Open 10:00 am to 5:30 pm, Mon - Sun

Closed December 25th

The Smithsonian’s National Postal Museum is dedicated to the preservation, study and presentation of postal history and philately. The Museum uses exhibits, educational public programs and research to make this rich history available to scholars, philatelists, collectors and visitors from around the world.

The Museum is located on the lower level of the historic City Post Office Building, which was constructed in 1914 and served as the Washington, D.C., post office from 1914 through 1986.

Museum features:

• 23,000 square feet of exhibits
• 6,000 square foot research library
• Museum Store
• Stamp Store
• Fun, family-friendly educational public programs for visitors of all ages
• 6,000,000+ objects in the collection

Visitors enter the Museum through the lobby of the building and proceed to escalators that transport them down to the floor level of the Museum's 90-foot-high atrium. The atrium, which features three suspended historic airmail planes, is one of five exhibit galleries that tells the story of postal history in America.