358 



ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY BULLETIN. 



A PORTION OF BRONX LAKE NEAR THE NEW 



A'l -111 ii>i: 



LECTURES TO SCHOOL PUPILS. 



LAST April, in response to urgent r^ppeals 

 from the Bronx Borough Teachers' Asso- 

 ciation, represented by Professor Hugo 

 Newman, and many other teachers of the 

 Borough of the Bronx, the Zoological Park 

 staff hurriedly converted the Shelter Pavilion, 

 at the Wolf Dens, into a lecture hall, and 

 prepared a course of illustrated lectures. The 

 Director of the Park delivered a series of lec- 

 tures entitled "An Introduction to the Study 

 of Mammals," Curator C. William Beebe lec- 

 tured in a similar vein on the bird world, and 

 Curator Raymond L. Ditmars lectured on the 

 four Orders of Reptiles. A good stereopticon 

 was purchased and operated by Mr. Sanborn, 

 and Chief Clerk Mitchell provided the black 

 drop-curtains by means of which the pavilion 

 was darkened. 



The teachers of the Bronx Borough 

 Teachers' Association vigorously undertook 

 their share of the work. They printed and dis- 

 tributed to teachers a very complete syllabus 

 of each lecture, secured the services of about 

 twenty teachers to act as demonstrators, and 

 arranged a program by which forty dift"erent 



schools of Bronx Borough were allowed to 

 send delegations of children from their 5A 

 grades. It was reported that more than twice 

 as many children applied for the privilege as 

 could be accommodated. 



At each lecture, about 400 children and 

 twenty teachers were present, filling the make- 

 shift lecture hall to the limit of its seating ca- 

 pacity. Each delegation was conducted by its 

 own teacher, and the universal promptness of 

 arrival at the hall was very noteworthy. 

 The most perfect discipline was maintained 

 throughout and Professor Newman impressed 

 upon the minds of the children the important 

 fact that the whole afternoon's work repre- 

 sented regular school exercises, as prescribed 

 by the Board of Education. He said, "You 

 are to remember that you are now actually in 

 school, and under all the rules that apply to 

 attendance in your respective public school 

 Ijuildings." 



The ages of the pupils were supposed to 

 range from eleven to thirteen years ; but a 

 great many of the children were so small that 

 they seemed to be younger than nine. They 

 were all so bright-looking, so alert, so neat in 



