This popular annual workshop was a blast! About 160 visitors—including at least one Brownie troop—made beautiful holiday cards with the guidance of local artist Thalia Doukas.
Visitor showing his holiday card
Visitor showing his holiday card
Visitors creating holiday cards
Visitors creating holiday cards
Visitor showing his holiday card
Visitors showing their holiday cards
Visitor showing her holiday card
Visitor creating holiday cards
Images: Visitors creating and showing their holiday cards
November 2011
Curator Lynn Heidelbaugh giving a tour of the Mail Call exhibit
Visitors making and mailing cards for American military personnel
11/19/2011: Civil War Day
This history-packed festival focused on the ways in which the Civil War challenged and changed to mail system. Visitors learned about adversity covers, looked at Confederate and Union stamps, wrote cards to American military personnel serving overseas, sorted mail in the Railway Post Office, and designed stamps for President Lincoln.
The day also included a Civil War letter reading by two actors and author talk by Robert C. Plumb, author of Your Brother in Arms: A Union Soldier’s Odyssey. Curator Lynn Heidelbaugh gave a tour of Mail Call, focusing on Civil War objects in this new exhibit.
Images:
1) Curator Lynn Heidelbaugh giving a tour of the Mail Call exhibit.
2) Visitors making and mailing cards for American military personnel.
Visitors explore American Indian Heritage represented on stamps
11/5/2011: American Indian Heritage Month Family Day
No matter your heritage, it is probably commemorated on US postage stamps. During this family day we explored American Indian Heritage represented on stamps, including people, art, dances, food, and other topics. Visitors enjoyed stamp designing, storytime about Sequoyah, and writing in Cherokee.
Image: Visitors explore American Indian Heritage represented on stamps
October 2011
Owney activity sheet
10/15/2011: Owney Family Day
As Owney’s Look-Alike Contest came to a close, museum visitors celebrated the Railway Mail mascot with a fun family day. Activities included making an Owney paper bag puppet and taking it on a “tour” of the museum, learning about other cool critters (including pigeons and cats) in the mail service, and making a topical stamp collecting featuring dog stamps.
Image: Owney activity sheet
Orphans Preferred" Pomy Express event poster
10/8/2011: Orphans Preferred: The Twisted Truth & Lasting Legend of the Pony Express
Author Christopher Corbett spoke about his book Orphans Preferred: The Twisted Truth & Lasting Legend of the Pony Express as a close to 18 months of exploring Pony Express history in honor of its 150th anniversary. View the video of Corbett’s talk here and learn more about the Pony Express here.
We celebrated the 100th anniversary of Fred Wiseman’s airmail flight in February and celebrated early airmail again in September, this time in honor of the 100th anniversary of Earle Ovington’s flight. Visitors voted for the “awesomest” airmail flight out of a list of early flights, collected “soaring stamps,” designed their own airmail planes, took the oath to become official airmail pilots, and won a prize in a scavenger hunt.
Image: Earle Ovington’s Oath of Post Office Employee
August 2011
This visitor is carefully cutting and folding an envelope to fit his card.
A colorful display provided mail art examples, definitions, and resources.
Visitors making their own "mail art" envelopes.
8/6/2011: Make Mail Art Workshop
Nearly 110 visitors enjoy this relaxing, creative workshop on mail art, inspired by the book Good Mail Day by Jennie Hinchcliff and Carolee Gilligan Wheeler. They learned to make their own envelopes from maps, magazine pages, and other recycled supplies; practiced collage techniques; chose the perfect stamps from hundreds of canceled, international postage stamps, and enjoyed the fun of correspondence.
Image:
1)
This visitor is carefully cutting and folding an envelope to fit his card.
2) A colorful display provided mail art examples, definitions, and resources.
3) The whole family gets involved in making mail art.
July 2011
7/27/2011 – 7/30/2011: Four-Day Owney Fest
On July 27, 2011, the US Postal Service issued a postage stamp commemorating Owney the Postal Dog at the National Postal Museum. The First Day of Issue Ceremony was not only an opportunity to celebrate Owney’s history and purchase his stamps but also included the opening festivals for two Owney exhibits and the “big reveal” of Owney’s conservation treatment (nicknamed a “makeover” by museum staff). After the stamp was issued, a four-day festival began. It included hands-on activities, storytime with Owney book authors, and more. See the photos of the festival below!
