12/9/2009: Holiday Cards Add Some Sparkle to the Postal Museum

You can still hear the wail of vacuum cleaners trying to remove a few gallons of glitter from the Postal Museum carpet. Last Saturday's Holiday Card Workshop left much evidence of the crafty fun that was had by nearly 100 visitors.

Guest artist Thalia Doukas provided inspirational examples and techniques that got the creative juices flowing. Workshop participants were inspired to fold and cut their cards in totally new ways—transforming their two large cards info four small ones or even doing a long “accordion fold” to extend the holiday cheer in a three dimensional manner. Doukas recommends saving holiday cards and re-using them as collage material the following year. A big fan of recycling, Doukas can see the artistic potential in every scrap of material (including coffee filters) and can expertly transform a “mess up” into a creative embellishment.

Image: Collage is one of the most popular card making techniques at the workshop.

11/14/2009: American Indian Heritage Month Celebration

Museum visitors learned about Sequoyah, the Cherokee man who invented writing for his people, and learned to write his name in Cherokee. Visitors enjoyed storytime about American Indians featured on postage stamps, a matching game, and stamp designing.

Image: Sequoyah stamp

11/7/2009: Skyhooking the Mail

Museum visitors often ask “Why is there a stick coming out of that airplane?” This program answered the question!

The boom protruding from the museum’s Stinson-Reliant airplane was lowered to snatch a canister of mail suspended between two poles. The flight officer would also eject the mail for that community from the plane in a special container designed to survive repeated drops. Inspired by mail-on-the-fly exchanges performed by the Railway Mail Service, “air pick-up” was invented by Dr. Lytle Adams, a dentist and part-time inventor. It provided airmail to communities without airports. The service began on May 12, 1939 and carried airmail for ten years, a period during which mail volume boomed due to World War II correspondence. The service lasted ten years. But the story doesn’t end there. Gary Ell, creative marketing director at Zodiac Aerospace, spoke at the museum on Saturday about how pick-up was used for many years after the planes stopped carrying mail and, in fact, is still in use today.

The engineering arm of All American Aviation developed Dr. Adams’ original idea, creating “aircraft arresting systems” for military and civilian use. Watch the complete presentation to see amazing footage of human pick-ups (gasp!) as well as a very nifty way to get engine-less gliders airborne by pulling them behind another aircraft.

Image: Left to right: James Holefelder, David Rintoul, Gary Ell

10/25/2009: Politics & Postage of the Great Depression

Assistant curator of philately Daniel Piazza explained how President Franklin D. Roosevelt used stamps to convey hopeful and political messages during the Great Depression. As a stamp collecting president, Roosevelt worked on his stamp collection for about 30 minutes every night and was very hands-on in the process of selecting topics for stamps, designing them, and picking colors.

Image (left): Assistant curator of philately Daniel Piazza discussed the politics and postage of the Great Depression.
Video (left): Piazza explains why stamps are so suitable to the purposes of propaganda.

10/24/2009: Sculptures, Mobiles & Stamps

Art lovers and philatelists alike enjoyed a lively presentation by Mark Haimann, a retired eye doctor who has a passion for modern art and postage stamps, that traced sculptor Alexander Calder’s life, work, friendships, and travels through stamps. The artist’s work was featured on five beautiful US stamps in 1998. Mr. Haimann described Calder as “America’s Modern Art Ambassador,” a distinctly American artist whose art and personality shaped the modern art world.

Image (top): Mark Haimann talks about sculptor Alexander Calder as “America’s Modern Art Ambassador.” Fittingly, the lecture took place in the Alphabetilately: the Alphabet of Philately exhibit, a favorite among art and design lovers.
Image (below): After the talk, visitors created their own “art galleries” of artsy stamps. Tim, a museum volunteer, leads the collection activity.

10/16/2009: Postal Party on Capitol Hill

The Postal Museum loves our Capitol Hill neighbors. Loyal public program attendees and museum supporters, our neighbors enjoyed a special evening just for them. Families enjoyed kid-friendly food, a gift bag stuffed with goodies from Capitol Hill businesses, and hands-on activities inspired by the Delivering Hope: FDR & Stamps of the Great Depression exhibition. When Capitol Hill families with young children recently expressed an interest in programs that start earlier in the morning to accommodate afternoon naps, museum staff responded by planning programs that begin at 11 a.m.

