Youth in Museums [Reprint 2016 ed.] 9781512818147

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YOUTH IN MUSEUMS

YOUTH IN MUSEUMS By

Eleanor M. Moore University Museum,

UNIVERSITY

OF

Philadelphia

PENNSYLVANIA

Philadelphia

1941

PRESS

Copyright 1941 UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA PRESS Manufactured

in the United States of America

London Humphrey Milford Oxford University Press

FOREWORD the past year I was fortunate in being given the opportunity of visiting and studying the work for children in more than a hundred museums of the United States and Canada. This number includes adult ones with children's departments as well as those with distinct children's museums; it includes those belonging to other organizations such as boards of education and recreation centers, and it includes independent children's museums. As many different angles as possible were considered—the name, the purpose, relations with the community, location, independent and shared buildings, staffs and boards of management, exhibits, activities, finances, and even hopes for the future. The information has been gathered from many and varied sources. Those consulted in museums were officers, staff, and members of boards of management as well as volunteer workers and committee members. Boards of education contributed facts and opinions through their directors and supervisors, and schools through their principals and teachers. Recreation departments, libraries, community and settlement houses were all visited to seek information from their representatives. It is hoped the resulting material, though far from complete, will give a representative picture of the work and thinking in connection with museums and young people in various sections of the country. It has not been possible to include nor even to refer to a great many of the very interesting phases of the work in individual institutions. Rather have I had to select facts at random to build up the story as told in these pages, entirely mindful of the fact that equally interesting examples have been observed in others than those cited. Most of the study deals with children's museums because the entire interest of these center around the child. Since, however, equally important work is being carried on for young people in adult ones, they have been included. Not only are they carrying on with young adults who grow out of the chilDURING

[v]

FOREWORD dren's museums, but many also are encouraging the very young child's first interests. Only those phases of the activities, exhibits, publications, etc., of adult museums that bear directly on their relations with young people have been mentioned. No attempt has been made to represent the many other phases of educational work. This study was made possible by a generous grant from the Rockefeller Foundation, to which I wish to express deep appreciation. Likewise to Mr. Horace H. F. Jayne, Director of the University Museum in Philadelphia, for his cooperation in granting the time for the study, and to Mrs. Loring Dam and the members of the Educational Department for carrying the extra work during my leave of absence. Gratitude is felt for the hospitality extended by the many friends in museums and other organizations throughout the country. Also for the time and very material assistance they have so generously contributed. In addition thanks is given for permission to reproduce the photographs used in the several plates of the book. E. M. M.

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CONTENTS Page

FOREWORD

v

Chapter

I II

CHILDREN'S MUSEUMS

1

THE STAFF

24

III

COLLECTIONS

30

IV

EXHIBITS

35

SUPPLEMENTARY ACTIVITIES

51

INDEPENDENT ACTIVITIES

79

PUBLICATIONS

94

FINANCES

98

V VI VII VIII IX

THE FUTURE

102

APPENDIX: MUSEUMS VISITED FOR STUDY

105

INDEX

111

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ILLUSTRATIONS

A FRIENDLY PLACE. SEATTLE ART MUSEUM

Title Page

Plate

Facing

I II

Page

FLEXIBLE CASES FOR EXHIBITS

34

HANDLING OBJECTS

35

STORAGE CASES FOR DUPLICATE MATERIAL III

OBJECTS IN THEIR NATURAL SETTINGS

38

IV LISTENING IN COMFORT TO A LESSON

39

"NATURE'S HOUSE THAT JACK BUILT" V "SPRING BIRDS OF ELIZABETH PARK" VI VII VIII IX

42

"SANDY BEACH AT IPSWICH"

43

DRESSING UP DURING CLASS LESSONS

62

MUSEUM LOAN EXHIBITS

63

MODEL OF AN EGYPTIAN VILLA MADE BY CHILDREN

82

AN ELECTRIC GAME BOARD IN OPERATION X

A CREATIVE MUSIC GROUP

83

A MEXICAN PANTOMIME SHOW XI XII

COLLECTING FOSSILS, SHELLS, AND INSECTS

88

CHILDREN PLAYING MUSEUM GAMES

89

[ix]

I

CHILDREN'S MUSEUMS as the backbone of the nation is not a new idea, but youth as the lifeblood of museums is a comparatively recent realization. Not that museums have failed to see what opportunities they could offer young people, for this fact has long been recognized, but rather that they have failed until recently to see youth's own contributions. YOUTH

By far the greatest number of museums are for adults, but each year more of them are opening their doors to young people and through well-organized departments are combining virtual children's museums. Not only are these departments bringing, in some cases, more than 150,000 young people a year into a single museum but they are seeking youth's cooperation in making them attractive. Large grants are being expended to determine the best means by which they can serve youth. And already they are reaping rich crops, for young adults are finding use for them, and through their interest are bringing a new life to the institution. WHAT IS A CHILDREN'S MUSEUM?