Postal Museum director Allen Kane welcomes the large crowd gathered for the First Day of Issue Ceremony of the Owney the Postal Dog stamp. A local camp group is in the front row.
Once the Owney stamp was revealed, Dirk Wales, author of A Lucky Dog: Owney, US Rail Mail Mascot said a few words about why Owney is special to him.
Visitors take a look at Owney, a taxidermy specimen, following his makeover. His fur is markedly fluffier and his face looks more natural.
Visitors enjoyed topical stamp collecting. Mystic Stamp Company donated many stamps featuring dogs and these were a hit.
Linda Edquist, head of preservation at the museum, helps visitors vote for the “Coolest Critter in the Mail Service.” Owney rode trains and horses worked on the Pony Express but many visitors were surprised to learn that camels, pigeons, mules, cats, and more have been involved in the mail service over the years.
Young visitors enjoyed making puppets of Owney and taking them on tours of the museum.
Owney puppets allowed kids to make connections to Owney’s story and tell Owney’s story from his perspective.
Sorting mail in the train car takes teamwork.
Owney traveled the country on mail trains, receiving metal tokens in many of the locations he visited. Visitors used images of the tokens to figure out where Owney had gone and then locate these places on a map.
This toy Owney received tokens of affection from his visitors.
Museum staff member Patricia Raynor shows off the quantity of tokens visitors gave Owney.
The variety of Owney tokens designed by visitors shows that people came from all over to celebrate Owney and that his story is a much loved one at the museum.
Images:
1) Postal Museum director Allen Kane welcomes the large crowd gathered for the First Day of Issue Ceremony of the Owney the Postal Dog stamp. A local camp group is in the front row.
2) Once the Owney stamp was revealed, Dirk Wales, author of A Lucky Dog: Owney, US Rail Mail Mascot said a few words about why Owney is special to him.
3) Visitors take a look at Owney, a taxidermy specimen, following his makeover. His fur is markedly fluffier and his face looks more natural.
4) Visitors enjoyed topical stamp collecting. Mystic Stamp Company donated many stamps featuring dogs and these were a hit.
5) Linda Edquist, head of preservation at the museum, helps visitors vote for the “Coolest Critter in the Mail Service.” Owney rode trains and horses worked on the Pony Express but many visitors were surprised to learn that camels, pigeons, mules, cats, and more have been involved in the mail service over the years.
6) Young visitors enjoyed making puppets of Owney and taking them on tours of the museum.
7) Owney puppets allowed kids to make connections to Owney’s story and tell Owney’s story from his perspective.
8) Sorting mail in the train car takes teamwork.
9) Owney traveled the country on mail trains, receiving metal tokens in many of the locations he visited. Visitors used images of the tokens to figure out where Owney had gone and then locate these places on a map.
10) This toy Owney received tokens of affection from his visitors.
11) Museum staff member Patricia Raynor shows off the quantity of tokens visitors gave Owney.
12) The variety of Owney tokens designed by visitors shows that people came from all over to celebrate Owney and that his story is a much loved one at the museum.
June 2011
Visitors vote for the most awesome airmail flight.
A kid’s drawing shows understanding of the Wiseman-Cooke flight.
6/18/2011: Pony Express Family Fest
One hundred years ago this year, Fred Wiseman took off in his airplane with a handful of letters and newspapers from Petaluma, California. Wiseman’s flight was the first heavier-than air flight sanctioned by a US post office. His destination was Santa Rosa, California, about 20 miles away.
Families celebrated airmail this summer with lots of hands-on activities. Visitors voted for which early airmail flight was the most awesome; contenders included the Wiseman-Cooke flight, the Earle Ovington flight, and a flight in India. Visitors also designed airmail planes for use 100 years from now to envision to the future of mail transportation. They completed a scavenger hunt, designed commemorative postcards, and even participated in a historical re-enactment of the flight. Each kid had the opportunity to design a handkerchief to wave in support of Fred Wiseman during the drama. Then a volunteer playing the role of the first woman to receive airmail (a newspaper was dropped down to her) told her tale, including the moment when she waved her dishtowel at Wiseman as he flew overhead. Participants enjoyed creating their own supportive messages and waving them around.
