22 CALIFORNIA ACADEMY OF SCIENCES [Proc. 4th Ser. 



the city, or any child who can come to the museum, to see 

 and study and understand these specimens. 



It seems to me that the educational function of our museum 

 is the thing we now should emphasize and make provision for. 

 It has been too long neglected. There are various ways, in 

 addition to the one already dwelt upon, through which this 

 purpose of the museum can be realized. I may be permitted 

 to mention a few of them : 



A carefully thought-out method of cooperation with the 

 public and private schools must be provided. In the prepara- 

 tion of exhibition material provision should be made for ex- 

 hibits that will meet the needs of children of each of the school 

 grades. There should be exhibits that even first and second 

 grade children, as well as those of the higher grades, can 

 understand, and which will teach them definite lessons. And 

 there should be exhibits adapted to each of the eight grades and 

 to the high school. 



There should be maintained at the museum throughout the 

 school year courses of lectures on natural history and related 

 subjects, such as should form a part of the regular school 

 curriculum. These lectures should be given daily. They 

 would be adapted to the needs of the various grades. They 

 should relate to subjects for which the museum possesses in 

 its collections illustrative materials. The museum should also 

 provide carefully selected stereopticon slides, moving pictures, 

 transparencies, photographs, and other educational aids for 

 use in its educational work. 



The museum should begin as soon as possible to provide 

 loan collections to send out to the schools. These should be 

 small habitat groups and specimens of the smaller birds, mam- 

 mals, reptiles, batrachians, fishes, insects, minerals, plants, and 

 other natural objects which can be put up in portable cases of a 

 form and size convenient for handling. It is believed this 

 will prove to be one of the most effective methods of co- 

 operation with the public schools. 



Another way in which the museum can be of benefit to the 

 schools is by encouraging the teachers in the schools to visit 

 the museum and make use of its materials, and by encourag- 

 ing its curators and others connected with the museum to give 

 lectures before schools, teachers, and educational organizations 



