iS4 



THE NATURE-STUDY REVIEW 



[2 : 5— MAY, 1906 



which children might happily and profitably employ their leisure 

 moments. A children's museum thus brought into the educational 

 arena began its pioneer work in December, 1899, in two small exhibi- 

 tion rooms on the first floor and with a few scattered specimens of 

 birds, insects, molluscs, etc., mostly from Long Island. 



The collection and preparation of new exhibition material adapted 

 to the needs of children, and the evolution of practical methods 

 for gelting people interested in a novel undertaking, were among the 

 problems of those early days. As the city appropriation could be 

 used only for maintenance, the little museum had to depend upon 

 small allotments from the General Museum Funds of the Institute, 

 the energy of its workers and the generosity of friends, for all new 

 acquisitions. It quickly became popular, the records for the first 

 year of its history showing an attendance of 65,000 visitors. The 

 unconscious advertising of the children attracted the attention of 

 their teachers who subsequently looked upon the museum as a 



The Children's Museum, a remodeled old residence. 