According to Mr. Laurence Vail Coleman, Director of the American Association of Museums, children's museums fall into three classes: ( 1 ) school museums—controlled by individual schools; ( 2 ) school system museumscontrolled by boards of education; and ( 3 ) children's museums—controlled by their own boards. To these I would add the children's museums that are a separate but distinct part of several adult museums. It is next to impossible to say what number there are for two reasons: first, because of the fact that they are springing up everywhere almost overnight like mushrooms. Few people will ever hear of many of these because they were founded without proper knowledge of a children's museum, and frequently without the backing of the community, and therefore close soon after [1]

YOUTH IN MUSEUMS coming into existence. The second reason for not stating the number is that there are such widely different opinions as to which of those using the name are children's museums and which are not. Some would include all allied organizations for children providing they use objects, while others would narrow it down to a definite type of institution. In fact, if the first were accepted the number would be legion, while if the latter were approved with all its proposed limitations only three of the number would be recognized as children's museums. It is not important to differentiate among them, but rather to give as clear a picture as possible of those existing under the name. No two in the country are alike or even nearly alike in buildings, exhibits, activities, or management, and yet they have some sort of intangible quality in common. There is represented almost everything from an absolute playground to a formal extension of the school classroom. They vary in size from a part of one room to two large buildings. They range in affiliations from a Junior League project to a department of a board of education. They have been inaugurated by private individuals, men's and women's organizations, schools, colleges and universities, adult museums, libraries and community houses, city education and recreation departments and government agencies. Their wide range is easily accounted for by the fact that there never has been any set formula for their existence. The idea alone gave the spark, and they originated and developed under varying conditions, discovering their possibilities as they grew. Such independent growth has been healthy, for it has been founded on the needs of the communities. Each museum has discovered different values in its progress, most have at some time or other run up against difficulties, all are asking questions. Realizing the value of their experiences and the ever increasing interest of the general public, it seems worth while to study the whole picture of the background for young people in museums. The name "children's museum" has so taken the public fancy that it is becoming increasingly popular to describe some institutions that do not appear to be either "children's" or "museums." The use of the name alone is certainly insufficient to make just any institution a children's museum. Common sense tells us that there must be a certain physical set-up or definite standards to warrant the use of the name. Let us examine some of the situations in which we find children's museums

[2]

CHILDREN'S MUSEUMS in different parts of the country. First as to their locations and affiliations. Eight only are housed in buildings by themselves—these are in Boston, Brooklyn, Cambridge, Detroit, Duluth, Hartford, Indianapolis, and San Francisco. Of these Cambridge, Detroit, and Duluth belong to boards of education. The one in San Francisco is a part of the city recreation department and the one in Brooklyn is connected by the same trustees and director to an adult museum. Boston, Hartford, and Indianapolis have the only three that are separately housed and entirely independent of a parent institution. The remaining ones, not yet mentioned but none the less important, are housed in schools, libraries, community houses, business houses, settlements, and other museums, as were practically all at the start. Some of these are responsible for their own budgets and some share them with parent organizations. Their activities vary with their affiliations. Those supported by boards of education direct most of their activities toward organized school classes. All the visual aid work of the geography, history, and nature study classes of the Cambridge public schools is handled by their children's museum. The work of the Detroit Children's Museum is under the direction of a person who knows the curriculum, and to whom the teachers of the schools go for guidance in visual education. The work of their classes is supplemented by loan material sent to the schools and by visits to the museum during school hours. The St. Louis Board of Education also supports a children's museum, but one whose entire activity is directed toward the sending out of seven to ten thousand objects a day for use in the city schools. The objects in the museum act only as an "open catalogue" for the use of the teachers. Representing a different affiliation is the San Francisco Recreation Museum. Due to its support by the Recreation and Playground Department of the city, most of its activity is directed toward education during leisure hours. "Helping rather than teaching" is stressed and "clubs rather than classes," children are encouraged to come in and work without too much supervision. Its program consists mainly of activities planned by clubs and hobby groups. Certain other children's museums are connected with specialized institutions. The Children's Federal Art Gallery in Washington and the Children's Art Center of Boston conduct activities entirely in the field of art. The former children's building of the Peabody Museum of Natural History (now the School Service Department) directs a program altogether in the field of natural historv. The majority, however, pursue activities of a very general [3]

