Geo. 5 Provincial Museum Report. Q 7 



The Council was specially gratified by the friendly interest manifested in the event by 

 kindred institutions both in the British Isles and abroad. The American Museum of Natural 

 History, New York, honoured the Museum by sending over its Director, Dr. Lucas, to repre- 

 sent it at the ceremony, and the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, appointed Dr. 

 Ed. Robinson and Mr. TV. R. Yalentiner to attend on its behalf. Dr. C. W. Beebe, the 

 Curator of Birds, represented the New York Zoological Gardens, and Mr. F. Kermode, 

 the Provincial Museum, Victoria, B.C. Sir Cecil Harcourt Smith and Mr. C. E. Fagan 

 represented the Victoria and Albert Museum and the British Museum respectively. Heads 

 of many other kindred institutions in England also attended, including Dr. W. M. Tattersall, 

 Manchester : Mr. T. Sheppard, Hull ; Alderman J. Fuller Eberle (Chairman of the Museum 

 Committee) ; Mr. H. Bolton ; and Mr. R, Quick, of Bristol. 



At the ceremony I met the Director of the Bristol Museum, Mr. H. Bolton, who visited 

 the Provincial Museum with the British Association when they came to America for their 

 meeting, extending their trip to British Columbia, Upon invitation of Director Bolton and 

 Mr. J. Fuller Eberle, the Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Bristol Museum, I 

 visited Bristol and received a cordial welcome, and was shown considerable material of 

 interest regarding museum-work. After leaving Bristol I visited the Natural History 

 Museums in Paris, Frankfurt, Berlin, and Hamburg, on the Continent, which were of great 

 interest to me as one who is interested in the condition of the educational value of an 

 up-to-date museum. From Hamburg I went to Edinburgh, Scotland, and visited the Royal 

 Scottish Museum, and was taken over the collection by the Director, Sir T. Carlow 

 Martin, LL.D. 



Leaving Edinburgh, I went to Liverpool and visited the Natural History Museum 

 under the direction of Dr. J. A. Clubb. 



On my return to Canada I visited the Museums at Quebec and Ottawa. 



In conclusion, I may say that, having been permitted by the Government to visit these 

 large institutions of the world, it has been a great education to me, and I hope that when 

 the new Museum is built I shall be able to carry out some of the ideas that I have formed 

 of what an educational museum should be, and also what it means to the community at large. 



The Provincial Museum has been honoured by the visits of several leading men in 

 science, who expressed themselves as deeply interested in what they inspected, and that the 

 Provincial Museum had exceeded all their expectations as a Provincial collection. 



Dr. A. R. Crook, Director of the Illinois State Museum of Natural History, whom I 

 met at the meeting of the American Museums Association, and who has since visited our 

 Museum, had nothing but praise, and said that it was the finest local collection he had 

 ever seen. 



The most distinguished personages who visited the Museum were the Royal party, Their 

 Royal Highnesses the Duke and Duchess of Connaught and Princess Patricia, who spent 

 some time in going over the collection, and expressed admiration of the big-game and 

 anthropological collections. 



Attendance. 



The attendance showed a slight increase over 1911 — 37,897 visitors signing the register. 

 I venture to say that, on an average, about one in five of the travelling public insert their 

 names in the book. 



The Museum is open to the public (free) every week-day (except New Year's Day, Good 

 Friday, and Christmas) from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., and on Sunday afternoons, from the first 

 Sunday in May to the last Sunday in October, from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. 



