National Postal Museum ~ Washington DC
This article IN PROCESS!
While waiting for our DC Duck Tour to begin at Union Station, we had time to walk across the street and check out the National Postal Museum. This was low on our list, but we wanted to use every moment we had in Washington DC to the fullest.
We walked in to an absolutely stunning building. From the grand entrance hall with soaring ceilings with intricate designs, it was just lovely. It amazes me how gorgeous the building in DC are, not the boxy structures we build today.
As you head downstairs to the actual Smithsonian exhibits, we were quite surprised to descend the escalator and see two airplanes hanging from the ceiling, a large stagecoach with horses heading up the side of the building, regular mail vehicles and even a huge 18 wheeler diesel cab in the center! Each item in the National Postal Museum tells what turned out to be a fascinating story of the US Postal system!
Truly, who would have thought it would be that good? We didn't, and it makes me anxious to get to the other Smithsonians!
Emily loved the National Postal Museum for kids. It had a lot of interactive features that kids will enjoy. Climb up into a reproduction stagecoach, like they had in the Butterfield Stagecoach Route, and sit down like passengers did. Inside, an audio was playing that described how many people would ride inside a coach and what it was like.
Kids can also climb up into a big diesel truck and plop down in the driver's seat. It gives them a birds eye view of what it is to sit in a huge truck, with all of the buttons, guages and dials. Popular with adults- it was just a fun exhibit!
Start out in the train coach, and begin with the movie. Who knew so much was involved with mail? Explore the mail coach and see how fast you would be at sorting mail.
Be sure and let the kids play with the Education Center, full of screens with fun memory games, timed to make you go as fast as possible.