YOUTH IN MUSEUMS nature, leaning more perhaps toward natural science and depending somewhat for their scope on the extent of their budgets and the needs of the communities contributing to their support. The foregoing examples illustrate the close connection in location, management, and activities of children's museums with schools, playgrounds, and adult museums. Further examples would show similar connections with libraries, community houses, and other organizations. Since both modem education and recreation lay stress on sensory development, a feature especially emphasized by children's museums, where can we say is the line of distinction between them and the visual aid department of a school or the activities of a playground or some other organization? Can we say it is in an independent building? Yet existing children's museums are now, or have been, housed in almost every land of building from a bam to a bank, lent, rented, or owned, and in parts of buildings belonging to all sorts of organizations including schools and recreation centers. Most of the now independent ones opened their doors in one room that some organization lent or rented to them. Can we say the difference is in the exhibits? Examples would show that libraries, schools, and even playgrounds are more and more making use of objects similar to those used in museums. Hobbies and recreation today encourage the collection and use of every kind of object, which may be assembled anywhere from the home to the school. Can we say the difference lies in the activities? A glance at schools, neighborhood houses, and even the playroom at home will soon convince one that the same activities are in use in all of them because they have proved of worthwhile interest. Can we say it is a question of an independent budget? Some of our largest children's museums share them with a parent organization, for example the one in San Francisco—a project of the City Playground Department, and those in Detroit and Oklahoma City and others controlled through school boards. Can we say it is in their independent management? If we do we should eliminate the Brooklyn Children's Museum, the pioneer and largest of all, for it shares its trustees and director with a parent institution. Some prefer to make it a question of standards and functions, rather than [4]

CHILDREN'S MUSEUMS to base it on a physical set-up. Though many are discussing it, few with a knowledge of the general situation have attempted to unravel this tangled question and classify them. There is no doubt but that it is far more difficult to make a classification today than it would have been some years ago, when every organization was concerned only with its own efforts. Today's methods of education interlock institutions to present a whole picture rather than dealing out pieces that must be put together by the individual. Perhaps it is not necessary to draw a distinct circle placing children's museums within and allied institutions without. Certainly the arbitrary drawing up of specifications and set rules and regulations would deprive them of one of their greatest assets—flexibility. It would choke the element that makes them adaptable anywhere and under all circumstances. And yet there is reasonable objection to the use of the name by institutions which it has been said are neither "children's" nor "museums." Any setting up of standards must consider the fundamental thing that makes them what they are and aim to encourage rather than cramp the high type of institution the founders conceived. Adherence to the meaning of the name of "children's museum" would in no way impose limitations but rather would make an organization expand its present limitations to meet the broader meaning of the words. For under it a children's museum could function in any building or part of a building, it could be administered independently or jointly with a parent institution, and it could house practically any exhibit or conduct almost any activity. Certainly, however, it does necessitate a physical set-up of objects: (1) selected for children; (2) exhibited for children; (3) interpreted for children; (4) in a place set aside for children. By these standards the use of the name is justified, but these alone do not entirely distinguish a children's museum from a school, playground, or other organization. For the distinguishing characteristics Mrs. William Lloyd Garrison 3rd, Curator-in-chief of the Brooklyn Children's Museum, says: The answer is not a simple one. It lies in a combination of elements, which fused together create the spirit that makes a children's museum. It is found in the selection of objects and other visual aids. It is influenced by the physical techniques of installation, lighting and labels. Most of all it is dependent upon the way in which the child is introduced to his material. [5]

YOUTH IN MUSEUMS THE

NAME

The name "children's museum" conveys to those close to it the idea of a "wonderland for the child," whose "boundaries are marked not by age but by interest." The founders of the first such establishment chose the name as simply descriptive of what it professed to be, and the majority of recently organized ones have continued its use. Those of us associating daily with the institution use the phrase without analyzing it—and only when we hear in some instances of its being a handicap to the progress of the organization do we stop to consider other sides of the question. There seems to be a certain amount of dissatisfaction with both words "children's" and "museum"; some people object to the former and others to the latter. The criticism has been made that because of the former it is embarrassing to teachers with older students who might want to make use of the museum, that on reaching the "teen" age boys and girls will not continue voluntarily to patronize an institution with the word "children's" in its title. If they discontinue interest at this stage they have probably not made sufficient contacts nor are they yet of an age to become active participants in the program of an adult museum. It should be important to every children's museum that the interest be continued through this period. Will a change in the name solve the difficulty or is there some other factor or institution that can account for and remedy the embarrassment of this transition period? It is reported from the Peabody Museum of Natural History that the high school work definitely picked up when it seemed advisable during the depression to close its children's museum and carry on the work through the School Service Department. Mrs. Garrison of the Brooklyn Children's Museum feels on the other hand that the name causes no problem, and that if sufficient interest is aroused in the activities the high school boys and girls will continue to come in spite of the name. Their activities are planned to make use more and more of the adult museums and, she feels, in this way will hold them until they are ready to achieve the very easy and natural promotion to the adult institution. She admits that the high school attendance does fall off in numbers, but as this is general in both adult and children's museums the name cannot be stated as the only cause. Mrs. Garrison feels strongly that it is a mistake to forsake the name that originated with the institution. [6]

