Exploring the Postal Service through Systems Thinking with Young Learners | Cultivating Learning

How can a simple mailbox open the door to big ideas about community, communication, and systems? In this session led by Phoebe Sherman, Student and Teacher Programs Manager at the National Postal Museum, educators will explore how to use a mailbox as an anchor object to introduce students to the postal service through the Parts, People, Interactions thinking routine. Participants will experience hands-on inquiry strategies, discover ways to make invisible systems visible, and leave with ready-to-use ideas that integrate literacy, social studies, STEM, and systems thinking. Perfect for educators looking to spark curiosity, deepen observation skills, and help young learners understand how people and objects work together to make communities function.

Program Details:
This is a Zoom webinar with automatic captioning. You’ll be able to participate using the chat and Q&A, and your camera and mic will be disabled. We’ll record and post the webinar on the Smithsonian Learning Lab’s Events page approximately 72 hours after the session ends.

For general questions, or if we can provide additional accessibility services to support your participation, please email us at learninglab@si.edu. Please make your accessibility request as far in advance as possible—preferably at least one week before the program date.

Thumbnail Image: YouTube thumbnail for an upcoming webinar that reads “Cultivating Learning: Exploring the Postal Service through Systems Thinking with Young Learners,” overlaid on an image of a galvanized steel rural U.S. Mailbox with its front door pulled slightly open.