Image: In the “Stamp Charades,” education aide Motoko acts out a Depression-era stamp while kids try to guess which one it is.

10/10/2009: Stamp Design: Big Message, Small Canvas

US Postal Service art director Ethel Kessler discussed the essential challenge of stamp designing and art directing: conveying an important concept on a very small canvas. The audience especially appreciated Kessler’s discussion of the American Film Making: Behind the Scenes sheet. Kessler explained that the topic was chosen by the Citizen Stamp Advisory Committee (CSAC) but that it was her role to select a real direction for the sheet, which was issued to coincide with the 75th anniversary celebration of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Look closely at the stamps and you’ll notice thoughtful details, from the “film strip” borders to the fact that hands appear in each stamp, doing the behind the scenes work of movie making. Kessler’s stories delighted the crowd, from humorous anecdotes of stamp designing bloopers to the importance of portraying the Civil Rights Movement on stamps through art created by those who lived during the time period.

Image (left): 37c American Filmmaking: Behind the Scenes pane of ten

10/9/2009: Collection Connections: Happy Birthday, John Lennon!

Philately may be the hobby of presidents, but it’s also the hobby of rock stars. Museum visitors enjoyed stamp collecting, John Lennon’s favorite childhood hobby, in celebration of Lennon’s 69th birthday. In honor of the special occasion, museum staff put Lennon’s childhood stamp album on display in the Benjamin Franklin Foyer for the weekend.

Image (left): A museum visitor who just moved to the DC area shows off her stamp design featuring a yellow submarine. In the background, young Beatles fans create international stamp collections.

9/29/2009: Latin Jazz Celebration

We celebrated Hispanic Heritage Month with style here at the Postal Museum!

Inspired by the 2008 Latin Jazz commemorative stamp, we offered five different activities during the Latin Jazz Celebration. Visitors enjoyed a percussion instrument matching game, reading about famous Hispanic figures at the story corner, designing their own musical stamps, collecting heritage stamps, and playing with percussion instruments.

Instead of a live band, museum visitors provided the music! Anyone could become a Latin Jazz percussionist at the “percussion petting zoo,” where visitors learned the clave rhythm (the heartbeat of Latin Jazz) and invented their own beats.

Thanks to volunteers Motoko H, Motoko W, and Julia G, for getting museum visitors into the groove! Check out coverage of the fun event in DC’s El Tiempo Latino.

Image (top): The Latin Jazz commemorative stamp was released in 2008. It was designed by Michael Bartalos, a San Francisco designer and jazz fan. © United States Postal Service. All rights reserved.
Image (bottom): Couldn’t make it to the event? Download and print out your own stamp frame coloring sheet and be creative with your favorite colors!

9/12/2009: Arts on Foot

Smiling faces welcome Penn Quarter visitors to the Postal Museum’s booth at Arts on Foot, a popular annual arts festival in Washington, DC.

The Postal Museum joined our neighbors in the Penn Quarter Neighborhood to kick of the fall arts season. Visitors to the museum’s table in the Cultural Corridor enjoyed making “artful airmail” using gorgeous supplies, from cancelled international stamps to photos of dashingly handsome pilots. Airmail labels and ink stamps added extra flair. Volunteers Emiko, Tricia, and Ida Marie, promoted the Postal Museum and handed out popular giveaways—wood airplanes with the museum’s logo on the wings!

Image (above): Smiling faces welcome Penn Quarter visitors to the Postal Museum’s booth at Arts on Foot, a popular annual arts festival in Washington, DC.
Image (top): A visitor puts some finishing touches on her “artful airmail” card.
Image (middle): Delightful details adorn this artful airmail card.
Image (bottom): Part artwork, part correspondence!

8/8/2009: Owney Family Day

Owney Day 2009 gave visitors an opportunity to learn about Owney, the unofficial canine mascot of the Railway Mail Service, and the Railway Post Office through fun and educational activities. Families enjoyed sorting mail in the RPO car, designing their own dog-themed stamp, posting pet stories, designing tags for Owney, and looking at Owney tags from the 1890s.

