Public Education in the Museum and Schools 



55 



PUBLIC EDUCATION IN THE MUSEUM AND IN 

 THE SCHOOLS * 



George H. Sherwood, Curator 



The extent of the Museum's services to schools through the 

 Department of Public Education in 1920 is the greatest in the 



history of the Department. Not only has this 

 Extent of educational work been more extensive, but more 



intensive than ever before. The old, well estab- 

 lished activities (Circulating Nature Study Collections, Lecture 

 Courses, Slide Distribution, Education for the Blind, etc.) 

 have been maintained at full capacity and new lines of contact 

 with the educational system of the City have been developed 

 (Service to the Training Schools, Cooperation with the Bureau 

 of Visual Instruction, New Food Exhibit, and Service to the 

 Art Teachers). The following comparative summary of the 

 statistics for 19 19 and 1920 tells the story more graphically 

 than words : 



Percentage 

 of 



1919 1920 Increase 



Circulating Nature Study Collections: 



Number of Collections in Use 668 887 33% 



Number of Schools Served 385 448 16% 



Number of Pupils Studying Collections.. 860,992 1,176,055 36% 



Lectures : 



Number of Lectures to School Children. 90 116 29% 



Attendance of Pupils 49,162 73,7^6 50% 



Total Number of Lectures, including 



those to School Children 133 149 12% 



Total Attendance at All Lectures 66,528 88,873 33% 



Lending of Lantern Slides : 



Number of Schools Served 92 154 67% 



Number of Loans to Schools 1,032 i,933 87% 



Number of Slides Circulated in Schools. . 58,107 116,342 100% 



Circulating Collections for Libraries : 



Number of Libraries Supplied 15 18 20% 



Number Using Collections 104,567 136,432 30% 



Education for the Blind: 



Number of Talks for Blind Children 27 117 333% 



Attendance 297 1,656 457% 



Total Number Reached by Museum Ex- 

 tension 1,033,094 1,403,016 36% 



•Under the Department of Public Education (see also pages 209 to 210). 



