lectures in this course dealing with local animals and plants. 

 The subjects were as follows: 



The Sea Creatures of our Shores 



The Birds of our Parks 



Fur-bearers found within Fifty Miles of New York City 



Wild Flowers of the Vicinity of New York City 



These lectures were delivered in the auditorium on Thursday 

 afternoons at four o'clock. The average attendance was 440, 

 and the lectures were so well received that we are planning to 

 continue them in the fall. In addition to these two courses of 

 regular lectures, the members of the Staff of the Department 

 have been called upon to give a number of special lectures to 

 classes ranging from thirty to two hundred in number. Several 

 of the teachers have also utilized the Museum's slides and class 

 rooms in giving lectures of their own to their pupils. 



The plans for special instruction for the blind occupy 



a prominent place in our annual educational program. During 



the present year this work has been extended by the introduction 



of lectures by prominent people. Probably no audience at the 



Museum ever had greater enjoyment than did the 300 blind 



who assembled last autumn to hear Rear Admiral 



Peary tell his story of the discovery of the Pole. 



The pleasure of these guests of the Museum was 



further increased by the special exhibit of polar 



animals and the sledge actually used by Peary in his memorable 



trip, placed in Memorial Hall. 



The members of our staff have kept in touch with the 

 teachers of the blind in the public schools, and frequently these 

 pupils have been brought to the Museum for informal talks by 

 the instructors. This work has been correlated with the regular 

 work in the schools. Specimens are placed in the class rooms 

 and the blind children are permitted to handle them. During 

 the year twelve globes two feet in diameter have been added to the 

 models of animals and other material designed for use in the 

 schools where the blind are taught. On these globes the land 

 masses are elevated and represented by a rough surface and the 

 water by a smooth surface. The globes have been completed 

 only recently and will be ready for circulation in the autumn. 



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