Report of the President 43 



The attendance at the spring course was 15,328; at the 

 fall course, 16,601, a total of 31,929. This is 9,132 more than 

 attended similar lectures in 191 1. Many of the lectures were 

 so popular that the applications for seats were greatly in 

 excess of the capacity of the auditorium, and in a few in- 

 stances lectures were repeated in order to relieve the disap- 

 pointment of teachers and children. 



In addition to these regular lectures, many special lectures 

 were given to classes from the elementary and high schools. 

 Increasing numbers of teachers have used the lantern slides 

 and class rooms, and it is a common occurrence to see 

 pupils busily studying the bird groups or insects with note- 

 book and pencil. The number utilizing the Museum in this 

 way is registered as 10,248. 



The increase in the attendance at the children's lectures 

 is gratifying, but in this connection new difficulties of trans- 

 portation have been brought to light. The fact that the 

 journey to the Museum makes many of the pupils car-sick, so 

 unused are they to travel, the severe tax on the energy of the 

 teachers and the cost of transportation have raised the ques- 

 tion of arranging for lectures at school centers. While this 

 cannot be done at present, owing to the many demands 

 already made on our staff, the desirability of such a plan is 

 apparent. 



Through the generosity of Henry Phipps, there was placed 

 at the disposal of the department a fund with which to pay the 

 car fare of children who otherwise could not afford a trip to 

 the Museum. This money has been expended in the interests 

 of the crippled children and the special classes in the public 

 schools. On December 16, 366 crippled children were brought 

 to the Museum and listened with genuine interest to African 

 jungle stories told by Carl E. Akeley. These were illustrated 

 by lantern slides and motion pictures and the children 

 thoroughly enjoyed them. This large number of children, 

 many of whom could not even walk, were transported from 

 the schools to the Museum and returned to their homes with- 

 out accident. 



The second lecture was for the special classes of Districts 

 Nos. 10 and 11, which cover part of the congested portion of 



