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POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY 



The Children's Museum Building in Bedford Park, Brooklyn, New York, a branch 

 Museum of the Brooklyn Institute of Arts and Sciences. 



These collections illustrate zoology, botany, United States history, 

 mineralogy, geography and art. They are attractive in appearance, 

 simple in arrangement and labeled with descriptions adapted to the 

 needs of children, printed in clear readable type. 



Our zoological collections are installed in five rooms, whose con- 

 tents are prepared for children of varying ages. The youngest child- 

 ren seek the room of " animal homes," where common mammals and 

 birds of Long Island are to be found with their nests and young. 

 High school pupils make use of synoptic exhibits and particularly of 

 the insect room with its local insects, life histories of common forms, 

 and living bees, ants and silkworms. Bird exhibits attract and de- 

 light visitors of all ages from the two-year-old baby, who can only say 

 " Chicken, chicken "as he points his chubby fingers indiscriminately 

 to the condor, albatross and flamingo, to the white-haired grandparent 

 whose " hunting days " are recalled by the mallard duck and grebe. 



That their conceptions of geography may not end with maps, 

 globes and charts, we employ model groups to acquaint children with 

 remote peoples of the earth, especially type races from the various zone 

 belts. One of these scenes depicts the life of the Eskimo, his costume, 

 shelter, implements and industries. The story of his life struggles and 

 the influence of his environment on appearance and conduct are easily 

 understood. From the comparative study of an increasing number of 

 such models, children readily perceive the importance of climate and 