Images:
1) Visitors vote for the most awesome airmail flight.
2) A kid’s drawing shows understanding of the Wiseman-Cooke flight.
This snazzy hat designed by a museum visitor captured the “myth and kitsch” part of the Pony Express as opposed to the historic reality.
Mom and dad watch as the kids act out a Pony Express adventure story.
Kids work together to answer trivia questions and move mail across the map.
6/11/2011: Pony Express Family Fest
This fun festival included lots of fun activities about the Pony Express during its 150th anniversary. Here are four highlights:
Twisted Tales: Watch a story spin out of control as each visitor adds a line to the tale. The Postal Museum volunteer provided the first line (“Johnny rode out on the trail on his horse Thunder when suddenly…”) and then museum visitors took it from there, adding line after line until the story is utterly unbelievable.
Kitsch, Myth, and Reality: Pony Express movies and souvenirs capture the romance of the Pony Express but leave out the historically accurate reality. To explore the difference between myth and reality, visitors were asked to design a Pony Express souvenir of their own (sneakers, a hat, or a backpack) and told to make the coolest, flashiest, most legendary Pony Express souvenir they can imagine. Once they completed their fashionable Pony Express product, Postal Museum volunteers then asked them how the souvenir might be different if it reflected the real history of the Pony Express.
Trivia Relay Race: Families worked in a relay much like Pony Express riders to move the mail across the west. Instead of galloping on horseback, they answered Pony Express trivia questions and showed off what they’d learned in the Romance and Reality exhibit.
Pony Express Puppet Show: This fun activity helped kids develop a general idea of what the Pony Express was. First, kids designed their puppets and named their horses. Then they starred in a puppet show in which they took “The Pony Riders’ Oath,” faced awful weather, nearly got lost, and preserved to make sure the mail was delivered.
A scavenger hunt rounded out the day.
Images:
1) This snazzy hat designed by a museum visitor captured the “myth and kitsch” part of the Pony Express as opposed to the historic reality.
2) Mom and dad watch as the kids act out a Pony Express adventure story. 3) Kids work together to answer trivia questions and move mail across the map.
5/21/2011: Asian Pacific American Heritage Month Family Day
May is Asian-Pacific American Heritage Month, a celebration of Asians and Pacific Islanders in the United States. This year’s Asian Pacific American Heritage Month Family Day focused on Asian Pacific American heritage on US postage stamps.
In one activity, kids were asked to design a postage stamp for their favorite food. This hunger-inducing activity was a fun way to connect to this year’s Lunar New Year stamp painted by Chinese-American artist Kam Mak. Mak selected kumquats as the stamp subject because they are eaten during Lunar New Year, given as gifts, and considered good luck. Kumquats have personal and cultural meanings for Mak. He even wrote a poem about them in his book My Chinatown, which Postal Museum volunteer Amanda S. read aloud to an appreciative audience. In the book, Mak writes about his grandma’s recipe for pickled kumquats and how their taste is an important part of his new year.
In another activity, families made clay sculptures inspired by the artwork of Isamu Noguchi, which is commemorated on US postage stamps. Noguchi merged eastern and western influences in his work.
Kids make tags for Owney, a real dog who traveled with the Railway Mail Service in the 1890s, receiving tags and tokens from people who met him on his journeys. These youngsters decided to wear the tags they made themselves—just like Owney!
Visitors made tags for Owney the dog and, by the end of the day, the pup was wearing quite a collection from all over the US.
Trains used whistles to communicate. During National Train Day, visitors learned what different whistle patterns mean.
Owney traveled all over the US. The museum knows of his travels through the tags he received and newspaper articles that covered his journeys. In this activity, participants mapped Owney’s travels my matching his tags to their locations.
The model train layout was really fun to watch.
Making topical stamp collections to take home was a popular part of National Train Day.
5/7/2011: National Train Day
On May 10, 1869, “The Golden Spike” was driven in Promontory Summit, Utah Territory, connecting the First Transcontinental Railroad across the US. Each May, the Postal Museum and Amtrak celebrate all things train-related as part of National Train Day.
This year’s celebration included making a tag for Owney the dog, an impressive train layout presented by the Rappahannock Model Railroad Club, tooting train whistles, tracking Owney’s travels, sorting mail in the museum’s Railway Post Office, and making collections of train stamps to take home. Participants also completed a fun scavenger hunt and learned to “talk like a mail slinger,” learning lingo used by Railway Mail clerks on the job.