CHILDREN'S MUSEUMS In Newark and Los Angeles they have chosen the name "Junior Museum," with the interpretation of younger or smaller museum, rather than of younger children. The claim is made that by using this word the appeal is the same to the younger ones and less objectionable to the older groups, for it is on a par with the word as used with high school. Representing the other side a small boy of approximately ten years of age attending a Junior Studio was overheard to remark, "I'd like it better if they'd leave the 'Jixnior* out of it." The Board of Education in St. Louis has used the words "Educational Museum" which seems to tie it more closely to the schools. The principal function of this museum as stated is the lending of large numbers of objects to the public schools of the city at the request of teachers. Since its scope is entirely with the child during school hours, there is not the problem of whether the title would handicap its activities during leisure time when a child temporarily forgets his school. The average child seeks the museum on his own not to be educated but because of interesting experiences and adventures that appeal to him. On the other hand San Francisco has chosen the name "Recreation Museum" because "It is an important activity of San Francisco's Recreation Department, and because with the background of museum exhibits for guidance and inspiration, a child may occupy his leisure time doing the things he likes to do." In the Nelson Gallery, Kansas City, a group of interested children met to decide on the name for the museum that was to be set aside for them within the adult building. One faction wanted it called "Little Museum" and the other favored "Museum for Young Moderns" so for accord they combined forces and named it the "Little Museum for Young Moderns." This is to be particularly commended because of the share the children have had in it from the start. Recently a group of people expressed strenuous objections to the word "museum" as a forbidding word for any active, modern concern, especially where the stress is laid on making children feel a homelike atmosphere. In answer Mr. Francis Taylor, Director of the Metropolitan Museum, in his talk during the National Association meetings of 1939 said, "There is nothing wrong with the word 'museum;' what we need is a new interpretation." [7]

YOUTH IN MUSEUMS T H E PURPOSE

If a children's museum is to be a specialized institution distinct from others, its inception is justified only when it fills a need in the community not already taken care of by some other organization. Its activities must not overlap those of schools, libraries, and playgrounds; to be efficient it must supplement already established organizations. The great value of a children's museum is its flexibility which gives it just that power. More progressive education for children with its changing curriculum has opened the way, for it has brought with it a "greater desire on the part of the child to know his world," to explore for himself, and the museum can provide him with his laboratory and with the necessary tools. Miss Anna Billings Gallup, who was for many years the director of the Brooklyn Children's Museum, employed the principle of "Follow the child around" and in this way discovered his interests. It has been said of her that she "dared to take seriously the inquiring mind of a child." In this spirit the purpose of a children's museum has been one with the interests of the children. It has variously been stated that it "reveals to the child the world in which he lives," "puts into the hands of boys and girls the means by which they will learn to face the world," "arouses intellectual curiosity"; also that it is "all outdoors brought within four walls," an "open door to a wonder world," a place where "education is recreation and recreation is education," a "cross section of the curiosity and the hunger of humanity for knowledge," and that it "provides a chance for the spirit to roam and the imagination to play." According to the beliefs of Dr. Thomas Munro, Director of Education in the Cleveland Art Museum, "For each museum the extent and character of the educational work it should carry on will be determined by the whole educational structure of its community." Obviously if other institutions are doing the work there is no reason for the museum to undertake it, but tremendous service can be rendered the children and others through close cooperation with existing agencies. Teachers and schools will benefit by the use of visual material, the museum will be the richer for the specialized help of librarians and the use of materials from commercial houses, playgrounds and community houses may benefit from museum loans, and so throughout the community. However, this cooperative service must of necessity be built up by trial [8]

CHILDREN'S MUSEUMS and error until it has become a moving force, and each institution of more value and stronger because of it. Apropos of this it is stated at the Horsfall Children's Museum, Ancoats, Manchester, It should surely not be the place of the museum to supply information which is within the reach of any good teacher. But the . . . specimens are no doubt a great aid to the enlivening of a lesson, and objects which can be handled are of infinitely more value than a flat picture. Museums must be careful not to deserve the criticism that they are "predigesting" the material for teachers, and taking the work out of their hands. It is their business to aid, not to replace. It has been said that "the boys of today are the leaders of tomorrow," and "to mold the mental habits of childhood is to mold the race." Since activities develop skill and attitudes and character, children's museums are endeavoring to fill this need. Leisure-time activities guard against that pitiful state of unrest and discontent caused by lack of ability to produce or create with the hands, and equip a child to find and enjoy his place in a changing world. George Washington Stevens, creator of the Toledo Art Museum and known as the Pied Piper of Toledo, wrote in his famous museum creed, "No city is great unless it rests the eye, feeds the intellect and leads its people out of the bondage of the commonplace." Children's museums are sharing in this responsibility. THE COMMUNITY

