AN ACT to Establish a State Museum at the University of Florida and a Natural History and Ethnological 
Survey of the State of Florida. 
Be It Enacted by the Legislat ure of the State of Florida : 
Section 1. There shall be established at the University of Florida at Gainesville, Florida, a department of 
said university to be known as the Florida State Museum. 
Sec. 2. The functions of the Florida State Museum shall be to make scientific investigations towards the 
further development of the natural resources of the State and maintain a depository and exhibition of the col- 
lections acquired by the surveys provided for in this Bill, and of collections and specimens otherwise coming into 
its possession, and of a library of publications pertaining to the work as herein provided. The collections and 
library of said museum shall be open free to the public, under suitable rules and regulations to be promulgated 
by the Director of said Museum, and approved by the State Board of Control. 
Sec. 3. The said Museum shall be under the control of a Director who shall be nominated by the President 
of the University of Florida and elected by the State Board of Control. He shall receive such compensation 
as may be fixed by the State Board of Control. 
Sec. 4. It shall be the duty of the Director to conduct surveys of the State of Florida and collect speci- 
mens and data of a scientific and economic nature in the three kingdoms ; mineral, vegetable and animal, in 
such numbers and quantities as may be needful for the purpose of said Museum. Said collections and acquisi- 
tions may be made at any season of the year and upon all properties owned by the State of Florida, and no 
provision of any existing law shall be construed so as to prohibit the taking of necessary specimens for said 
Museum. The permission of the owner or agent shall be first secured before taking any specimens from the 
lands of any person or corporation. The Director shall collect specimens and data of a civic nature pertaining 
to the early history of the State, locate and chart historic sites, prehistoric earthworks, shell heaps, and collect 
specimens relative to the prehistoric and aboriginal tribes of the State as represented in its mineral, vegetable 
and animal industries. He shall, as may be practicable,' prepare such duplicate specimens as may accrue into 
traveling exhibits and circulate them as loans to the public schools of the State. 
Sec. 5. The Director shall make an annual report of the expenditure and general work of the department to 
the State Board of Control, which said Board shall publish, and the Director shall from time to time publish 
and distribute bulletins and monographs recording data and exploiting the work of the said Museum. 
Sec. 6. The Director may, subject to the approval of the State Board of Control, authorize persons in writ- 
ing to assist him in procuring specimens in any section of the State. 
Sec. 7. This Act shall take effect when it is approved by the Governor. 
Approved May 30, 1917. 
