For this purpose alone we feel that nature study is 

 well worth while. 



It may be that the present course of nature study 

 needs simplification — perhaps radical revision — but 

 to drop the subject entirely from the curriculum 

 would be distinctly a retrogressive step. 



A resume of the educational work of the Museum for the 

 year 1912 is presented in the following extracts from the sixth 

 Annual Report of President Osborn to the Board of Trustees: 



Although the location of the Museum is still far from the 

 center of population, the attendance for the year was 846,963, 

 an increase of 122,822 over the figures for 1911. The general 

 lectures were attended by 80,249 persons; the children's 

 lectures and opportunities for special study attracted 49,872; 

 while the circulating collections, which are sent out daily from 

 our doors, reached 1,275,890 school children, the largest num- 

 ber yet recorded. This system of circulating collections has 

 been extended to some of the schools of New Jersey. It 

 is also interesting to note that the colleges and universities of 

 the country are making increasing use of our exhibition halls 

 for purposes of instruction, professors and students from the 

 colleges of New England and the Middle States making special 

 journeys to the Museum for this purpose. 



The total number reached by the Museum's Extension 

 System is shown by the following statistics: 



1905 1906 1907 1908 1909 1910 1911 1912 



Board of Educa- 

 tion Lectures... 42,212 45,000 35,068 43,386 28,402 43.549 40,067 52,855 



Lectures to 

 School Children 

 and Children's 

 Room 35,ooo 17, 187 29,688 28,361 27,524 15,610 29,935 39,624 



Classes visiting 

 the Museum for 

 General Study. . 11,000 6,813 7,795 10,818 8,712 9,284 9,444 10,248 



Meetings of Sci- 

 entific Societies 

 and other Meet- 

 ings and Lec- 

 tures 35,28t 6,867 ",784 '5,587 27,369 15,712 18,649 28,384 



General atten- 

 dance for all 

 purposes 565,489 476,133 537,894 ',043,582 839,14' 613,152 724,141 846,963 



NumberofPupils 

 reached by Cir- 

 culating Collec- 

 tions 375,000 800,000 725,000 575,801 922,512 839,089 1,253,435 ',275,890 



940,489 1,276,133 1,262,894 ',7'9,383 1,761,653 1,452,241 1,977,576 2,122,853 



5 



