The National Archives Museum in Washington, DC will host a thank you note writing contest on December 30, 2014. Children will have the opportunity to learn and practice their thank you note writing skills.
This event coincides with the final days of the “Making Their Mark” exhibit. The exhibit closes on January 5, 2015.
“Saying thank you is one of those life lessons every child must master. What better time than right after the holidays to learn how to craft a good thank you note and have a blast with your family at the National Archives Museum,” said Patrick M. Madden, executive director of the National Archives Foundation.
As a special holiday treat, a representative from “Making Their Mark” sponsor Fahrney’s Pens will be on hand to help with the most vexing of holiday challenges – how to write a “polite” thank you note. There will be several thank you note ideas and a ‘fill in the blanks’ handout for kids to practice their enhanced skills. Once they fill in the handout, they can drop it into a ‘mailbox’ and be entered to win a kid’s fountain pen, cursive writing book, a Write Notepad and a box of thank you cards. All contest entrants will receive a letterpress thank you card and envelope to take home and use for a real thank you note. Thank You cards are provided by Write Notepads & Co. of Baltimore.
Copies of great thank-you notes from the National Archives holdings will also be available for people to view.
Thank You Note Writing Contest at the National Archives:
- Tuesday, December 30, 2014
- 10:00 am to 4:00 pm
- The Boeing Learning Center (Located on the upper floor of the National Archives Museum)
- 700 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
- Free Admission
About “Making Their Mark”
“Making Their Mark” is free and open to the public, and will be on display in the Lawrence F. O’Brien Gallery of the National Archives Building in Washington, DC, through January 5, 2015.
Signatures are personal. The act of signing can be as routine as a mark on a form or as extraordinary as a stroke of the pen that changes the course of history. It can save lives or end them. This sweeping exhibit ranges from a real “John Hancock,” to the mark of an auto pen. Making Their Mark features original signatures from National Archives holdings nationwide – including those from sports, politics, fashion and entertainment – and the stories behind them.
Many of the treasured documents in the immense holdings of the National Archives are inscribed with signatures. Some of the signatures are notable, such as John Hancock, Thomas Jefferson, and Harry S. Truman. Other signatures are from famous and infamous individuals, such as, James Wilkes Booth, Adolf Hitler, Magic Johnson, Jackie Robinson, and Gene Kelly. Other items are important not for the individual names, but for the strength of many names signed together for a common cause.
“Making Their Mark: Stories Through Signatures” is made possible in part by the National Archives Foundation with the generous support of Lead Sponsor AT&T. Major additional support provided by the Lawrence F. O’Brien Family and members of the Board of the National Archives Foundation. Family and educational programming related to “Making Their Mark” is sponsored in part by Fahrney’s Pens and Newell Rubbermaid – Parker Pen Company.
Please contact Melissa Schwartz, 240-997-6251, melissa.
