SECRETARY'S REPORT 143 



The building occupied by the grounds department was renovated to 

 clear walkways and to store tools and equipment so as to eliminate 

 trip hazards. Sf eel helmets, new ropes, and climbing equipment were 

 placed in service, and an additional treeman was hired. Low limbs 

 over bridle paths were cut, and dead limbs removed from 140 trees 

 over walks and along the main road. Forty trees in bad condition 

 were cut and removed. Large holes in lawns were filled in. 



INFORMATION AND EDUCATION 



After the plamiing, equipping, and staflhig of a sign laboratory in 

 the basement of the elephant house, which was completed October 12, 

 1962, the department's activities for the year were mainly concerned 

 with the writing, designing, producing, and mounting of new modern 

 animal identification labels for the Zoo. Durable outdoor labels are 

 printed photographically on sensitized anodized aluminum. Other 

 techniques of exhibits production successfully employed are silk- 

 screen prints and film transparencies for indoor labeling. 



To date, five units of the Zoo have been completely relabeled — the 

 puma house, main bear line, short bear line, ring cages, and the ele- 

 phant house. The reptile house is being labeled. A total of 397 animal 

 identification labels and other supporting Zoo signs (such as large 

 maps of the Zoo, explanation of the new construction, building and 

 safety signs) were produced and mounted in the period from Octo- 

 ber 12, 1962, to June 30, 1963. 



Additional department activities during the year included artwork, 

 charts, graphs, map work, a number of special projects, dissemination 

 of animal information by telephone and correspondence, library main- 

 tenance, and 18 special guided tours for groups of handicapped 

 children, visiting schools, and foreign guests. 



On July 10, 1962, a group of 2,300 foreign exchange students visited 

 the Zoo; on May 12, 1963, 9,248 School Safety Patrol children, trans- 

 ported in 266 buses, came to the Zoo following their annual parade on 

 Constitution Avenue. A gi-oup of the animal keepers, on their day off, 

 entertained the underprivileged children from D.C. Junior Village, 

 taking them on a tour of the Zoo and giving them lunch in the cafeteria. 

 On May 24, 250 "Friends of the National Zoo" were given a guided 

 night tour of the Park. 



The director gave two radio talks and three talks to local organiza- 

 tions. He appeared on television, once in Sarasota, Fla., in connection 

 with the proposed establishment of a zoo, and once on WTOP (Wash- 

 ington) with Dr. W. T. Eoth, general curator. The associate director, 

 J. Lear Grimmer, addressed the University Club, Wilmington, Del., 

 in connection with the development of a zoo in that city. 