Additionally, visitors had the special opportunity to speak to former RPO clerks from around the country and to hear author Dirk Wales read his new Owney book.

Image (top): A group of visitors listens to author Dirk Wales read his second Owney book, The Further Adventures of a Lucky Dog: Owney, U.S. Rail Mail Mascot.
Image (middle): A DC area family speaks to former Railway Post Office (RPO) clerk Donald Bliss, from Iowa, outside of the museum’s RPO car.
Image (bottom): NPM Collections staff members Kate Diggle and Patricia Raynor share Owney tags from the 1890s, which were brought out of storage specifically for this occasion, with a family of visitors. Visitors had the opportunity to design their own Owney tags as part of the Tail Wagging Tags activity.

8/1/2009: Animals R Us! Family Day

African animals came to life through activities, stamps, presentation and lots of wild fun!

The family day kicked off with the Discovery Theater’s interactive presentation. Loud African drumming echoed through the atrium as kids acted like African animals. Growling and jumping, they learned that stamps tell stories about these animals. Families also enjoyed wandering in the “Stamp Safari” (philatelic gallery), putting together animal-themed stamp collections and made their own animal stamp designs to take home.

Animals R Us! Family Day was a part of the collaborative summer camp program between four Smithsonian Institution museums (National Museum of African Art, National Postal Museum, National Zoo and National Museum of Natural History), based on the new exhibit opened at the African Art Museum called “Artful Animal.” Kids are encouraged to take activity guide and explore exciting projects each museums offer on site.

Image (top): Grrr! Show me your claws! Kids pretend to be cheetahs with the Discovery Theater actress, El’tsah Broden.
Image (bottom): Kids take stamp designing very seriously! If you were a country, what animal represent you on a stamp?

7/24/2009: Stamps for a New Deal

During the dark days of the Great Depression, President Franklin D. Roosevelt used color to cheer Americans up. Kids and adults enjoyed activities related to the museum’s newest exhibit, Delivering Hope: FDR & Stamps of the Great Depression.

In the “Colorful Collecting” activity, visitors picked the most vivid stamps they could find to create their own collections. Visitors created a colorful collage of stamps at the “Philatelic Palette” activity, learning about the beautiful colors that made stamps of this era so attractive. “Can You Draw Better than the President?” challenged kids and adults to outdo FDR in stamp designing. (See one of FDR’s stamp design sketches on the left.) Visitors also voted for the “Most Gorgeous Stamp of the Great Depression” (the Yosemite National Park stamp won) and made stamps of the 1930s come to life in “Stamp Charades.”

Image (top): President Franklin D. Roosevelt's sketch for Mothers of America issue.
Image (bottom): The Yosemite National Park stamp which won the “Most Gorgeous Stamp of the Great Depression” contest.

Families celebrate Abraham Lincoln’s 200th birthday at the Postal Museum fun activities and a letter reading presentation.

(more info)

Drawing birthday cakes for Abraham Lincoln is fun but it’s really hard to fit the 200 candles!

Blowing their whistles and puffing steam, trains pulled into the Postal Museum just in time for Father’s Day!

(more info)

Charlotte, a Postal Museum educator, explains how train whistles use patterns to communicate different messages that make train travel less dangerous.

6/16/2009: Preserving First Day Covers

From precious first day covers to family photos and scrapbooks, most people have treasured paper possessions to protect and cherish. Paper conservator Helen Young and preservation technician Manda Kowalczyk shared tips and tricks to preserve precious paper items.

Image: Paper conservator Helen Young and preservation technician Manda Kowalczyk chat with a family about protecting their paper collections.

Top Five Tips for Preserving Paper Memories:

1. Less is more:
Well-intentioned homemade repairs can result in additional damage—like taping a tear.

2. Keep your stuff in the temperature comfort zone:
Anyplace you are comfortable, your stuff will be, too. Avoid basements and attics. Protect your collection items from bright light, extreme temperatures, etc.

3. Keep it accessible to avoid over handling:
Riffling through stacks of paper can damage them. Organize your precious paper and handle gently with clean hands. Label boxes and vertical files. Display copies, not originals.