Special this year was the opportunity to present the Railway Mail and Owney stories at Washington’s Union Station in partnership with Amtrak’s National Train Day. The museum’s table included a fiberglass model of Owney the dog and lots of information about Owney’s makeover and postage stamp. The National Museum of American History joined the Postal Museum in sharing the Smithsonian train-related resources to the hundreds of people who participated in National Train Day throughout the day.
Images:
1) Kids make tags for Owney, a real dog who traveled with the Railway Mail Service in the 1890s, receiving tags and tokens from people who met him on his journeys. These youngsters decided to wear the tags they made themselves—just like Owney!
2) Visitors made tags for Owney the dog and, by the end of the day, the pup was wearing quite a collection from all over the US.
3) Trains used whistles to communicate. During National Train Day, visitors learned what different whistle patterns mean.
4) Owney traveled all over the US. The museum knows of his travels through the tags he received and newspaper articles that covered his journeys. In this activity, participants mapped Owney’s travels my matching his tags to their locations.
5) The model train layout was really fun to watch.
6) Making topical stamp collections to take home was a popular part of National Train Day.
April 2011
A young visitor gets some help in de-coding one of Abraham Lincoln’s telegraph messages from Morse code.
Designing a stamp featuring Abraham Lincoln is lots of fun.
Teenagers went wild for the “fold your own envelope” activity inspired by adversity covers of the Civil War.
Kids vote for their favorite Abraham Lincoln stamp, choosing from stamps that depict him as a rail-splitter, president, marble statue, lawyer, or father.
4/16/11: Civil War Family Fest
When the conflict between the north and south exploded into war, the nation's communication system was also ripped in two, creating a separate Confederate postal system. The war also challenged postal communications, resulting in innovative solutions that modernized the system. Visitors explored Civil War postal history and philately with fun activities.
Visitors votes for their favorite Abraham Lincoln stamp, selecting the one that depicted their favorite interpretation of Lincoln, whether it was as a rail-splitter, president, marble statue, lawyer, or father. (Curious which won the vote? Click here.) After voting for their favorite, visitors then designed their own stamp featuring the familiar president in their own way. Lincoln had two choices for corresponding with his generals during the Civil War. He could send a message by telegraph or write a letter. Each form of communication had benefits and drawbacks, which visitors examined before de-coding one of Lincoln’s telegraph messages from Morse code.
Letter writers in the south often found themselves without paper or envelopes during the Civil War due to Union blockades; the envelopes they folded from recycled paper are called “adversity covers.” Visitors learned to make their own envelopes from recycled paper as a way of connecting with this interesting part of Civil War history. Visitors also raced to sort mail in the Railway Post Office, a Civil War-era innovation that increased the speed of mail processing and transportation.
Young visitors gathered for storytime to hear Mr. Lincoln’s Whiskers, the true story of a little girl who wrote to Abe and received a response. In one popular activity, visitors learned about the importance of mail in military morale past and present and made cards for current military personnel serving overseas to be donated via Operation Gratitude. Finally, a fun scavenger hunt rounded out the day.
Images:
1) A young visitor gets some help in de-coding one of Abraham Lincoln’s telegraph messages from Morse code.
2)
Designing a stamp featuring Abraham Lincoln is lots of fun.
3)
Teenagers went wild for the “fold your own envelope” activity inspired by adversity covers of the Civil War.
4)
Kids vote for their favorite Abraham Lincoln stamp, choosing from stamps that depict him as a rail-splitter, president, marble statue, lawyer, or father.
March 2011
Visitors designing postage stamps
3/19/11: Women’s History Month Family Day
Museum visitors learned about Women’s History in postal history and philately (stamp collecting) through these fun, hands-on activities. Here are just four of the many activities offered:
Curate with Catherine Manning: Learn more about one of the first female Smithsonian curator, Catherine Manning, who managed the philatelic collection! Visitors made their own stamp collections to take home, practicing and learning skills such as categorizing and using philatelic vocabulary.
