32 



SCIENCE 



[Vol. LVI, No. 1437 



ated in this museum, the observations and 

 results of its field workers in Australia, Asia, 

 South America, Africa, Polynesia and Western 

 Europe are made aoeeptable to the use of the 

 teachers of our public schools in less than 

 twelve months, and this phase of the museum's 

 activities has far outgrown the space capacity 

 of the insttution to care for it properly. On 

 a single day as many as 2,500 boys and girls 

 may be found in the museum preparing for 

 their examinations. For this purpose adequate 

 space must be provided. Still greater care is 

 necessary for the large classes coming for a 

 day from the outlying sections of the city or 

 from neighboring cities in New York and New 

 Jersey, which also are finding the museum in 

 increasing numbers. To care properly for this 

 enormous number of school children, a special 

 school service building has been planned in the 

 southwest court, to be devoted exclusively to 

 their use. 



On April 21, 1922, the Board of Estimate 

 and Apportionment of the City of New York 

 unanimously appropriated $570,000 for the 

 construction and equipment of the School 

 Service Building of the American Museum of 

 Natural History. This action of the city 

 authorities opens a new period in the history 

 of the museum's relation to the schools and is 

 significant appreciation of what the museum 

 is doing in bringing nature to the boys and 

 girls of the city. The work of the museum 

 with the schools during the last eighteen years 

 has been carried on with inadequate facilities. 

 The Department of Public Education, which 

 has immediate charge of these activities, has 

 been housed, for the most part, in corridors, 

 basements and anterooms in various parts of 

 the present edifice. In fact, under the circum- 

 stances, it is surprising that the museum has 

 attained the position of usefulness that it now 

 holds in the educational system of the city. 



The School Service Building is to be located 

 in the southwest court of the museum. It will 

 be a four-story and basement structure, con- 

 nected by covered bridges in the first and 

 second floors with the north wing on the east 

 and the southwest wing on the west. The base- 

 ment and the fij-st floor will be 160 x 88 feet, 

 and the second, third and fourth floors will be 



160 X 53 feet. The height from the basement 

 to the peak will be 91 feet and the cubical space 

 approximately 1,000,000 feet. It is estimated 

 that from 3,000 to 5,000 children may be prop- 

 erly taken care of daily in the School Service 

 Building, or from ten to twenty times the num- 

 ber that the present facilities of the museiun 

 will permit. 



How highly the educational service of the 

 museum is estimated may be inferred from a 

 reading of the following resolution adopted by 

 the Board of Superintendents of the Board of 

 Education of New York City on March 27 by 

 way of endorsement of the application of the 

 American Museum for funds for the School 

 Service Building: 



Whereas, The American Museum of Natural 

 History since 1881 has been conducting educa- 

 tional work with teachers, and since 1904 has 

 been supplying the public schools of the City of 

 New York with lectures and with nature-study 

 material of all kinds, with lantern slides and other 

 visual education aids in teaching geography, his- 

 tory and natural science; and 



Whereas, The American Museum, entirely at the 

 expense of the trustees, through its explorations 

 in all parts of the world, is bringing to New York 

 rare and valuable educational specimens which 

 are made freely available for the use of the teach- 

 ers of the city; and 



Whereas, The museum is lacking in adequate 

 facilities for receiving the school children who 

 visit the museum and for housing the administra- 

 tive work connected with its operation with the 

 public school system of the city, and has there- 

 fore made application to the Board of Estimate 

 and Apportionment for the appropriation of 

 $570,000 for the erection of a four-story School 

 Service Building in the southwest court of the 

 American Museum of Natural History. 



Resolved, That the Board of Superintendents 

 of the Board of Education of the City of New 

 York desires to record its unreserved approval of 

 the valuable service which the American Museum 

 is rendering to the schools of the City of New 

 York, and heartily indorses the plans of the trus- 

 tees for making it more thorough and effective 

 and hereby recommends to the Board of Educa- 

 tion that it request favorable consideration from 

 the Board of Estimate and Apportionment of the 

 museum 's application for funds to erect and 

 equip the School Service Building. 



While the practical side of the school work 



