Smithsonian Institution National Postal Museum

It is an interactive museum that tells the history of America's mail service since before the American Revolution. Highlights include a dog named Owney , mascot of the Railway Mail Service. Read more

Located right next to Union Station, this hidden gem features exhibits of stamps and philatelic objects, antiquated mail carrying vehicles and other artifacts from the history of our postal system.

Their interactive exhibits are fun! You can use the handheld scanners to scan packages, and also play a computer game based on the sorting machines from the 1970s.

Very interesting and interactive. Loved seeing the Looney Tunes stamps from the 90s. Free admission and not crowded .

Love this place, especially the railroad post office and the interactive displays which are great for kids and adults.

They have some rare stamps on display. You will recognize at least a few of them, like the upside down plane aka the Inverted Jenny.

Such a cool and interactive museum ! Check out the stamps and learn about how mail used to be delivered. I recommend this one!

Great field trip location for classes . They organize trips for pre-k and k (and now 1st and 2nd). Book your trips for the year early on because they are filled fast!

Great museum on the history of mail! Very fascinating to learn the routes, methods, and now OCR technology developed by Lockheed Martin.

"Create your own stamp " section is fun. Lots of amazing facts and stories about the history and science of stamps and postal services .

This place is amazing! Beautiful building, out standing collection, post secret exhibition . COME HERE AND STAY A WHILE.

Love that you get to go through the bin of stamps and take 6 home free!

I hadn't heard about the PostSecret campagne before, but it's great! Nice museum .

Very professional staff ! Woman at the front desk was so excited about the mission she almost jumped over the desk. Love to see this!! ????

It's safe to say we never realized how important the Postal Service was until we learned of its extensive history here. Great exhibits and tons of knowledge . Read more

Good place to catch an Uber from to avoid the backlog at Union Station.

See if you can find their oldest piece of posts history from the Silk Road !

Really Awesome! Great for kids. Lots of interactive things and a few videos. One of DC's best kept secrects.

I love their lost mail exhibit ! Lots of crazy mail stories from the docents as well :)

Make sure to mail yourself a postcard from the post office located in the gift shop . What a great place

Super fun and really interactive! And educational . Very quiet too. DC's best kept secret!

The Wine and Design event is terrific! I'm going to be a regular.

This museum is a gem. Free admission , great exhibits that detail how much the postal service is tied in to American history.

This was a really neat museum . Would have liked to spend more time there. Ask about the mail dog.

Surprisingly great place for kids. Planes trains and automobiles -and stagecoaches.

Enjoyed the history of stamps but I loved the interactive DIY stamp .

Supremely underrated and under appreciated. This place is awesome!!

Great history and interesting exhibits !

This place is a lot cooler than you would think. Give it a shot and show some love to the U.S. Postal Service system!

Plenty of interesting stuff even for people not into stamps . Be sure and drive the 18 Wheeler.

the make-your-own stamp activity is great for kids AND adults!

Surprisingly good, check out the PostSecret exhibit .

Free admission and a great way to kill time if you're by Union Station.

Great bathrooms (skip the ones in Union Station), head here to cool off after hanging around Capitol Hill .

Try and mail a letter here and they'll direct you next door to the Post Office. This is a museum .

had a great time sorting mail and learning about Owney

Learn about the history of mail/stamps/postal service!

Great museum with lots of 'hands on' for the kids.

A not-so-hidden gem. Loved it!

Stamps sections is really interesting and so is the bomb mail exhibit .

See the stamp and mailbox collections.

While you're here pick up some stamps , they have all the available designs you may not be able to find elsewhere

Beautiful collection of stamps .

surprisingly interesting and informative

Check out the Post Secret exhibit before it ends in 2017!

The new Bill Gross museum is amazing.

Really fun. I recommend the exhibit "Delivering Hope: FDR & Stamps of the Great Depression" and Postal Inspectors exhibit (mail bombs!) Read more

The stuffed dog is seriously creepy.

Don't walk outside here at night.

Over looked a lot, but great for tourists !