EDUCATION 



1951 



EDUCATION 



The Fairbanks Museum of Natural Science. 

 This institution is located at Saint Johnsbury. 

 Vt. It gives nature lessons to classes of the 

 public schools, in cooperation with the superin- 

 tendent of schools. The pupils of the city schools 

 from the third to the ninth grade have regular 

 monthly lessons at the museum. 



The Museum of Natural History. This mu- 

 seum, at Springfield, Mass., loans to the schools. 

 Teachers with their classes go to the museum to 

 give instruction in certain subjects, for which a 

 classroom and illustrative material are provided. 

 The Park Museum. School children in groups 

 of fifty to one hundred visit this Institution, lo- 

 cated in Providence, R. I., to receive instruction 

 with the aid of the illustrative material in the 

 museum. 



The Cincinnati Society of Natural History. 

 This museum circulates school cabinets contain- 

 ing collections of birds, insects and minerals, 

 accompanied by explanatory literature. Illus- 

 trated lectures are given to the general public 

 one evening each week. 



The Chicago Academy of Sciences. Classes of 

 the city schools are invited to study in the mu- 

 seum a large series of habitat area and the celes- 

 tial sphere, a mechanical device for the study 

 of heavenly bodies. A children's science library 

 and story hour conducted by the librarian are 

 among other opportunities afforded the children. . 



The Newark Museum Association. This mu- 

 seum, at Newark, N. J., loans to the schools 

 rocks, birds, butterflies, phyiographic models 

 and industrial collections. Its library circulates 

 in the schools books, magazines, newspaper cut- 

 tings, pictures, charts, etc. Each year the mu- 

 seum has a special exhibit covering some human 

 industry, which is shown and explained to school 

 classes. 



The Public Museum of the Staten Island Asso- 

 ciation of Arts and Sciences offers illustrated 

 talks on school subjects to children above the 

 fourth grade on Friday afternoons from October 

 to April. 



The California Academy of Sciences, San Fran- 

 cisco, began planning in 1916 the circulation of 

 natural history cabinets in the city schools. 



The Oakland Public Museum, Oakland, Cali- 

 fornia, sends to the schools a series of loan col- 

 lections. An excellent exhibit of American co- 

 lonial material is made the basis of lectures to 

 school children and teachers. Other lectures on 

 history and nature, closely correlated with the 

 course of study. in the public schools, are also 

 provided. 



The Museum of History, Science and Art, Los 

 Angeles, California, is organizing a system of 

 educational work for the public schools modeled 

 after that of the Milwaukee public schools. 



The Academy of Sciences, Davenport, Iowa, 

 conducts nature classes in the museum, provides 

 for lectures to teachers and neighborhood groups 

 and for a series of "museum talks" on Sunday 

 afternoon. Field trips for pupils of the schools 

 are undertaken in the spring. There is no for- 

 mal cooperation with the schools. 



Children's Museums. The Children's Mu- 

 seum of Brooklyn, N. Y., a branch of the 

 Central Museum of the Brooklyn Institute of 



Arjs and Sciences, was the first museum organ- 

 ized solely for children in the United States. 

 Its object is 



To form an attractive resort for children with 

 influences tending to refine their tastes and ele- 

 vate their interests. 



To create an attractive educational center for 

 daily assistance to pupils and teachers in con- 

 nection with school work, and to offer new sub- 

 jects of thought for pursuit In leisure hours. 



The scope of work of the museum is the 

 preparation of collections which the children 

 can enjoy, understand and use; an arrange- 

 ment of material pleasing to the eye and ex- 

 pressive of a fundamental truth ; briefly de- 

 scriptive labels expressed in simple language; 

 a system of instruction which children will 

 voluntarily employ. The museum building 

 has twelve exhibition rooms, a lecture hall and 

 a library. In the exhibit rooms are collections 

 of natural history, geography, United States 

 history and art. The institution is very pop- 

 ular, and the average attendance is more than 

 100,000 children a year. While there are no 

 official relations between the museum and the 

 public school, the exhibits are correlated as far 

 as practicable with the public school work, and 

 lectures supplementing the courses of study are 

 regularly given during the year. 



The Children's Museum, Boston, Muss.. \\ t- 

 opened in 1913 in response to the desire of a 

 group of teachers for some adequate nssi: lawo 

 in presenting the subject of nature study to their 

 classes. The material at the service of the chil- 

 dren consists of exhibits Illustrating various 

 departments of natural history, ethnology and 

 industry, flower tables, etc. Three hundred lec- 

 tures are given a year, and the average dally 

 attendance of children Is upward of 200. 



The Children's Museum of the I'nitrd State* 

 National Museum. The United States National 

 Museum maintains a museum for the children of 

 Washington "for the benefit of very young peo- 

 ple, their entertainment, rather than Instruction, 

 as an attractive means of Inculcating a love of 

 nature." The exhibit comprises familiar Am. ii- 

 can birds ; common European birds. Interesting 

 water birds, curious birds, such as the crom.iil* 

 bird, etc. ; brilliantly-colored bird*, curious nests 

 and eggs ; specimens, with accessories, repre- 

 senting protective mimicry : remarkable Insect* ; 

 bright-colored shells; other Interesting Inverte- 

 brates ; remarkable minerals. 



School Museums Proper. Among museum* 

 of this class the following may be noted: 



The N. W. Harris Public School Extension of 

 the Field Museum of Natural History in Chi- 

 cago. In 1911 Mr. Norman W. Harris of Chicago 

 gave the Field Museum an endowment of $250.- 

 000. the Income from which Is to maintain a 

 special museum for the use of the public schools 

 of Chicago. The nw cchopl museum opened Its 



