Customers drop a letter or packages in the mail, confident they will reach their destinations safely and efficiently. But what really happens during that journey from sender to recipient?

“Systems at Work” — a new exhibit at the National Postal Museum in Washington, DC — tells that story.

Spanning 200 years — from stagecoaches and rail cars to ZIP codes and computers — the exhibit provides a behind-the-scenes look at how the Postal Service processes and delivers mail to 151 million locations throughout the nation.

“Visitors have the chance to watch an intricate process that few people in the public ever get to see,” said PMG Pat Donahoe during a ribbon-cutting ceremony. “A lot has changed in the last two centuries, but one thing that has not changed is that the Postal Service uses its mail-processing network entirely to serve its customers.”

At the exhibit’s heart is a video that places viewers in a mail-processing center, surrounded by automated machinery sorting mail at breathtaking speed. Visitors also can try the various mail-processing methods used by USPS over the years — including tossing packages into mail pouches, working a multi-position letter sorting machine and operating hand-held scanning devices.

Click here to view the “Systems at Work” video.

source: USPS News Link