Throughout the entire country the cry "a children's museum in every community" is being taken up by various organizations, all rushing to initiate them while the interest is hot. Too hasty placing of a few dingy objects from somebody's attic in any empty building with any unemployed person in charge is certainly unfortunate and may ruin the idea for the community indefinitely. Recently several such makeshifts have opened and closed again within a few weeks' time, leaving behind an entire lack of interest. A children's museum cannot be pasted on a community and expected to sticktoo many have tried this method and failed. The successful ones consider the community at the start and depend upon it to determine their courses, always continuing to seek new means of usefulness through cooperation. The deeper and more spreading the roots [9]

YOUTH IN MUSEUMS the greater will be the hold for the museum; and the greater the responsibility and share in the work, the more will be the interest felt by the community. Quoting from the St. Joseph, Missouri, Children's Museum News Letter: "To render the maximum amount of service it is necessary that a museum grow from a foundation of local material, and it must be fostered by local interest and local determination." The initial efforts for some of the most firmly established ones have come through teachers and other individuals, parent-teachers associations, school science clubs, the American Association of University Women, civic clubs, adult museums, libraries, boards of education, city recreation departments, and government agencies. Suitable buildings have been secured by these agencies with further help from community houses, universities, park departments, and business organizations. Public-spirited florists and garden clubs have donated flowers and vines which in turn have been planted by park departments to beautify the buildings. Objects for exhibition have been lent or given by travelers, explorers, industrial firms, railroads, and government departments such as the Department of Fisheries, and others. A hive of bees was presented to one museum by the Boy Scouts, miniature reproductions to another by a junior chamber of commerce, but most important of all, initial material for exhibits has been collected locally by the children themselves. Libraries have assisted by lending pictures, maps, and books to supplement the objects—in Newark a library card permits borrowing from either Library or Junior Museum. National Youth Administration labor has participated in assembling, mounting, and caring for exhibits, the Writer's Project has gathered information on subjects of the exhibits and has prepared descriptive material, and the Works Progress Administration has built models and dioramas. Cases have also been made by government agencies; they have been purchased new or second-hand by individuals and they have been donated by firms and organizations. For example in the St. Joseph, Missouri, Museum small bronze plaques attest to the underwriting of individual cases by the Boosters' Club of the Chamber of Commerce, the railway, light, gas, heat and power companies, the Board of Directors of the Museum, the Teachers' Club, the Junior College Natural Science Club and biology classes, and the Building Industry Club. The staff in many instances is being supplemented through government

[10]

CHILDREN'S MUSEUMS projects, also Junior League members are giving volunteer service for docent work, making posters, painting backgrounds, and assisting in office work besides donating substantial sums toward expenses. In the case of the Hartford Children's Museum for some years they have given the salary to support a club secretary. The entire Children's Museum at Englewood, New Jersey, has been a project of the Junior League for several years. It is handled jointly by its arts department and the staff of the Memorial House in which it is located. Advisory committees, auxiliaries, and boards of trustees function better when made up of leaders representative of a variety of community interests. Mayors, heads of city departments, leaders in men's and women's organizations, doctors, educators, lawyers, and specialists in many fields have contributions to offer; in fact it has proved advisable to secure as wide a range as is possible for active participation. Many boards of education have assumed the responsibility of staffing and supporting children's museums, others have given the part time of one or even the full time of several teachers, or have lent equipment, such as the work benches in the Newark Junior Museum, or trucks to handle loans to schools. Park and playground departments have given grants for running expenses, and some municipal administrations entirely support their children's museums, thus placing them on the same plane with the libraries. Community cooperation in the activities is being given to both children's museums and educational departments of adult museums by many of these same organizations. Boards of education utilize holidays and time between trips of their school buses to transport children to the museums. In conjunction with the WPA the Board of Education of Philadelphia plans to make a survey of the Franklin Institute to determine what science material can b e used to correlate with the school curriculum. It might not occur to the casual observer that the social studies can be illustrated in a science museum until it is pointed out how directly many of the exhibits bear on Colonial life, etc. In some cities this correlation is planned through conferences, after which handbooks are printed by one or the other of the institutions as a help to teachers, and museum activities are planned accordingly. At the Indianapolis Children's Museum the City Park Board with the help of the WPA cooperated with the Bird Lover's Club to study and encourage the winter feeding of birds, by "erecting a rustic feeding station on the

[11]

