What’s Up, Doc? Stamp Collecting, Says Bugs

As kids’ hobbies go, stamp collecting once was wildly popular. But then came television and later video games, and stamps seemed to go the way of the radio and the decoder ring. But now, in the wake of the trading card craze, stamp collecting seems to be bouncing back, and it is getting a boost from Bugs Bunny.

Newly minted, stamp-related trading cards, a ‘90s iteration of the old stamp album, have been available at local post offices for awhile, but the announcement of a special stamp to appear next year bearing the likeness of the Warner Bros. rabbit adds a special aspect to the U.S. Postal Service’s promotion of October as National Stamp Collecting Month.

Also, for kids who really get curious about what happens when they use a stamp, tours can be booked to go behind the scenes at post offices in their neighborhoods, or at the huge, high-tech processing center in Oxnard where all of Ventura County’s mail goes through at 37,000 pieces per hour.

Today’s announcement of the “endorsement” of stamp collecting by the famous bunny is part of the postal service’s plan to make the hobby more attractive to youngsters. “Warner Bros. is honored to be part of such an important undertaking. Collecting stamps is as American as mom, apple pie and Bugs Bunny,” said Dan Romanelli, president of Warner Bros. Worldwide Consumer Products.

The image of that fictional creature is but one of the animal likenesses being put on stamps released for this month’s theme. Responding to kids’ strong interest in animal pictures--especially those of endangered birds, butterflies, snakes, panthers and manatees, the postal service on Oct. 2 put on sale a quarter of a billion gorgeous 32-cent stick-ems devoted to endangered American species.

This effort, the postal service knows, can also serve to increase awareness of environmental issues among kids. A postal service kit, including teacher lesson plans and student guides, posters and stamp-collecting cards, has been sent to nearly 70,000 classrooms and libraries nationwide to aid educators in generating awareness of endangered species.

And the postal service now offers free subscriptions to “Stampers Cool-lectibles Magazine,” a glossy, kids-oriented compendium of facts, figures, games and puzzles, stamp saver cards and other stamp collecting tools. Kids can subscribe by filling out a form at their local post office or by calling a special number 1 (888)-782-6738 (STAMPFUN).

Prospective “stampers” as young as second-grade level are being actively encouraged to go on group tours behind the scenes at their local post office, according to postal service representative Terri Bouoffiou.

To schedule a tour for kids of any age, she says, the group leader should contact the local postmaster to work out a mutually acceptable date and time. Ventura County residents who are unsure where the nearest available post office is can contact the postal service “Call Center,” at (818) 778-1800.

For kids a little older, tours are available inside the huge, automated postal service Processing and Distribution Center in Oxnard.

Mary Ann Fiore, a Simi Valley teacher, took a group of her Atherwood Elementary School students on the tour and said “the kids got into this huge cart that the mail goes in and rode around [and saw] the slots for Simi Valley 93065, and the cancellation machine where they postmarked letters the kids brought along to mail their families.”

Young visitors are also given cookies and a postage stamp coloring book when they take the tour. But, according to Amanda San Miguel, representative for the Oxnard facility, what really catches the kids’ attention are the crickets.

Yes, postal customers such as bait shops are allowed to mail live creatures. The kids, San Miguel, said, hear the chirping and ask to see the climate-controlled area where containers of crickets, baby chicks and even live snakes are processed at the Oxnard location.

This eye-opening aspect of the postal process, plus the new emphasis on animal-related postal service issues could do a lot to boost recruitment of future “stampers.”

DETAILS

* MAGAZINE: On the occasion of National Stamp Collecting Month, the U.S. Postal Service has launched a kids magazine, “Stampers Cool-lectibles,” complete with stamp collecting cards (the new look in stamp albums). A free subscription can be ordered at your local post office or by calling 1 (888)-782-6738 (STAMPFUN). Group tours “behind the counter” for children at your local post office can be arranged by calling (818) 778-1800 or your local postmaster.

* TOURS: For a group tour of the huge, high-speed automated processing center in Oxnard, call Amanda San Miguel at (805) 988-5601.