Thanks for welcoming me as a new member of Stamporama! I remember my abbreviated stint as a junior philatelist while I was in junior high and high school. I wish now that I hadn't passed along my meager "collection" to the dad of a friend who was really into the hobby, but I have been able to pursue my latent interest in stamps with visits to the Spellman Mueum of Stamps and Postal history in Massachusetts. They have wonderful exhibits, lectures, and even Family Days to keep the philatelic flames fanned!
In this day and age when stamp collecting is (sadly) not exactly the hottest activity of choice for kids in middle and high school, it's pretty exciting to see what students at a school in Foxboro, Massachusetts are doing with (what they hope will be) millions of stamps. They've been learning about people, places, animals, and ideas by handling and collecting more than 1.6 million stamps in the past four years.
A teacher in their school who's a philatelist keeps an eye out for those which are of particular interest or value, though he doesn't have the time to survey every single stamp that the kids touch.
The "new" value these stamps have gained is through their worth as teaching tools. Although there are philatelists who would cringe to know this, thousands of the stamps are being used to create unique collage artworks, pictures that illustrate what the students have learned in their study of what happened during the Holocaust.
They're ambitiously striving to collect one stamp for each of the 11 million victims.
If you're interested in knowing more about this Project, I'll be glad to email you the website URL which includes more details and photos of the amazing collages.
Welcome to the SOR group and this is exactly the type of experiences we need to hear more about. What a worthwhile project you and all of those school children have taken on. I'm sure all of their young lives have been enriched with the knowledge introduced to them about such an extraordinary time in our history. I will definitely be sending stamps their way.
Mike
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"It's been three years now, since I joined a support group for procrastinators. We haven't met yet..."
Updated total number of stamps collected by the Holocaust Stamps Project based at a Foxboro, MA charter public school:
1, 645,948, with thanks to a couple of generous collectors who have recently shared some of their duplicates.
Students have begun work on several new stamps collages. Below is a picture of "The Forest That Saved Lives" completed in June, 2012. You may visit the Project's website to read the story behind the artwork.
For those of you who are following the progress of the Holocaust Stamps Project in Foxboro, MA, the latest updated total is 2,035,954 as of April 8, 2013...and with many thanks to those Stamporama members who have supported the school community's efforts.
Some relatively old and interesting stamps have come in. Well, I realize "old" is a relative term - How far back would you say they must go for stamps (as opposed to "people" - LOL) to be described as "old"?
I'm tempted to scan a few to get input about them from members...
It is during our darkest moments that we must focus to see the light. - Aristotle Onassis 21 Apr 2013 09:00:34pm
re: See what students are doing with stamps
Old is relative. Feel free to scan some for more input!
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"I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel. - Maya Angelou"
Retired Ap. Book Mod, Pres Golden Gate Stamp Club, Hi Tech Consultant 26 Apr 2013 01:38:57am
re: See what students are doing with stamps
Do you guys (and gals)know about the Postal History Foundation in Tucson, a non profit private foundation founded in 1960.
It's Youth education programs are outstanding.
Add a Museum, Library, Sales, and working historical Post Office and all funded from Philatelists donations, and with a large volunteer group complementing its staff.
It has the only organized teaching program using stamps in the country, working closely with teachers, schools, educators etc...
Seems to me you should look into it and work with them, if you are interested in the use of stamps for education.