Report of the President 2 1 



were arranged and delivered at the Museum during the fall 

 and spring. The attendance at these lectures was 17,172. 



Children's Room. — Early in the year the room located near 

 the main entrance on the second floor was opened for children. 

 This room has been equipped with low tables and kindergarten 

 chairs, and near by are children's books, modeling clay and 

 tools. It is open regularly on Wednesdays and Saturdays, 

 and children are encouraged to study, draw and model from 

 the mounted and living specimens. As many as two hundred 

 children have attended in one day. On Wednesday afternoons 

 the class is held for the children of Members. 



Room for the Blind. — The Branch Library at 83d Street 

 and Amsterdam Avenue makes a specialty of books for the 

 blind, and this fact suggested to the Museum authorities the idea 

 of setting aside a room for the blind. Here are assembled, 

 objects of natural history, which can be handled without dam- 

 age. These specimens are accompanied by special labels 

 printed in raised letters. We are indebted to Miss Gold- 

 thwaite, who is in charge of the library for the blind, for 

 many helpful suggestions and for the printing of the labels. 

 Recent statistics show that there are 6,165 blind people in the 

 State of New York, and this innovation of the Museum has 

 met with the most emphatic approval. 



In addition to the extension work, this department has 

 charge of the photographic work of the Museum, which during 

 the past year has reached large proportions. 



Astronomy. — In the future Museum it is evident that a 

 hall devoted to the science of cosmology should be provided. 

 The astronomical clock and representation of the solar system 

 in the foyer have proved to be exhibits of exceptional interest. 



In view of the public interest in Halley's Comet, a repre- 

 sentation of its orbit has been placed in the foyer, showing 

 its relation to the sun and the earth. 



Attendance. — The total number of visitors for the year 

 was 839,141, a figure which is greater than that of any previous 

 year with the exception of 1908, when there was a phenomenal 

 attendance at the Tuberculosis Exhibition. This increase is 



