ON MUSKUMS IN RELATION TO EDUCATION. 271 



as having little or no special knowledge, and a very large proportion of them 

 enter the Museum without any specific pui-pose. They are just 'looking round.' 



For such people the Museum may do great service, if it sets about it in the 

 right way. liy some means or other it should strive to put them en rapport 

 with the purpose of the Museum. This purpose, for them at least, is to reveal 

 one aspect or other of an ordered universe to people largely uninstructed. 

 These casual visitors are easily overwhelmed by multiplicity of specimens and 

 of words. The first essential is a definite scheme, carried out with simplicity, 

 boldness, and clearness. Elaborate labels, completely logical series, and involved 

 argument do not assist them. 



What the scheme is to be, and its detailed carrying out, must vary with the 

 locality and circumstances. We may, however, suggest that every Museum 

 should illustrate fully in its exhibition cases the local fauna and flora, geology, 

 archaeology, history, industries, and art. The local natm-al history should be 

 treated from an ecological point of view, so that the visitor may not only realise 

 what is to be found locally, but will learn under what conditions it is found, 

 the associations of which it forms a part, why certain animals and plants are 

 found locally, and why others are not, and the relations of the fauna and flora, 

 to the local geology. 



It is also important that the general public should realise the changes im 

 the local fauna and flora which have been brought about by the growth o£ 

 civilised communities and the activities of the human race. Every locality will 

 provide instances of this fact, and every Museum should make a point of 

 illustrating it for the locality which it serves. 



Where towns or localities in which Museums are situated possess special 

 industries, such industries should be illustrated in the local Museum, both 

 historically, by showing the growth and development of the industry in the 

 town, and the products of that industry at various periods; and technically, by 

 illustrating the various processes of manufacture and technique. The Museum 

 should possess a representative collection of present-day industrial products 

 of the locality, and, by keeping that up to date, the industrial history of the 

 district will always remain clear. Similarly, the Public Health work of the 

 district should be adequately illustrated in the Museum. The general public 

 should look to the local Museum for information on all the various activities 

 going on around them. If they are sure of that, their powers of observation 

 will be stimulated. They will go to the Museum to learn what ought to be 

 seen, its why and its wherefore. If they see anything new, they will go to 

 the Museum for information. Both Museum and public will thus be mutually 

 benefited. 



It follows that in Museums reference collections of everything local should 

 be as complete as possible, not necessarily exhibited, but so housed as to be 

 readily available for the use of those who desire to consult them. By this 

 means it is possible to turn the general public into real students, which is the 

 ultimate aim of this branch of Museum work. 



The Eeference Library attached to the Museum should be accessible to 

 visitors, who should be encouraged to use it. The library might also make a 

 special feature of local publications and all books dealing with the locality from 

 any point of view. Eeports of local societies and organisations should be made 

 a strong feature. 



A Museum which remains entirely local misses something of high educative 

 iniportance. To interpret the local fauna and flora rightly means an acquaintance 

 with a wider range of facts, and the Museum should try to provide that wider 

 setting which will give meaning to local phenomena. In providing this wider 

 range of specimens, the well-conducted Museum will in its total form resemble 

 an iceberg of which only one-tenth appears above the water-line. The cases 

 will be suggestive and directive, not complete and confusing. Everybody should 

 know, however, that there is much more material in the recesses of the Museum 

 than is shown in the public galleries, and that this is quite accessible to all 

 who have an intellectual need which it can satisfy. Reference collections should 

 be as complete as possible within the range they cover. Better a nan-ow range 

 completely represented than a wide one with many gaps. Index collections 

 are necessary in all large Museums, and smaller Museums might well arrange 

 their cases on the principle of the Index collection. 



