Mail Call!

On a blustery but sunny winter morning, Diggory and I ventured out to meet up with other mommas and their babies at the National Postal Museum. I had never been, and I was excited to visit. The museum is conveniently located adjacent to Union Station, in the lower level of the historic City Post Office Building. There is ample parking in the Union Station ramp. We parked on the roof near the elevators that lead down to the train platforms and shops. Important: You can get two free hours of parking if you validate your ticket (no purchase necessary), but ONLY if you park for less than two hours. I was there for two hours and twenty minutues-ish, and I had to shell out $13.00 for parking. Lesson learned. Once inside Union Station, navigate your way through the shops and toward the ground level metro entrance. You'll exit onto First Street, and the entrance to the museum will be directly in front of you, across the street and behind the domed Capital Bikeshare station. Once inside the building, you'll go through security, and make your way down the long (and beautiful!) hallway toward the entrance to the museum. There is a set of escalators and an elevator just past and to the left of the museum information desk. Go down. (Also, the bathrooms are really nice. They are on the lower level, across the hallway from the elevators and behind the escalators. I've become quite fond of bathrooms that have the handicap, stroller-sized, stalls closest to the door. Smart, yes?)


The museum is organized around a multi-story atrium that serves as the museum's main hall with several galleries/exhibitions around the perimeter. The main hall is called "Moving the Mail" and displays a multitude of vehicles used to transport mail. Airplanes are suspended from above and mail trucks, trains, and a stagecoach fill the floor. There is plenty of open space to let babies crawl around (as opposed to being exclusively confined to their strollers!) and our small group of mommas and babies was able to find a quiet spot for snack time and to enjoy the sun-filled atrium.





We started our investigation of the history of the postal service by exploring the gallery appropriately named "Binding the Nation." Arranged chronologically, the gallery begins in the late-1600s and moves into the present day, discussing how the mail travels from place to place - and where those places were and are! Did you know there was a mail route from the east coast to the west coast via ship around Cape Horn, rather than across land? Very interesting. Also, put your baby in the stagecoach, like I did, and snap a picture. It will be cute.





In the "Customers and Communities" gallery, you can try your hand at sorting mail, and in the "Systems at Work" gallery, you can scan barcodes and watch a panoramic video of modern mail sorting and tracking equipment. "The Art of Cards and Letters" gallery currently displays a small exhibition about the importance of mail to troops overseas.


I was particularly drawn to the Stamp Gallery, even though the majority of the gallery space was closed for exhibition deinstallation and installation. I collected stamps in my younger years and, let's face it, I like art, and stamps are like little pieces of art. The exhibition Alphabetilately describes and tells the stories of various stamps and postal services themes from A to Z. The alphabet is at stroller level and potentially entertaining for the younger crowd who might need a distraction.




The Education Center, tucked away in the corner of the main hall, has several touch screen computers. The "Museum's Must-Sees" page might be particularly helpful in planning your visit or for getting an introduction to the museum, if you stop there first, rather than stumbling upon it at the end of your trip like we did.

Having covered the museum in just over two hours, including a good bit of time chit-chatting with the other mommas, we took a quick spin through the gift shop and made our way back to the car. The stroller blew about 100 feet across the top of the parking lot (I mentioned it was windy, right?) while I was buckling the babe into the carseat...never a dull moment...and then we were on our way home. And then we decided to not go home. We called daddy and went out to lunch!