4. Store by size:
Keep similarly sized items together to prevent crushing, bends, etc.

5. Store collections in acid-free containers:
Many products labeled “archival” or “acid-free” are misleading. Buy storage supplies from a vendor known for high quality archival supplies.

6/11/2009: Mail by Missile

This program taught history with a bang! To celebrate the 50th anniversary of missile mail, curator Nancy A. Pope gave a talk on the fascinating topic and then moved to the atrium where an artifact related to the launch was on view.

Never heard of missile mail? Watch the YouTube video to get the (somewhat wacky) story of this Cold War mail experiment!

 • Learn more >

Image (top): Curator Nancy A. Pope chats with visitors about mail by missile. On view in the case is the box in which letters were stored in the missile.
Image (bottom): Adults and young folks find out how the Post Office Department and US Navy worked together to launch mail by missile.

About 20 participants enjoyed the A-B-Cs of Stamp Collecting Workshop on Sunday, June 7, 2009. The workshop was led by Janet Klug, the immediate past president of the American Philatelic Society and author of the Smithsonian Guide to Stamp Collecting.

(more info)

Janet Klug with museum visitors creating stamp collections

Families celebrated heritage with fun hands-on activities and storytime based on stamps featuring Asian Pacific American art, culture, people, and heritage.

(more info)

4/25/2009: Victory Mail/Victory Music Celebrates Tunes, Dance, and Mail of World War II

The Postal Museum celebrated Jazz Appreciation Month (JAM) on April 25, 2009 with a family event featuring music and mail of World War II. Families enjoyed swing dancing lessons taught by instructors Taylor Walters Denyer and Stuart Denyer, tours of the Victory Mail exhibit, and presentations by JAM. Victory Mail (or V-Mail) is an innovation that miniaturized letters onto microfilm to save space and weight on military ships and planes.

Top image: Glasses and a clarinet turn this visitor into “King of Swing” Benny Goodman. It’s Goodman’s 100th birthday.
Second image: Visitors pair up for swing dancing lessons.
Third image: Museum volunteers show off their World War II era costumes with an activity about the song “G.I. Jive.”
Bottom image: Swing instructor Stuart Deyner spins a museum docent.

About Jazz Appreciation Month

Jazz Appreciation Month—an initiative of the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History (NMAH)—inspires national and global celebrations during the month of April to highlight jazz as a cultural treasure born in America, celebrated worldwide. 

Learn more about JAM and jazz inspired events at NMAH and communities around the world at: www.smithsonianjazz.org.

3/21/2009: Teens Plan a “Green” Festival at the National Postal Museum

Fifteen teens gathered on Saturday to plan an upcoming family festival that explores the environmental challenges presented by moving the mail. The teens will return to the museum to lead the hands-on activities they created at the Green Ways to Move the Mail Family Festival.

This unique workshop connected the history of mail transportation with a contemporary challenge. With the largest civilian fleet in the country, the United States Postal Service (USPS) drives more than 1.2 billion miles each year. Mail transportation makes a real impact on the environment.  

In small groups, teens collaborated to design and assemble five different activities to connect museum visitors with these important issues. “The activities had to be educational and goal-driven,” said public programs coordinator Erin Blasco. “But they also had to be fun. The teens were incredibly creative and took on the challenge enthusiastically. We’re looking at a great crop of future museum educators, engineers, and decision makers!”

One group of teens created an activity called “Rocky Roads,” which puts museum visitors in the driver’s seat, challenging them to select the best vehicle (perhaps a boat, an electric vehicle, or a Segway?) for a postal route’s tough terrain.

Another group created a “Vehicle Invention Lab” in which visitors design their own “perfect mail delivery vehicle”—a vehicle that is safe, reliable, fast, cheap, and green.

 • Learn more >

Image (top): Teens tour the museum, discovering historic ways to move the mail.
Image (middle and bottom): Teens work hard to create activities for the Family Festival.

2/21/2009: Black History Month Celebration Highlights Postal Workers

African Americans have been unofficially involved in the delivery of mail since the days of slavery. On Saturday, February 21, 2009, a family program spotlighted African Americans’ jobs in the Postal Service past and present. Three inspectors from the United States Postal Inspection Service talked about their jobs, training, and tough cases with families.

