Children compete for the best design

Kids are not only avid stamp collectors, it turns out that they are stamp designers, as well.
Some 120,000 school children in 1998 expressed visions of the 21st century and beyond in "Stampin' The Future," a stamp art competition sponsored by the U.S. Postal Service. Children ages 8 through 12 were invited by the USPS to create drawings based on their visions of the future and to submit them through classrooms, stamp clubs, post offices or libraries.
The drawings were judged according to originality of ideas, artistic ability, neatness and suitability for stamp production. The winning entries became U.S. stamps.
A four-person panel consisting of an educator, a stamp designer, an illustrator and a comic book editor reviewed the entries and narrowed them down to 540 semifinalists. The panel submitted them to the Citizens' Stamp Advisory Committee, which chose the final four.
This committee meets four times a year in Washington to recommend to the postmaster general the subjects that will appear on U.S. postage items. The members of the CSAC are charged with selecting a combination of stamp subjects that must be interesting as well as educational.
National competitions
Children of the United States were not the only ones who had the opportunity to offer their thoughts about the future through stamps. Many countries of the world, including Canada, Israel, China, Brazil, Spain, Suriname, Greece and Iceland held similar contests following the same rules and regulations.
The winning entries from these countries were exhibited in stamp shows locally, displaying the importance and significance of the local childrens' art work and creativity.
In July 2000, an international philatelic exhibition in Anaheim, Calif., was hosted by the USPS, and worldwide winning entries were displayed. The four designs by U.S. youngsters that became U.S. stamps were displayed at the Anaheim show.
The winning designs were:
"Astronauts" by Zachary Canter of Kailua, Hawaii; "Children" by Sarah Lipsey of Memphis, Tenn.; "Rocket" by Morgan Hill of Montclair, N.J.; and "Dog" by Ashley Young of Sandy, Utah.
These four U.S. stamps can be obtained at your local dealer. For information on all U.S. stamp items, call (800) STAMP-24.