CHICAGO 

 NATURAL 

 HISTORY 

 MUSEUM 



Museum News 



New 



Student 



Seminars 



U" July 8, Chicago Natural History 

 Museum inaugurated a new summer 

 enrichment program for selected stu- 

 dents from Chicago high schools. 



More than 150 students from 33 

 schools have signed up for the summer 

 program, which is divided into three 

 series, on anthropology, biology, and 

 the earth sciences. Each series is de- 

 signed (1) to impart basic knowledge 

 of the subject, (2) to provide a glimpse 

 of the scientific research done in a large 

 museum, and (3) to suggest some of the 

 career opportunities available in mu- 

 seum work. 



Laboratory workshops, discussions, 

 tours, individual projects, and motion 

 pictures are planned for each series. In 

 the sessions on earth science, students 

 will learn about the anatomy of the 

 earth and the geological processes that 

 have molded our planet. In the bio- 

 logical series, they will discover how 

 plants and animals developed and live 

 today in relation to each other and to 

 their natural environments. The an- 

 thropology series will feature workshops 

 on prehistoric man and the Indians that 

 lived in the Chicago area. Some of 

 these sessions will be held in the Pacific 

 Research Laboratory, where students 

 will be introduced to collections from 

 many cultures around the world. 



During the summer informal meet- 

 ings are planned with Museum scien- 

 tists, who will discuss their research- 

 in-progress. Museum technicians will 

 also participate by demonstrating their 



Page k AUGUST 



work in making the life-like models of 

 plants and animals for which the Mu- 

 seum exhibits are renowned. The in- 

 stallation, now under way, of the new 

 Hall of Useful Plants, will give students 

 an opportunity to observe some of the 

 many skills demanded in behind-the- 

 scenes phases of Museum work. 



The summer seminars have been de- 

 veloped by the Raymond Foundation, 

 the Museum's educational division, in 

 consultation with the curriculum de- 

 partment of the Chicago Board of Ed- 

 ucation. According to Miss Miriam 

 Wood, head of the Raymond Founda- 

 tion, "The need for educational and cul- 

 tural enrichment programs for our young 

 people has long been recognized by stu- 

 dents, teachers, and parents. The Mu- 

 seum is very pleased to make its re- 

 sources available to high school students 

 this summer, both to increase their 

 knowledge of the natural sciences and 

 to show them the abundance of edu- 

 cational and scientific materials which 

 the Museum possesses. By showing stu- 

 dents how to make use of these resources 

 in their everyday lives, we hope to open 

 up new vistas for them and point the 

 way to future careers." 



Report on 

 Nepal Birds 



l\. scientific report of the Museum's 

 part in the 1960-61 World Book Ency- 

 clopedia Expedition to the Himalayas 

 has just been published by the Museum 

 Press. The purpose of this expedition 

 was three-fold. Under the direction of 

 Sir Edmund Hillary, the major effort 



was devoted to an evaluation of the 

 effect of altitude on the human body. 

 This study was made by a group of med- 

 ical men during a winter spent in a hut 

 on Makalu, the world's fourth highest 

 mountain, at an altitude of 20,000 feet. 



A second goal of the expedition was 

 an attempt to prove or disprove the ex- 

 istence of the yeti. At least part of this 

 question was resolved when Mr. Philip 

 Hershkovitz, Research Curator in the 

 Division of Mammals, identified a so- 

 called yeti scalp as an ancient artifact 

 fashioned from the hide of a serow. 



The third purpose of the expedition 

 was to obtain a scientific collection of 

 Nepalese birds and small mammals. A 

 grant to Chicago Natural History Mu- 

 seum from World Book Encyclopedia 

 made it possible for Dr. Robert L. Flem- 

 ing, Field Associate in Zoology, to un- 

 dertake this work. Dr. Fleming is a 

 missionary in Nepal as well as a noted 

 amateur ornithologist who has made 

 and reported on several important col- 

 lections for the Museum. 



In Further Notes on Nepal Birds (Fieldi- 

 ana: Zoology, Vol. 35, No. 9), Dr. 

 Fleming provides a fascinating account 

 of his part in the Himalayan expedition. 

 In various regions of Nepal, from for- 

 ested valleys to mountain heights above 

 11,000 feet, Fleming obtained 42 spe- 

 cies of birds that are new to his collec- 

 tions. Of these, five species and two 

 subspecies are recorded for the first time 

 from Nepal. The current publication 

 also includes Fleming's field notes on 

 a total of 75 species. Melvin A. Tray- 

 lor, Associate Curator of Birds, has sup- 

 plied identifications and taxonomic dis- 

 cussions for the systematic list. 



For readers who may have the oppor- 

 tunity to travel or collect in Nepal, 

 Fleming provides an appendix outlining 



