We love welcoming visitors to the American Philatelic Center here in Bellefonte, PA, from APS members to members of our local community. Last month, we were visited by a wonderful group of fifth graders from St. John the Evangelist Catholic School, one of our local elementary schools.

The students were treated to a building tour from our very own Ken Martin, followed by a learning session led by APRL Digital Projects Assistant Nate Penven. Nate walked the students through the basics of postage stamp design in preparation for their upcoming assignment to design stamps celebrating their school, and shared some philatelic artifacts from the APRL archives.

Next, Editor-in-Chief Susanna Mills shared some stamps from Vatican City, introducing students not only to the postal system of the smallest country in the world, but also to the sede vacante stamps of the city. With the recent passing of Pope Francis and the appointment of Pope Leo, these stamps helped tie philately to a recent and relevant event in the students' lives. 

Finally, the students had the opportunity to send postcards from the APC to themselves or a friend, including writing their own messages, addressing the cards, and choosing stamps from our donated mint postage. Particular favorites among the students were the 1997 Legendary Football Coaches issue and the 1995 Legends of Hollywood Marilyn Monroe stamp.

Then it was time for the students to head back up the hill to school — but we hope they'll come back to visit us soon!

If you'd like to see the stamps that students designed to celebrate their school, click here to see the gallery on Facebook.