A PLAN FOR AN EDUCATIONAL EXHIBIT OF FISHES. 



By ROY W. MINER, 

 Assistant Curator, American Museum of Natural History. 



An exhibit to be educational must be attractive as well as instructive; 

 that is, its features must be so arranged as to stimulate attention, and when 

 that is accomplished, to offer instruction that will be appreciated not only 

 by the casually interested observer, but also by those who have come for the 

 express purpose of learning, namely, the pupils and teachers of the public 

 schools, university students, and others specially interested. Its lessons there- 

 fore must be simple, direct, and systematically arranged. 



But when we endeavor to accomplish this end with an exhibition of fishes, 

 certain special problems are involved. In the first place, the material is refrac- 

 tory and difficult to prepare effectively for exhibition; in the second place, the 

 very monotony of the fish form makes the study of arrangement a matter 

 of special concern. The consideration of these questions will be taken up 

 as follows: (i) The nature of the material available for exhibition will be 

 discussed; (2) various methods for arranging and labeling the exhibit will be 

 brought forward; (3) supplementary suggestions will be offered for rendering 

 the exhibit instructive and attractive, and (4) the paper will close with a pro- 

 visional list of fishes to be exhibited. 



The writer does not pretend that he has solved the question of fish exhi- 

 bition, but offers these suggestions partly as the result of his attempts in this 

 direction and partly as tentative schemes which may aid in meeting some of 

 the difficulties. 



NATURE OF THE MATERIAL TO BE EXHIBITED. 



The material for exhibit may be (i) alcoholic specimens, (2) mounted and 

 painted skins, (3) casts, (4) models, (5) skeletons, (6) colored plates and pho- 

 tographs, (7) groups. 



(i) Alcoholic specimens should be used but sparingly, as for the most part 

 they have little exhibition value because of distortion, shrinkage, and loss of 

 color. A few good anatomical preparations might be used to show certain 



1317 



