Smithsonian National Postal Museum

10/14/2026

On Monday, October 19 at 11:00 a.m., join educators from the National Postal Museum for interactive, virtual story time. This week, we’ll be reading The Glass Pyramid by Jeanne Walker Harvey and exploring architecture on stamps. This virtual program is a wonderful way to introduce young learners to the wonders of architecture and design through storytelling. Tune in from wherever you are to enjoy a story that blends art, imagination, and global perspectives. Registration at the link is required: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/story-time-with-the-national-postal-museum-registration-141338917507

Mondays at 11:00 (ET) National Postal Museum educators will read stories aloud and lead related activities in a Zoom meeting for children and their caregivers. Explore a range of postal-related topics and more! Sessions will be interactive and last approximately 45-60 minutes. Caregivers are expected to be present with children for the duration of the program. Designed for children ages 4-7, but all are welcome!

10/09/2026

Discover how stamps become art! 🎨📬 Join National Postal Museum Guest Artist Heather Moulder for a virtual K–12 educator workshop exploring printmaking, the creation of the USPS 2024 Bluegrass Forever stamp, and hands-on techniques you can bring to any classroom, plus a live Q&A. This is a free event, and registration is required. Reserve your spot now! https://smithsonian.zoom.us/meeting/register/O0W9AXk_QuqjCfNf-lEqww #/registration

10/08/2026

The National Postal Museum invites you to join us at Politics and Prose Bookstore on Saturday, October 10 at 3:00 pm for a special panel with the authors of the newly-released book Routes of a Nation: The Post Office in the Colonies and Early United States.

Travel back to the postal system’s humble origins in colonial America with Routes to a Nation, which traces the development of the post from trans-Atlantic communication through the Revolutionary War and follows its growth as the nation expanded through the 18th and early 19th centuries. The story of the network's early days emerges from the 130 all-new high-quality photographs of letters, covers, seals, newspapers, stamps, and other artifacts, including many rarely seen archival images from the National Postal Museum's collections.

From colonists resisting a postal network to the taxation debates of the early republic, the fledgling postal service was often entangled with its era’s hot-button political issues. This book illuminates the postal system’s role in the larger process of nation-building, as well as its impacts on the lives of the ordinary people who sent, received, and delivered the mail that fostered communication, facilitated trade, and connected communities.

• Mail carriers who completed the first postal routes across treacherous terrain
• Folded letters that offer first-hand accounts of 18th century life
• Ben Franklin’s tumultuous decades as colonial deputy postmaster general, marked by administrative reform and political conflict
• Mail that helped keep the patriot's military informed during the Revolutionary War
• Politics of the post in the early republic: freedom of expression in newspapers, debates in financing expansion, and handling diplomatic channels
• Routes to a Nation explores the personalities, controversies, and planning that shaped the continent-spanning postal system that has grown to provide service to more than 169 million addresses across every state, city, and town in the United States today

About the panelists: DANIEL A. PIAZZA is the Chief Curator of Philately. LYNN HEIDELBAUGH is a curator specializing in the history of postal service in the U.S. ALISON R. BAZYLINSKI is a curator specializing in U.S. cultural history and material culture. SUSAN N. SMITH is the Museum's Winton M. Blount Research Chair.

Visit https://politics-prose.com/routes-to-a-nation-101026 to learn more!

10/06/2026

It’s Book Release Day! 🎉

Routes to a Nation: The Post Office in the Colonies and Early United States evokes the early history of the US postal system with 130 new full-color images of artifacts and historical documents from the Smithsonian’s National Postal Museum.

This richly illustrated volume explores the personalities, controversies, and planning that shaped the continent-spanning postal system that has grown to provide service to more than 169 million addresses across every state, city, and town in the United States today.

