating in residential areas. The military, which rarely comments on individual strikes, had no immediate comment.

Gaza’s Health Ministry says more than 41,000 Palestinians have been killed in the territory since Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack. The ministry does not differentiate between fighters and civilians in its count but says a little over half of those killed were women and children.

Israel says it has killed over 17,000 militants, without providing evidence.

More than 95,000 people have also been wounded in Gaza since Oct. 7, the Health Ministry said.

The war has caused vast destruction and displaced about 90% of Gaza’s population of 2.3 million.

Israeli Iron Dome air defense system fires to intercept a rocket fired from Lebanon, in northern Israel, Friday, Sept. 20, 2024. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)