HISTORY OF THE MUSEUM 



Law of 1901. 



George H. 

 Sherwood, 

 Curator, 

 1906-. 



Circulating 

 Collections. 



the lectures given by Professor Bickmore at the Museum; $25,000 an- 

 nually was appropriated for the next four years. The whole system 

 of Visual Instruction was at this time placed under the supervision of 

 Professor Bickmore, and a compensation of $1,000 a month granted 

 for the expenses of inspection, supervision, shipment of material, etc. ; 

 $18,000 annually with $1,000 a month extra was appropriated for four 

 years beginning with 1897, but this was increased to $20,000 annually 

 in 1899; $12,666.66 was granted in 1900 for deficiencies occasioned 

 by the transferring of the appropriation bill. 



The allowance of $1,000 extra a month was extended for four years 

 from January, 1901; $38,000 was appropriated for the year 1902, 

 and the same for 1903. This was the last appropriation made by the 

 State for the work. The Saturday morning lectures to teachers were 

 discontinued the following year, and in 1905 Professor Bickmore was 

 appointed Curator Emeritus, his ill-health necessitating a lightening 

 of his duties. He was relieved of all active charge in 1906, and Mr. 

 George H. Sherwood was appointed Curator. 



In the Department of Public Instruction is centered all those features 

 of the Museum work which are instrumental in articulating the work 

 of the Museum with the public at large and especially with the educa- 

 tional system of the City. Under this heading are the nature study 

 collections which are loaned to public schools, the lectures for school 

 children, the free lectures on holidays, the lectures in conjunction with 

 the Board of Education, and the opportunities afforded to educators for 

 work at the Museum and Museum extension work with public libraries 

 and similar institutions. 



With the placing of nature study as a part of the curriculum laid 

 down by the Board of Education, numerous requests were made to 

 the Museum by teachers for material to illustrate the course in Nature 

 Study. To meet these demands the Museum prepared a number of 

 cabinets of natural history specimens and instituted a system whereby 

 these were loaned to the schools of the City. When this work was 

 begun, only ten collections were available, but the demand for them 

 has become so great that now the Museum has more than 400, and is 



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