Published by Smithsonian Books and authored by National Postal Museum curators Alison Bazylinski, Lynn Heidelbaugh, and Dan Piazza, Routes to a Nation… is now available for purchase! https://www.smithsonianbooks.com/store/history/routes-to-a-nation-the-post-office-in-the-colonies-and-early-united-states/

10/02/2026

October is National Stamp Collecting Month! In 1981, the United States Postal Service (USPS) and the Council of Philatelic Organizations (COPO) designated October as a month to share, explore, and enjoy the rich hobby of philately. Stamp collecting helps instruct the collector in geography, biography, history, culture and art. Stamps are truly miniature gateways to the world! If you're interested in starting a stamp collection, or want to get back into your childhood hobby, we've got a ton of resources to help you out!
https://postalmuseum.si.edu/stamp-collecting

09/30/2026

The Smithsonian's National Postal Museum is conducting audience research and needs your help! There are two remaining virtual sessions for our visitor focus groups:
Friday, October 2 at 12:00 p.m. (noon)
Saturday, October 3 at 11:00 a.m.

The perspective of both our local and out-of-town visitors is incredibly valuable to us! To participate, please register at this link: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/audience-focus-groups-tickets-1656694089619

09/25/2026

Happy 10th birthday, Smithsonian's National Museum of African American History and Culture!

On September 24, 2016, the Smithsonian's National Museum of African American History and Culture opened its doors as the nation’s largest and most comprehensive cultural destination devoted exclusively to exploring, documenting, and showcasing the African American story and its impact on American and world history. This postage stamp was issued in 2017 in commemoration of the museum’s one-year anniversary. The stamp art—based on a photograph of the museum by Alan Karchmer— highlights the majestic building and its unique, symbolic architecture. Art director Antonio Alcalá designed the stamp.

At the stamp’s first day of issue ceremony, Lonnie G. Bunch III, Founding Director of the National Museum of African American History and Culture and Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution since 2019, remarked, “It is fitting that the image on the stamp is the building itself, as this building, by its very design, stands as tribute to the African American experience.”

© United States Postal Service. All rights reserved.
Photo credit: Alan Karchmer

09/18/2026

The Smithsonian's National Postal Museum is conducting audience research and needs your help!

We are hosting a series of small virtual focus groups to gather feedback on the current visitor experience—including amenities and exhibitions—as well as ideas for the museum’s future. The perspective of both our local and out-of-town visitors is incredibly valuable to us. To participate, you must be at least 18 years old and have visited the museum in Washington, DC at least once.

The sessions will be held on Zoom on the following dates/times (EDT):
• Wednesday, September 23 at 11:30 a.m.
• Thursday, September 24 at 2:00 p.m.
• Wednesday, September 30 at 5:30 p.m.
• Friday, October 2 at 12:00 p.m. (noon)
• Saturday, October 3 at 11:00 a.m.

If you're interested in joining one of these conversations, please register here: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/audience-focus-groups-tickets-1656694089619?aff=oddtdtcreator

The sessions will be one hour in length. Please note there is no compensation for your participation. Rather, we will be forever grateful to you for helping us better serve our future visitors.

09/17/2026

Virtual Story Time
Monday, September 21 at 11 am ET

This week, we will dive into the history of postage stamps with guest author Alice Bianchi-Clark as we read her book Windows to the World. At the Postal Museum, we love exploring how stamps illuminate stories and sometimes even mistakes! We invite participants to bring an object, image, or idea that you think would be an amazing subject for a stamp... we’ll do a special Show & Tell during the program!

Select Mondays at 11:00 (ET) National Postal Museum educators will read stories aloud and lead related activities in a Zoom meeting for children and their caregivers. Explore a range of postal-related topics and more! Sessions will be interactive and last approximately 45 minutes. Caregivers are expected to be present with children for the duration of the program. Designed for children ages 4-7, but all are welcome!
Register your young learner at the link: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/story-time-with-the-national-postal-museum-registration-141338917507

09/15/2026

Hispanic people have had a profound impact on the history and culture of the United States and continue to demonstrate excellence in many areas including politics, public service, music, film, sports, business, science, and the military. The significant contributions of Hispanic people and events have been honored on numerous United States postage stamps. This virtual exhibition showcases these contributions through the lens of the American postage stamp.

Virtual Exhibit Introduction Since the first Spanish explorers and settlers landed in the Americas, Hispanic people have shaped the history and culture of the United States and Latin America. Today, Hispanic people continue to demonstrate excellence in many areas including politics, public service,....