MUSEUM BULLETIN 



OF THE 



State** Hsland Association of Brts and Sciences 



EDITED FOR THE PUBLICATION COMMITTEE 



BY CHARLES LOUIS POLLARD. CURATOR-IN-CHIEF 



No. 26. Published Monthly at New Brighton, N. Y. SEPTEMBER, J9I0- 



COOPERATION BETWEEN MUSEUMS AND SCHOOLS 



The recent announcement that the Metropolitan Museum of Art will offer to 

 teachers in the public schools the opportunity of studying the various collections 

 under expert supervision and instruction, so that they may be better able to con- 

 duct their classes intelligently through the museum is a welcome one, and affords 

 a further proof that our museums and schools are becoming more closely affili- 

 ated. Nearly every well organized museum now includes one or more courses 

 for the various grades as part of its regular activities. The Philadelphia Mus- 

 eums, the Chicago Academy of Sciences, the American Museum of Natural His- 

 tory and others, have established what are known as traveling collections, which 

 are lent to the schools as required. These collections are packed in convenient 

 form, and are intended to afford illustrative material on some group, fact or 

 principle in any of the the natural sciences; or they may be devoted to economic 

 uses, illustrating such topics as food, drug, fiber or beverage plants; the silk in- 

 dustry, coal and its products, etc. The use of these collections saves the pur- 

 chase of such material by the schools, and gives in concise form much inform- 

 ation that would be difficult of acqisition by the ordinary teacher, especially in 

 a rural school. 



This activity is one in which our museum hopes ultimately to engage. There 

 is abundant opportunity for cooperation with the schools of Staten Island, since 

 the distances are great, and many of our children cannot visit the museum at 

 St. George except at rare intervals. While we would not disparage field nature 

 study, it may be pointed out that the travelling collection serves the education- 

 al purpose better in that it contains all the specimens that may be required for 

 any given demonstration, and obviates any necessity for the useless destruction 

 of living things for class work 



The regular meetings of the Association will be resumed next month. We 

 understand that officers of the sections are making plans for programs fully up 

 to the standard set last year The newly organized Section of Historical Re- 

 search will undoubtedly have charge of one or more regular meetings, and some 

 original papers on local historical topics may be expected. We venture to re- 

 mind members of the Association that the fall is the best possible season for an 

 active and aggressive campaign for new recruits. With all the inducements 

 now offered for membership there should be little difficult in securing at least 

 two hundred new members before the close of the year. 



Parts 3 and 4, completing Volume II of the Proceedings, and including title 

 page, table of contents, and index for volume, are now published, and will be mail- 

 ed during the present month. Through an unfortunate error of the printers, 

 the title page and table of contents for the entire volume is bound in with Part 

 4, necessitating its removal when the parts of the volume are assembled for 

 permanent binding. 



Entered as second-class matter in the Postoffice at New Brighton. N.Y., under Act of Congress of July '6, 1894 



