National Postal Museum Gives Congress Members a Boost to Start Their Own Stamp Albums

The Smithsonian’s National Postal Museum has launched an effort to introduce some 200 members of Congress and their families to the museum and stamp collecting during October, National Stamp Collecting Month. Members of the museum’s Council of Philatelists, an advisory board, will send stamp kits to the district offices of senators and representatives with children under the age of 16. The stamp kits were donated by Mystic Stamp Company and contain everything needed to start a stamp collection, along with information on the Young Stamp Collectors of America and American Philatelic Society and an invitation to the legislators and their families to visit the museum in Washington.

“Stamps are windows in time to the heroes, heritage and history of the American people; you can find almost anything on a stamp—birds, sports or music—take your pick,” said Allen Kane, director of the museum. “Children can learn a lot from studying stamps whether it’s about an important moment in American history or about their home state and country. The council’s inititaives allow individuals, who may have no interest in stamps, to see them as something more than what comes in the mail.”

The National Postal Museum is devoted to presenting the colorful and engaging history of the nation’s mail service and showcasing the largest and most comprehensive collection of stamps and philatelic material in the world. It is located at 2 Massachusetts Ave. N.E., in the Old City Post Office Building across from Union Station. The museum is open daily from 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. For more information visit the museum’s Web site at postalmuseum.si.edu.

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