433 
Annual Meeting’. 
1892.] 
Teaching in the Museum. 
Under this new title it is proposed to place in future the report 
of the work of the guide and lecturer and any other work of a 
similar character done in this department. 
The Curator has received reports from former guides showing 
the success of this plan of giving instruction to the public, and 
they all tell the same stories of children and grown people coming 
here as to the show of a Dime Museum or a Nickelodeon and 
going away with ideas enlarged and fully satisfied that a museum 
of natural history is a book of a new sort, and a collection some- 
thing that may be profitably studied, as well as merely looked at 
to pass away the time. The guide gives examples also of persons 
coming for a few minutes’ sightseeing and impatient to get 
through, but who finally spend a couple of hours in the new realm 
opened to them by his explanations. 
Mr. A. W. Grabau began to serve the Society in this capacity, 
May 1, 1891, and with the omission of the months of July and 
August gave several lectures on each public day until December 
1, 1891. On account of the absence of heat in the halls of the 
Museum the lecturing ceased after this date until March, 1892,. 
except on a few sunny days when the rooms became warm enough 
to be inhabitable. 
The attendance, meaning by this those who listened to the 
guide and followed him about through the Museum, was as fol- 
lows : — 
May 1891, 151. 
June “ 220. 
Sept. “ 320. 
Oct. “ 375. 
Nov. “ 198. 
Mar. 1892, 125. 
Apr. “ 535. 
This shows a steady increase of interest from May to Novem- 
ber, 1891, when the cold days began to affect the attendance un- 
favorably, and a sudden rise in numbers in April, 1892, which was 
probably due to the improvement in the modes of work men- 
tioned below. The hot months, July and August, are at present 
omitted and probably this practice will continue until we are 
PROCEEDINGS B. S. N. H. 
VOL. XXV. 
28 
aug. 1892. 
