tion programs; Deusing began a search for qualified people to run the 
programs and to fabricate the exhibits he outlined in a written exhibi- 
tion plan.* 
The Academy’s new museum—christened the Museum of Science 
and Natural History—was scheduled to open on October 1, 1959. Deus- 
ing described the frenzied preparations for the opening in the first issue 
of Your Museum, the institution’s newsletter. He wrote: 
There is a pounding of hammers, the buzzing of drills, the slap of paint 
brushes . . . Plumbers, carpenters, electricians and painters are swarm- 
ing over the place. Artists are bending over drawing boards laying out 
exhibit designs. Educators are sweating over the wording of labels. A 
taxidermist is struggling with the skeleton of a frigate bird. Volunteers 
are everywhere helping to get the job done. 
There isn’t much to see yet. A hole in the floor where a drinking foun- 
tain will stand, electrical conduits where an illuminated exhibit will stand, 
pewritten words on a page that will unfold a fascinating story in your 
museum halls of the future.‘ 
In addition to Deusing’s progress report, the first issue of Your 
useum introduced St. Louis residents to the Museum’s staff, described 
the first permanent exhibit, outlined the Education Department’s pro- 
grams, reported on the activities of the Women’s Division of the 
Academy, and identified things to ‘‘watch for’’ in coming months. The 
staff, in addition to Director Deusing and Curator Orchard, consisted 
of Marguerite Yates, Office Manager; Donn Braizer, Education Super- 
visor; Veryl Collins, Teacher; William Groth, Teacher; John Maxfield, 
Exhibits Specialist; Charles Solt, Exhibit Designer; and James Redmond, 
Maintenance. 
The museums’ first five years were busy and fruitful. New ex- 
hibits opened regularly, education programs thrived, the collections 
grew, membership swelled, and the Museum staff kept active within 
the institution and the museum profession. The Academy oversaw this 
activity and worked hard to find the funds needed to pay for it all. 
The museum’s first—and for a time, only—permanent exhibit was 
entitled *“The Story of Flight.’’ It was installed at No. 2 Oak Knoll, 
formerly the Alvin Goldman residence. The exhibit consisted of three 
sections, beginning with ‘‘The Bird as a Flying Machine.’’ The next, 
‘*Man Learns to Fly,”’ featured aircraft models. The third section was 
very appropriate for the early years of the ‘‘space race.’’ It was called 
‘Reaching for the Moon’’ and gave visitors a chance to see a model 
space capsule, satellites, and a scale model of the lunar landscape. 
In the first five years, the museum expanded its exhibit space to 
nine major galleries and several additional areas for temporary and travel- 
ing exhibits.® The ‘‘stories’’ told in the permanent exhibit galleries dealt 
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