When you walk into the National Postal Museum at 2 Massachusetts Ave. NE, you will instantly be taken back in time. The entrance was formerly the actual post office which was built around the same time as Union Station by the same architects. Your first stop should be to the information desk. Grab a scavenger hunt sheet and a touch screen stylus and be prepared for a few hours of fun.
They are open Friday through Tuesday from 10:00 – 5:30 PM. Unlike some of the other Smithsonian Museums, you will not need a timed pass. You can walk right in. Nearly all of the exhibits are open. When the Mac Family went, the giftshop had not yet opened. That was perfectly fine though. There is an exhibit where you are able to snag up to six stamps to start your own collection at no charge. There is also a penny machine. This is a big plus for Mac Kid who likes to collect flattened pennies wherever we go. There is a change machine so that you can get the 4 quarters that you need but you will need to make sure that you have a penny.
You will be able to learn about how the mail system started and has evolved over time. There will be plenty for the kids to do. The package sorting was really fun as was the letter sorting on the train. Everyone enjoyed pretending to drive the tractor trailer mail truck.
There are tons of stamps to see. There was even a display where you could look up any topic and see stamps that have been printed related to that topic. Mac Kid was thrilled to find a few different pole-vaulting stamps.
You could spend an hour or many hours looking at the many displays and exhibits that the museum has to offer. And you can do it all without spending a dime. A big bonus to the Postal Museum is that there is a pod for nursing mothers to provide comfort and privacy.
We were starving after our morning at the museum. We headed over to the Dubliner and it did not disappoint. They are very family friendly and even have a kid’s menu. The patio allowed us to feel like we were sitting outside but in a temperature controlled environment. It was the perfect ending that was a fun as it was educational.