YOUTH IN MUSEUMS grounds of every public school, in all parks and along wooded boulevards." Local artists and craftsmen in several cities are enlivening museum activities by giving demonstrations. International Institutes, the Junior League and the Federal Theatre Project are giving plays for museum audiences, and libraries are sponsoring story hours. One social service committee assumed the responsibility of distributing loans for its children's museum. An unusual example of cooperation is shown at the Worcester Art Museum, where the boys of the Trade School handle the printing of sheets of photographs and a pamphlet describing the museum's educational services. Another example is seen in connection with the nature work of the Cambridge Children's Museum. The superintendent of streets gave permission for the museum to cultivate unsightly traffic islands and in addition he supplied fertilizer. The head of the Emergency Relief Administration supplied workers to prepare the soil; florists gave plants, and firemen, in front of whose station one island was located, helped with its care. This same museum also maintains a Winter Tree Trail near a pond in cooperation with the City Water Department. At the Junior Recreation Museum in San Francisco, local organizations such as Park Playgrounds and the Junior Aquarium participate in exhibits held at the museum. The Junior Museum in Los Angeles ties up its major temporary exhibits with its community—the stamp exhibit is set up by the Playground and Recreation Department Stamp Club; the model show is sponsored by the Model Engineer's Club; the school arts and crafts display shows processes by which crafts are made in the public schools, and Book Week brings a library exhibit to encourage the reading of good books. Other museums, social agencies, Colonial Dames, Daughters of the American Revolution, garden clubs, etc., all are sharing in encouraging the varied activities of children's museums. Publicity is given through the courtesy of the local newspapers, and radio stations frequently sponsor special programs arranged by the museum staff. Mention of activities is made in circulated bulletins of transportation companies, or posted in hotel lobbies and other public gathering places. Stores and other business houses lend their windows for special displays, as for instance during drives for funds for the Community Chest. Some cities issue pamphlets with a map and directions how to reach their museums, and a "welcome" to visitors from the mayor.

[12]

CHILDREN'S MUSEUMS In return museums are not only giving service to individuals and groups within their buildings, and thereby to parents, teachers, and all who are interested in them, but they are extending their benefits beyond the walls. Their facilities are being taken into schools, settlement and community houses, to physically handicapped children and to hospitals. Through their extension service they are reaching children in distant communities. Loan departments are active in most of the children's museums preparing duplicate material in attractive exhibits to be taken or sent to those who cannot conveniently come to the building. Some are helping to establish school museums within the walls of certain schools that are able to share the expenses of the project for the privilege of long-period loans. Others are supplying organizations with ever changing exhibits to act as drawing cards for interest in the museums. The University Museum in Philadelphia even went so far as to organize a museum mail service planned to reach children who do not come within the territory of any museum. Its How-To-Make-It Club made it possible for boys and girls to receive periodically through the mail stories of distant people and ancient times. They received material and directions to reproduce objects made long ago and were able to start their own museums through its information and encouragement. Space in many museums during free hours is being made available for meetings of various organizations such as the Kindergarten Teachers' Association, art leagues, science groups, historical societies, etc. Authoritative and inexpensive publications are issued to encourage hobbies and to give general information of interest to both children and adults. Museums realize that their possiblities for service are far beyond their ability to serve, so they are forced to be selective in order to avoid the danger of "spreading themselves thin." THE LOCATION

The location of a museum plays a very important role in its usefulness and thereby success in its community. One which opened enthusiastically in a vacant store on the main street of a small business section was forced to close because parents feared the danger to children frequenting a section so congested with traffic. Another tried several times to materialize in a splendid adult museum located in a city park, so extensive that few residences were [13]

YOUTH IN MUSEUMS

within comfortable walking distance and cheap transportation was not available. A few clever youngsters thought of the plan of crowding large numbers in a taxicab and by that means covering the distance for a nickel each, but in spite of efforts on the part of all concerned the project had to be abandoned. Children cannot be really active in their museum if they must depend on adults to take them. Bicycles and roller skates will transport them amazing distances, providing there are no unusual hazards to encounter en route. Many children's museums have started in schools, one or two rooms being given for their exclusive use. These are almost universally located in the center of the child population with at least some ground around them, but at best they are usually considered temporary for both sides. If the museum grows as it should it will soon need more space, which the school is rarely able to spare. The same holds true in libraries, though in some cases additions have been erected to house sizable collections. Community centers, also centrally located, house many young museums which generally speaking have the same complaint after a few years of not having enough space to expand. The Children's Museum of Boston had a fortunate beginning in a cityowned house lent by the Park Department, fortunate mainly because of its ideal location on Jamaica Pond in the park. It is important that any child's museum have ground around it with trees to make it a place of beauty, an important beginning in the teaching of beauty in nature or appreciation of art. It can be used to great advantage in many ways and dining all seasons of the year, especially of course in summer. It provides a setting for outdoor classes, a place for garden clubs to work, it supplies greens for the 'live" museum and a place to study natural history at hand, it is a wise safety provision and adds to the appearance of any building. But best of all it provides a treat for children living in congested areas. A teacher who has brought many groups of tenement urchins to one of the museums said that its grounds were a real vacation to her children. Its expansive grassy lawn with banks to roll down and its splashing fountain bring pleasures equal to those inside the building. The soft cool feel of the grass and earth, and the sound of running water, contrast sharply with the unresponsive cement pavements and noise of traffic, more familiar to these children. The Public Museum in Reading, Pennsylvania, chose its present location [14]

