Earth Day and Earth Month

Topical Reference Page
Earth Day stamp featuring two human hands holding the Earth in space

Earth Day stamp, 1999

Every year Earth Day is celebrated globally on April 22 — and Earth Month is celebrated all April long — to raise awareness of the planet's health and to promote environmental education. In observance of Earth Day and Earth Month, the museum created this compilation of stories, exhibitions, and collection objects related to nature and the environment that are available on the museum's website.

Image: 33-cent Earth Day stamp

Trailblazing exhibition logo
Trailblazing
June 9, 2016 - March 3, 2019
Exhibition

Did you know that a village at the bottom of the Grand Canyon eats most of its mail? Or that America’s newest national park was once so secret it used an undercover address? "Trailblazing: 100 Years of Our National Parks", a two-year temporary exhibition, chronicles these and numerous other intersections between mail and our national parks. Featuring original postage stamp art from the United States Postal Service and artifacts loaned by the National Park Service, the exhibition explores the myriad – and sometimes surprising – ways that mail moves to, through and from our national parks.

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5-cent Murchison Falls stamp, Uganda
International Philately - Uganda
Exhibition
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100a Mening Qo'shig'im stamp
International Philately - Uzbekistan
Exhibition
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50s Phalanger stamp
International Philately - West Irian
Exhibition
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Display cases with information about the Saving Vanishing Species semipostal stamp
Why is this Elephant in this Room?
October 7, 2015 - January 31, 2017
Exhibition

In 2013, President Obama signed an executive order combating wildlife trafficking in the US. To highlight this effort, a pan institutional team at the Smithsonian Institution created a traveling exhibition that would highlight the effects of wildlife trafficking and the ivory trade on elephant populations. As part of this team, the National Postal Museum hosted the exhibition along with a feature on the Saving Vanishing Species semipostal stamp, which raises funds for wildlife conservation, as well as several stamps showing the issues of elephant ivory poaching and wildlife trafficking.

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painting of the head and neck of a pink flamingo
Art of the Stamp - Wild Animals: Flamingo
Exhibition
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painting of the heads of two King Penguins
Art of the Stamp - Wild Animals: King Penguins
Exhibition
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26-cent Florida Panther single
About U.S. Stamps - Wildlife Issues 2003-2009
Exhibition
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Screenshot of video showing mail being loaded onto mules
Trailblazing - Wish You Were Here Mail and Our National Parks
Exhibition
Presentation by Chief Curator of Philately Daniel A. Piazza featuring objects and stories from Trailblazing, the National Postal Museum’s special exhibition for the 100th anniversary of the National Park Service.
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Related Content

A woman holds up a plastic container in front of her face. The container holds a juvenile salmon.

Celebrating Earth Month

Join us during Earth Month in April—and throughout the year—to marvel at the beauty and diversity of our natural world. Learn about the challenges facing life on our planet—and our successes. Get inspired to be a part of building a sustainable future where life on Earth thrives.

Learn more about Celebrating Earth Month
33 cent Earth Day Celebrated stamp with illustration of human hands holding the Earth

Earth Day-Related Objects in Smithsonian Collections

Take a look at posters, buttons, stamps, and other environmental objects from Smithsonian Institution museum collections.

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Green Ways to Move the Mail: A Challenge for the New Century

Green Ways to Move the Mail: A Challenge for the New Century

Symposium, Thursday, March 20, 2008 at the National Postal Museum (YouTube)

This discussion with expert panelists from the National Postal Museum, the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center, the United States Postal Service (USPS) and the Ford Motor Company focused on the environmental challenges of moving the mail. With a fleet of over 200,000 vehicles driving more than 1.2 billion miles each year, the USPS is poised to make changes that will have a dramatic impact on the environment. Panelists topics and subsequent discussion focused on practical and immediate solutions.

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