BULLETIN 



of the 



Buffalo Society of Natural Sciences 



VOLUME VIII No. 4 



A Review of the Work Done by the Buffalo Society of 



Natural Sciences in Co-operation with 



the Public Schools 



by 



CARLOS EMMONS CUMMINGS, A. B , M. D. 



Secretary of the Buffalo Society of Natural Sciences 



From the day of its inception, one fundamental principle has 

 controlled the policy of the Buffalo Society of Natural Sciences. 

 Realizing the important place which a great museum must event- 

 ually take in the educatidnal system of its home town, we have 

 always endeavored to get into the closest and most effective rela- 

 tionship with the public schools of our city. Every facility which 

 we had to offer to the student has been freely and continuously 

 placed at his command. For years the science teachers of the city 

 have been in the habit of bringing their classes to our building, 

 and we have supplied them with room and materials for their 

 work. In the study of geology, thousands of high school pupils 

 have received great benefit from our collections of rocks and 

 minerals, and our display of native birds and animals has been of 

 the greatest help to the classes in zoology and natural history. 



At the beginning, it was the custom for the teachers to ac- 

 company the classes and take charge of their work while here, the 

 museum offering simply its collections and rooms, no attempt 

 being made to provide lectures or instruction beyond what was 

 displayed. In time, however it was found that certain topics were 

 of such universal interest that they would warrant special atten- 

 tion, and so the plan of special lectures for the schools came into 

 being. A series of talks on "Bees", "Birds" and "Insects" was 

 arranged for Saturday afternoons, and were open to such of the 

 grades as cared to come, and met with much success. The atten- 