CHILDREN'S MUSEUMS with this in mind. Surrounding it are twenty-five acres of its own beautiful parkland of both wild and cultivated areas and gardens. In front of it a swift stream is dammed to provide a small lake where ducks and swans bob around. A bird paradise and botanical garden are at its very door for its everyday use and the enjoyment of its community. Many museums are not fortunate enough to be able to secure ideal surroundings and may find it wiser to locate in the midst of a residential part of the city or community, immediately accessible to all classes, and close enough to cheap transportation by trolley or bus. But a great advantage is added and much pleasure is derived when it can also be within walking distance of a park or other open section. A coldly formal building in a distant setting is out of place for a children's museum. It cannot succeed unless at its first introduction to the child it offers a friendly atmosphere, the very best sort of invitation to return. This spirit was aptly expressed by Mrs. Harrie Gardner Camell in presenting the beautiful Art Institute to the city of Dayton when she said: "I want this Art Institute to be a friendly place. I want you to come again and again." THE BUILDING:

INDEPENDENT

When a children's museum is forming, independent of a parent institution, it is often wise to locate first if possible in some already established child center, such as a school, library, or community house. The children will be used to going there, and the mere opening of the room will attract them in sufficient numbers to form a nucleus around which to build. However the complaint has rarely been made that the children do not come, but rather that they come in such numbers as to overwhelm the place. One new establishment with a few objects and one staff member opened its doors before making adequate preparations for activities, and for handling the children. Several hundred a day swarmed in like bees looking for a hive, soon completely exhausting the nerves of the well-intentioned hostess, who had not in the least anticipated such a reception and who was staggered into inactivity. Only after experiencing disappointment did the children reluctantly leave, and the museum close its doors for lack of ability to handle the situation. If the sponsors prefer self-reliance from the start, the city or community may be induced to lend a small unused house or part of one, or a house be-

[15]

YOUTH IN MUSEUMS

longing to an estate may be lent pending settlement. The Hartford Children's Museum made such an arrangement, which proved so satisfactory that later when the opportunity offered, the building was purchased. In the event of the loan or even the renting of a house, provision should be made for some degree of permanence at least. Disastrous results have come from the sale of a bank building, store, or residence soon after a museum has moved in, leaving it in the midst of a busy program with no place to carry on. Such a coincidence completely finished one small museum. Whether the building is especially designed for a museum or erected for another purpose as residence, bam, community house, etc., it should present a good appearance. Not just anything with strong walls. The very name suggests a certain standard, and the building should carry out the suggestion. Collections are chosen because they are the best objects that can be obtained to represent a certain group. Children are encouraged to study them because the impressions they make will be worthwhile—why then house them in an inferior building at any time? It, too, makes its impression. Whether or not the museum will radiate a friendly atmosphere depends at least to some extent on the type of building selected. Some buildings just naturally beckon one to come in, while others definitely hint "Stay out." Many people, especially children, are sensitive to these impressions. A forbidding or formal exterior may give them some qualms before they enter if they bring themselves to it at all. When a very large building is chosen, part should be closed off—it is far healthier to grow out of one's surroundings than to be lost in them—small, busy quarters are always more convincing than large empty ones. Also great high ceilings are forbidding to children, and expansive rooms present difficulties of installation to break them up into attractive and workable units. An unusually beautiful rotunda in one of the adult museums draws people from long distances because the exhibits are inspiring in such a setting. In the presence of children this same domed room becomes terrifying and children withdraw from it—one child was so sensitive that her parent asked to have her do her art work elsewhere because she was actually frightened by the room. Even more difficult is the problem of unusually small rooms and low ceilings, for they will never accommodate crowds well—they are almost impossible to ventilate properly and do not allow enough space around the exhibits

[16]