Kids made drawings to name post offices after hometown heroes after learning about Minnie Cox, postmaster of Indianola, Mississippi from 1891-1903. Though initially very popular, Cox, an African American woman, was driven from town by angry whites despite intervention by President Theodore Roosevelt. This year, the town’s post office will be re-named in her honor.

Image (top): Postal inspectors discuss their work.
Image (bottom): A volunteer explains the hard job done by a group of African American women who re-directed mail during World War II in England and France. They re-directed warehouses full of US mail, often re-packing disintegrating care packages.

2/7/2009: “Mr. Lincoln’s T-Mails and Tales” Programs

On Saturday, February 7, 2009 two public programs celebrated Abraham Lincoln’s bicentennial with an author talk for adults and a hands-on workshop for kids.

Author Tom Wheeler gave a lively talk about this book Mr. Lincoln’s T-Mails: the Untold Story of How Abraham Lincoln Used the Telegraph to Win the Civil War which was attended by 67 people. “Lincoln’s use of technology was a fascinating new angle,” wrote one visitor on the survey. Another marveled that his telegrams allow us to “see the ‘real time’ Lincoln in action.”

About 25 children and adults participated in the children’s workshop. Kids enjoyed a read-aloud of Mr. Lincoln’s Whiskers, wrote letters to the president, explored portraits of Lincoln on US postage stamps, and made their own collections of Lincoln stamps. The kids wrote to President Obama about Girl Scout cookies, jobs, and recommendations for “first pet.”

Image: Brownies show off a letter they wrote to President Obama in the Mr. Lincoln’s Tales children’s workshop. (It urges the Obamas to serve Thin Mints in the White House!)

1/31/2009: New Volunteer Orientation

Five new volunteers have joined the public programs volunteer team! Including recent college graduates, young professionals, experienced tour guides, and retired folks, the volunteer team brings a unique set of skills and knowledge to the Postal Museum. Look for their friendly, smiling faces at upcoming family events!

 • Learn more >

1/24/2009: Stamp Collecting A-Z Workshop

Answering visitors’ demands for more time to collect stamps, instruction on useful techniques like mounts and hinges, and the ability to make larger collections, the Stamp Collecting A-Z Workshop gave participants access to some of the Postal Museum’s best stamp experts and sent everyone home with 22 stamps.

After a brief presentation about topical collecting, about a dozen participants tried their hands at creating topical collections, attaching mounts and hinges, and soaking stamps off envelopes. Knowledgeable volunteers Charlotte, Gordon, Ida Marie, Mary Jane, Marvin, Robin, and Susan were on hand to provide expertise, advice, and encouragement.

Image (top): Susan, a Postal Museum volunteer, and a young stamp collector assemble topical collections together.
Image (bottom): Marvin, a longtime Postal Museum volunteer, brought in a color key that was very popular with workshop participants and particularly useful with this collection of red stamps.

1/17/2009: Inauguration Family Celebration

About 85 visitors, including a Girl Scout troop, families, adults, and twenty-somethings, had a ball during Inauguration weekend at the Postal Museum. Activities included designing a stamp for your favorite president, museum tours, and stamp collecting around presidential and patriotic themes. One troop leader appreciated the “warm, stress-free activity for Girl Scouts” during a particularly hectic weekend for the nation’s capital. Another visitor said “It was wonderful! I am going to mail the collection to my grandchildren and tell them all about it.”

Image: A Girl Scout shows off the stamp she designed for President Barack Obama. (Living people—even presidents—are not featured on US stamps, but it’s a great design!)

1/10/2009: Philatelic Films: Jezebel and Hallelujah

Thirty visitors enjoyed a tempting double feature including the films Jezebel and Hallelujah. “This was great,” said one visitor. “I never would have seen Hallelujah otherwise. Thanks SO much!” Jezebel stars Bette Davis and Henry Fonda, both featured on recent US stamps, in an antebellum Southern drama. Recently featured on a Vintage Black Cinema stamp, Hallelujah is one of the first major-studio films to feature an all-black cast. In Hallelujah, a field laborer is enticed away from his community by worldly excitement.