12 Children' s Room in National Museum, Melbourne. \\\'^x\x\ 



IV. 



Tlic object of this Children's Room is to bring together a little 

 collection of things, some beautiful and some curious, which will 

 arouse the interest of children and make them wonder, because, 

 as some philosopher once said, knowledge begins in wonder. 



The Room as at present arranged is only a beginning. It is 

 not proposed to make it any larger or to exhibit more things 

 at any one time than are now shown, but when funds are 

 available we hope to make it more attractive by decorating the 

 walls and ceiling, and also to add a small room, furnished with 

 desks and blackboard, so that teachers who wish to make use of 

 it can bring their classes here and have talks with the children, 

 which cnn be illustrated by specimens in the Museum. 



The specimens now on view have been chosen so as to include 

 different kinds of animals, some of them Australian, and others, 

 such as humming birds and birds-of -paradise, that are well 

 known by name to children. The cases are all made low, so 

 that nothing is out of sight, and the descriptive labels have been 

 written as simplj- as possible. No Latin name or scientific term 

 is used. 



The centre of the room is occupied by a special exhibit of a 

 reindeer sledge from Siberia, drawn by two animals, beautifully 

 stuffed, with their harness, and the costumes of the peasants 

 correct in every detail. In other cases a gorgeous peacock and 

 a sparrow, side by side, show vividly their contrast in plumage, 

 while an emu and an emu- wren show contrast in size. At one 

 end of the room there is shown a series of copies of drawings of 

 wild animals made by the savage bushmen of South Africa. 

 These arc just the kind of drawings made by children, and will 

 appeal to them, because they are so simple and life-like. 



As time goes by the exhibits will be changed. The present 

 collection contains only animals, but the place of some of them 

 will, later on, be taken by examples of beautiful and interesting 

 minerals and fossils. Also, during the wild-tlower season, it is 

 proposed to have a special exhibit of these, and the Director 

 hopes to have the assistance of members of the Club in con- 

 tributing specimens, which will Ix' of interest to the children. 

 In fact, as the Children's Room develops, it may be possible to 

 have on view continuously a series of native flowers characteristic 

 of the different seasons. 



As company] with the older countries, such as Euroju\ and 

 even America, Australia suffers from the fact that it is too young 

 for the children to have given more than a few popular names 

 to native animals and flowers. This makes it difficult to name 

 and describe them in a Children's Room. 



However, a beginning has been made, and any suggestions 

 that members of the Club can make, in order to render the room 

 more useful and attractive, will be welcomed. W. B. S. 



