antique radios; a casting of the bust ‘‘Victory’’ by Auguste Saint- 
Gaudens; a 22-1/2 foot Columbian dugout canoe; and numerous fossil, 
geological, and zoological specimens, including a gorilla skeleton from 
the St. Louis Zoo, which was used in the Hall of Evolution.!9 
Exhibits and collections were an integral part of the Education 
Department’s programs, including the school visit program, enrichment 
classes, science career program, and visits to hospitals. At the end of 
the decade and in 1970, several new programs were added, including 
a lapidary class and an informal summer variety program, which con- 
sisted of special displays, movies, and talks that focused on objects in 
the collections, crafts, and topics in science and nature. This special 
project was coordinated by Claudia Mink, Assistant Curator, and Cynthia 
McConnell of the Education Department. Both women were recent ad- 
ditions to the staff, which had grown marginally in the late 1960s but 
had remained fundamentally the same in terms of positions and the people 
who held them since 1964. 
Another constant during this time was the support given to the 
Museum by the Women’s Division, which sustained family night pro- 
grams, gift bazaars, and the gift shop. After the life-sized dinosaur 
models came to Oak Knoll in 1969, the Women’s Division started an 
event of truly colossal proportions. Gatherings called ‘“‘Dance-O-Saurus’’ 
were held outdoors in the park where party-goers ate, danced, and 
socialized under the stars and the watchful gaze of Tyrannosaurus rex 
and Triceratops. Proceeds from the dance and dinner (in 1970 the cost 
per couple was $35) went to support the museum.”° 
Although the Academy considered Dance-O-Saurus a fund-raising 
success and older sources of income remained more or less reliable, 
supporting the Museum lingered and grew as a monolithic challenge. 
The fact that other St. Louis cultural and education institutions found 
themselves in similar financial straights seemed to offer little comfort. 
But it was this shared fiscal malady that spawned an apparent solution 
to the Academy’s financial conundrums. 
de t of the Zoological Board of Control, outlined his plan 
for a proposed cultural district, which he hoped might be presented to 
‘the voters of St. Louis City and County. This cultural district would 
include the Zoo, the Art Museum, and the Museum of Science and — 
Natural History. Income for these institutions would come from a pro- © 
perty tax levied on owners in the city and county. — 
After Baer’s presentation, the Academy Board voted to support 
his plan and committed itself to the formidable task of establishing the 
cultural district, even though the formation of such a district would —_ 
that the Academy would have to relinquish ownership of its museum. 
61 
