REPTILE GROUPS IN AMERICAN MUSEUM 
nected questions. These questions must 
be so arranged that the groups of students 
taking the trip will be scattered with the 
focus of work at several centers. The 
reptile and frog alcove is quite an ideal 
place for a laboratory exercise because the 
children taken there may be scattered at 
work on the several groups and at the 
same time be near enough to come under 
the direct supervision of the teacher in 
charge. The outline which follows will 
serve to indicate the use that one teacher 
has made of this alcove and will also illus- 
trate one of the several perhaps equally 
good methods of working out such a 
museum trip for the large classes found 
in the high schools of this city. 
Museum TRIP TO VISIT THE FROG AND 
Toap GRouUPS IN THE AMERICAN MUSEUM 
or Naturaut History 
Purpose of the trip —To study adapta- 
tions to environment. 
Directions — Begin work at one of the two 
groups on which questions follow. Read 
the labels in front of each group and learn 
all you can about what the group contains 
before you begin to answer the questions. 
Then answer the following, making the 
answers tell a connected story for your note- 
book. Ask questions of your teacher only 
when you cannot find the answer yourself. 
Questions for Study of the Toad Group 
1 — What time of year does it seem to be? 
How do you know? 
2 — What wild flowers are most abundant 
at this time in this locality? 
3 — What animals are found living in the 
water? On the land or in the trees? 
Is any kind of animal living both on land 
and in the water? What are such ani- 
mals called? (Amphi = both) 
4 — Look for specimens of the tree frog 
(Hyla versicolor) at the right-hand side 
of the group. Describe three different 
phases of color in these frogs. How are 
changes of color in the nature of adapta- 
tions? 
5 — Describe where and tell when toads 
lay their eggs. (Look in the right-center 
of the group.) 
407 
6 — Compare the egg masses of the toad 
with those of the frogs. (Note left center 
of the toad group for eggs of the green 
frog.) How are the eggs protected? 
7 — Enumerate all the enemies of a toad 
seen in this group and tell how the toad 
is fitted (adapted) to escape from each 
of these enemies. 
8 — Mention three structural adaptations 
found in a toad or frog which fit it for the 
life it leads. Explain exactly how each 
structure you have described is an adap- 
tation. 
Questions for Study of the Bullfrog Group 
1 — Show three ways not mentioned in the 
last question in which the bullfrog is 
fitted or adapted to its environment. 
2— How do you account for the large 
size of the tadpoles in the frog group? 
How is this long life of the tadpole of 
interest to the man raising frogs for 
market? 
3 — What are some of the enemies of the 
bullfrog? How might it escape from its 
enemies? 
4 — Explain exactly how a frog catches an 
insect. (See left-hand side of group.) 
5 — Compare the habitat of the bullfrog 
with that of other amphibians found in 
the groups in this alcove. How is it 
fundamentally like the others and how 
does it differ? 
Similar questions might be worked 
out for the lizard and salamander 
groups. Doubtless other teachers have 
worked out questions; a collection and 
compilation of such questions would be 
of value to those of us visiting the Mu- 
seum frequently. All of us who now 
work in the Museum with our classes 
agree that the work we do there is yet 
in its very beginning. Its possibilities 
are almost limitless and with the splen- 
did codperation of the Museum authori- 
ties which we have had in the past, 
the future scope of Museum use by 
high school pupils and teachers will 
only be limited by the proximity of the 
Museum to the classroom or the willing- 
ness of the teacher to codperate with the 
Museum authorities. 
