• AOC enhanced its operations to provide an exceptional Capitol tour experience. These enhancements included offering a new War of 1812 tour, expanding the Exhibition Hall Encounters Program, incorporating new middle-school civics curriculum into the standard Capitol tour, offering two mobile Apps and delivering more special programs for student groups.

• AOC continued to expand the second season of educational student programs. More than 700 students attended one of two offerings, “Art Appreciators: The Art and Architecture of the Capitol” and “Environment Matters: How Does a Bill Become Law?” The AOC also developed a tour specifically for middle-school students focused on civics education.

• AOC offered a Hands On Plant Science (HOPS) program through the U.S. Botanic Garden where local children from inner city schools immerse themselves in the natural world by using microscopes, dissecting flowers, analyzing soil and learning how seeds travel. The newly expanded program now includes a training component so that DC-area teachers may integrate the HOPS lessons into their curricula.

• AOC successfully implemented the Library of Congress’ FY 2014 Space Modernization program. The program supports a multitude of client-requested study, design and construction initiatives and 13 high-visibility projects, such as renovating the Geography and Maps Reading Room to improve visitor and scholar experiences.

• AOC provided exceptional client services during major events hosted on Capitol Hill and maintained service delivery despite an extreme winter. Key events supported included the annual Capitol Christmas tree lighting and the Memorial Day, Independence Day and Labor Day summer concerts.

• AOC began planning for a seamless 114th Congressional transition resulting from the November 2014 elections. This effort entails managing hundreds of office and committee moves and thousands of related work orders. It also requires disciplined coordination and planning between the AOC Capitol Building and the House and Senate Office Buildings jurisdictions, the Members of Congress and their staffs, and related Legislative Branch organizations.

• AOC worked with multiple stakeholders and a programming contractor to develop an improved website for the House of Representatives’ 114th Congressional transition to integrate the Lottery Suite Selection and the Geographic Information System websites. The second iteration of the website development was completed in May 2014, and the interface improvements were finished in September 2014.

• AOC developed and implemented a new, two-day orientation program to improve the employee onboarding experience.

• AOC implemented a new Universal Accessibility Policy and Standards in December 2013. This policy will assist the agency in making ADA improvements throughout Capitol Hill, improving the visitor experience.

• AOC replaced the isolation valves in the Rayburn House Office Building (RHOB) water system. These valves were original to the 1960s-era building and were designed to allow each quadrant of the building to be separated. Over the years, the valves had failed, resulting in the need to drain the entire building at times. AOC took advantage of this project and also replaced nearly 200 feet of hot water piping in the RHOB basement.

Photo Caption: In FY 2014, the U.S. Capitol Visitor Center introduced two new mobile apps to enhance the visitor experience, including a National Statuary Hall Collection guide that describes and illustrates the 100 statues donated by the 50 states.