Zip It: Children of the American Revolution Celebrate ZIP Code's 50th Anniversary

School may be out, but that doesn't mean learning stops for kids or adults.

On the steps of the West Des Moines Post Office Friday, six members of the Tallgrass Prairie Society Children of the American Revolution told the story of the United States Postal Service.

Alyssa, Ethan and Caleb Ragner, along with Bethany and Issac Wilson and Carson Klein, took members of the audience through major moment in the history of the Postal Service from 1775 to 1983.

The youths explained events from the creation of the U.S. Post Office by the Continental Congress in July of 1775 to usage of the first postage stamps in 1847 to the creation of the five-digit ZIP code in 1983.

Each of the members of the Children of the American Revolution had ancestors who fought in the Revolutionary War.

Alyssa Ragner, 18, is the president of the Tallgrass Prairie Society Children of the American Revolution.

“We get to learn a lot about history and all of us have ancestors who link to the American Revolution,” Alyssa said. “It’s part of our responsibility to teach people, which is kind of cool.”