THE AGASSIZ ASSOCIATION 



345 



to establish a branch in every com- 

 munity in connection with the public 

 school. The Iowa Historical Depart- 

 ment is housed in a magnificent building 

 across from the Capitol at Des Moines, 

 .and is maintained at considerable cost 

 to the State. Only a small portion of 

 the funds of the institution are expend- 

 ed on the museum, yet to ninety-five 

 per cent of the visitors the museum 

 is everything. Air. VanHyning has 

 long been connected with the museum ; 

 in fact he has made it what it is. When 

 he first came to the department the 

 museum was but a confused lot of 



A WELL-MOUNTED PAIR OF FLICKERS. 



curios brought from various sources 

 and placed on exhibition without any 

 thought of order. He has classified the 

 specimens, labelled them, and as far as 

 circumstances permit, placed them on 

 exhibition in an orderly manner. From 

 a handful of material, the museum has 

 grown until it begins to be a credit to 

 the State it represents. When visitors 

 come, Mr. VanHyning makes it his 

 personal business to show them the 

 things they want to see. By personal 



contact with the rank and file, he has 

 learned the need of the general public 

 for an educational museum. One can 

 never realize how little the average 

 person knows of our common wild life, 

 until he has spent a few hours in a 

 museum on visiting day, and taken 

 note of the comments of the visitors. 

 After patiently explaining common 

 things to an unappreciative public for 

 years, and finding that the average 

 high school graduate, while proficient 

 in Latin and geometry, and well in- 

 formed on the history of ancient Rome, 

 is yet unable to distinguish between a 

 bluebird and an indigo bunting in his 

 own front yard. Mr. VanHyning de- 

 veloped the plan which he has lately 

 unfolded. Inasmuch as only that part 

 of our youthful education that we put 

 to use, remains with us, a knowledge 

 of common things acquired at the right 

 time will be of more value than ancient 

 history or higher mathematics, which 

 will not be of use in the particular line 

 of work that we shall choose to follow. 

 Dr. Frank Crane recently expressed it 

 in the Iowa Capital in far better lan- 

 guage than I am able to apply and 

 coming from such an eminent man it 

 should carry more weight. He says : 

 "When I find a billion dollars, I am 

 going to establish the Great university 

 of Outdoors. 



As to studies, first of all higher 

 mathematics and the foreign Lan- 

 guages, and the Dead ones, will be op- 

 tional ; these being mere ornamental 

 appendages to culture, and their pres- 

 ent importance in schools being noth- 

 ing more than the post-humous influ- 

 ence of the long since dead idea that 

 education is intended to equip a "Gen- 

 tleman" or "Lady." Universities are 

 monarchic hold-overs in a day of democ- 

 racy. Their fundamental idea, that of 

 producing the Exceptional man, being 

 wholly vicious. Our schools should 

 produce the trained, cultured, dynamic 

 Common man. 



The things the youth will study in 

 this university of Outdoors, therefore, 

 after Reading, Writing and Arithmetic, 

 will be carefully selected with a view 

 to Developing the Individual Personal- 

 ity, and not for the purpose of shaping 



