Heroes on Stamps

Laura DiSciullo, a National Postal Museum Intern writes on the museum's Pushing The Envelope website,"What is a hero? What can we learn from people who have made a difference? And how can we leave our own stamp on history?"

Laura posed the questions to 3rd-5th graders at a local elementary school as part of an after-school enrichment program called Heroes on Stamps.

In the beginning of the six-week program each child would research a hero from American history. They were then introduced to the idea of honoring these individuals by featuring them on U.S. postage stamps. After learning what went into designing a stamp, the children honored their heroes with their own special postage stamp.

Some of their choices have already been on real stamps: Red Cloud, Jackie Robinson, and Mary Church Terrell. Some others who had not been on US stamps included Eddie Guerrero, Jimi Hendrix, Rosa Parks, and Johnny Unitas.

Each child was then invited to consider: Why will I be on a stamp someday? What goals do I hope to accomplish, and what difference do I want to make? What kind of hero will I be?

Laura says, "The resulting designs were inspiring. Kids drew themselves stopping crime, healing sickness, and playing in the Super Bowl. One drew himself as a leader, encouraging others to help make a difference."

Shown above, Laura talks to the children about stamps.

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