New app turns ordinary dollar bill into the White House

Check out this app for turning a dollar bill into a 3-D animated video about the White House.

It’s an app from Nexus Studios and the White House Historical Association, which released Apple and Android versions on Thursday. It uses augmented reality, the stuff behind Pokemon Go, to do its visual magic.

Here’s the real White House’s take on the 1600 app, penned by Kansas City’s own Josh Earnest, President Barack Obama’s press secretary.

“As you experience a year at the White House — from the Easter Egg Roll to a State Arrival Ceremony — you’ll see that even as seasons and people change, the White House endures as an institution of American democracy,” Earnest wrote.

Download the app, grant access to your device’s camera and then focus on a dollar bill. Bigger bills won’t work, even though the White House is on the back of a $20 bill instead of the $1.

The first sign of action is when the Federal Reserve seal on the left and the U.S. Treasury seal on the right pop out in 3-D and start turning.

You can turn the dollar to look around the sides and the back of the animated White House. In winter, turning the dollar means you’ll get to see the motorcade pick up the president and drive away.

This story was originally published December 1, 2016 at 6:10 PM with the headline "New app turns ordinary dollar bill into the White House."