Print, Post, and Protest with Mary Katherine Goddard: Mary Katherine Goddard was a printer and postmaster in Baltimore, Maryland during colonial times. She was such a good printer that she even got to print the first official copy of the Declaration of Independence! As a postmaster, she was in charge of the mail for the bustling city of Baltimore, Maryland, a big job. But after doing that job for 14 years, she got fired! Visitors “met” Mary, learned about her predicament, and decided whether or not to support her petition to reclaim her job. Supporters wore stickers saying “Mary Katherine Goddard for Postmaster” and shared what they learned with others.
Make the Mail go through with the Postal Battalion of World War II: During World War II, the 6888th Central Postal Battalion of African American women went overseas to process military mail. Visitors enjoyed learning the story of these brave women and then making their own cards for American military personnel serving overseas, which were added to care packages by Operation Gratitude.
Design a Stamp with Elaine Rawlinson: The first woman appeared on a US postage stamp in 1893 but it wasn’t until 1937 that a woman designed one. That’s the year Elaine Rawlinson won President Roosevelt’s contest to design a stamp of George Washington. At just 27 years old, her design not only beat out thousands of other entries but also set a sleeker, more modern tone for the entire presidential series, a dramatic departure from the ornate designs that had come before. Visitors discovered this cool story and then designed their own Women’s History postage stamps.
Image: Visitors designing postage stamps
Visitors making their own "mail art" envelopes.
3/5/11: Make Mail Art
Nearly 110 visitors enjoy this relaxing, creative workshop on mail art, inspired by the book Good Mail Day by Jennie Hinchcliff and Carolee Gilligan Wheeler. They learned to make their own envelopes from maps, magazine pages, and other recycled supplies; practiced collage techniques; chose the perfect stamps from hundreds of canceled, international postage stamps, and enjoyed the fun of correspondence.
Image: Visitors making their own "mail art" envelopes.
February 2011
2/19/11: Centennial of Airmail Family Fest
Last weekend, the National Postal Museum celebrated the centennial of the first airmail flight beneath the very plane that flew it.
Though it may lack the name recognition of the Wright Brothers' flight, Fred Wiseman's airmail flight boasts an incredible story. Visitors to Saturday's Centennial of Airmail family festival enjoyed fun activities that brought the flight to life and illustrated its significance. Click through the slideshow below to see photos of the festival, the plane, and the many fun activities offered.
2/18/11: Curator Talk: Experimental Airmail
Curator Nancy A. Pope spoke about the era of experimental airmail, in which postmasters encouraged pilots at local aviation events to carry mail.
2/17/11: Spotlight on Airmail
Museum staff highlighted the story of Fred Wiseman’s 1911 airmail flight beneath the very plane that flew it. Wiseman took off on February 17th but was forced to land in a muddy field overnight due to a magneto problem. He completed the flight the following day. Watch the video below to learn more about this flight and the era of early experimental airmail.
Visitors created stamp collections featuring stamps that commemorate African American individuals and achievements.
2/12/11: Black History Month Stamp Collecting
Families created topical stamp collections featuring stamps that commemorate African American individuals and achievements. Visitors shared knowledge about the people on the stamps, used reference guides, designed stamps, and enjoyed books about notable African American individuals in the story corner.
Image: Visitors created stamp collections featuring stamps that commemorate African American individuals and achievements.
2/5/11: 9th Annual Maynard Sundman Lecture: The Philately of New Zealand: Innovation Born of Necessity, 1855-1955
Robert P. Odenweller discussed the philately of New Zealand for the 9th Annual Maynard Sundman Lecture. Located halfway around the globe from precious stamp-making supplies, New Zealand's postal service used ingenious methods to recover and reuse materials, inadvertently adding to the richness of the philately of New Zealand. Odenweller examined some of the innovative measures taken to reduce waste and to make the best use of the materials available, along with other pioneering efforts to meet growing postal demands. Ingenuity dictated ways to keep the system running, and created a fascinating array of varieties that interest us today.
The video begins with a welcome from Donald Sundman, chair of the Postal Museum Council of Philatelists. Postal Museum curator Cheryl Ganz then introduces Odenweller.
January 2011
1/22/2011: Collection Connections
In the first public program for a new crop of Postal Museum volunteers, families, adults, and a Brownie troop started topical stamp collections, visited the Collecting History: 125 Years of the National Philatelic Collection exhibit, soaked stamp off envelopes, and designed their own postage stamps.