CHILDREN'S MUSEUMS for easy flow of traffic. "Bottleneck" corridors without sufficient light, and narrow, dark stairways present hazards which should not be tolerated. These would be sufficiently unfortunate for adults, but they are additionally bad for children because they dart about faster and thereby cover more spacemodem education's first requirement is space in which to move around—suppression in surroundings hampers expression in activities. Exhibit rooms should be large enough for space between exhibits so some children can gather in groups and others can be continually moving. There should be space within the rooms or adjoining them where tables can hold books for study or where duplicate material can be examined, in fact where any activity inspired by the exhibits can be carried on. Miss Gertrude Gillmore, former Curator of the Detroit Children's Museum, visualizes small workrooms opening off the exhibit rooms where children can work out handcrafts and at times can watch demonstrations by local craftsmen. These would complete a unit with some exhibit subject and would allow participation in its midst where the same atmosphere prevails and where frequent reference can be made to the exhibits. Any workrooms and reading rooms should not have to depend on artificial light but should have plenty of advantageously placed windows to supply ample light and air. Laboratories should be equipped with running water, essential in the handling of clay, paints, and innumerable other materials used in the majority of crafts. Plenty of cupboards and storage space are needed for supplies and unfinished work. Extra rooms where clubs and classes may have headquarters are always welcome, for it will be surprising how soon additional space will be ardently sought after. For special occasions and larger gatherings a classroom or auditorium is desirable. Needless to say there is small chance that all of these specifications will be found unless the building is erected for the sole purpose of a children's museum, and as yet not one in the country has come to my attention, though there are one or two plans on paper and several under discussion. Any museum so fortunate as to anticipate such a venture will likely have had long years of experience gathering and tabulating ideas which will increase the efficiency of the building and facilitate the handling of the program. A carefully picked building, especially a residence, often lends itself surprisingly well to its new purpose, and great ingenuity can frequently be shown in adapting the space. The Children's Museum of Boston in its first [17]

YOUTH IN MUSEUMS home, a city-owned residence in the park, reports utilizing "undeveloped spaces in dark corners, a reading room annex from an old closet and a bird room lined with shelves from a dark attic room." Another attic room partly under the eaves was adapted admirably as a place to harbor sliding cases for minerals. The Pick and Hammer Club of the Brooklyn Children's Museum is literally and appropriately enough almost "buried in its work" by finding headquarters in a basement room of one of its overcrowded buildings. Space that seems entirely adequate in size may prove too small in a surprisingly short time, and as no one can possibly anticipate the rate of growth, additions may have to be considered. In the case of a new building a complete plan can be satisfactorily constructed in units, adding wings as advisable —numerous adult museums of various architectural styles have used this method. Where an old building is concerned, additions may be built. The Brooklyn, Hartford, and Boston children's museums have added auditoriums in this manner, the first two as part of the building and the third connected with it by a passageway. Occasionally it seems wiser to remove the old building even though the location of it is retained. In such instances this may be done gradually by building new units around it until the building itself must give way to the final unit. This type of enlarging and modernizing was carried out in the Los Angeles Museum of History, Science and Art, where the original building had become outdated, also in the St. Paul Museum of Science, where a private house is gradually making way for a modern museum building. By locating the museum temporarily for a few years, many facts can be discovered that will be of value in later establishing permanently. These do not always come to light beforehand, even in the minds of those most familiar with the work and best acquainted with the community. Likewise deficiencies in the building will show up much more clearly through trial than through the admonitions of those who have had experience. Besides, people disagree as to advantages and disadvantages. There are those who think that the cost of modernizing or even adapting the best of old buildings is too great for its results, which they believe are rarely satisfactory. These people long for their own specially designed building with its perfect location, appearance, and equipment. They feel that from the standpoint of efficiency and particularly safety that they actually will save money. Opposing these are the ones who still champion the cause of [18]

CHILDREN'S MUSEUMS the once-lived-in residence, believing that with some thought and a modest outlay of money it can fulfill all requirements and preserve in addition the homelike atmosphere so much a part of children's museums. THE BUILDING: SHARED

Continually the question arises whether or not a children's museum can function satisfactorily if established as part of another institution. Under this head come those sponsored by boards of education, libraries, recreation centers, community houses, and adult museums, some of them independendy housed and others sharing the roof with the parent institution. Perhaps the reason for such widely different opinions on both sides is that relatively few people have had an active share in the work of more than one type of institution, and therefore have become prejudiced. Some museums under parent roofs may not be functioning satisfactorily, just as some independent ones seem to be at a standstill, but we cannot always fairly lay the blame on the parent. After all, the question is not whether they are functioning but rather whether they can function. Let us consider first the question of a children's museum sponsored by an adult one. The Brooklyn Children's Museum and the Children's Art Center of the Art Gallery of Toronto are among the very few that have separate buildings. In the majority of cases they are established under the same roof with the parent institution. Certain disadvantages have been suggested, first and foremost among them might be mentioned the location. Many adult museums are beautifully located in parks or public gardens on the edge of the city limits, neither close to residential districts nor easily reached by bus or trolley. Some of these are former exposition buildings, and the sight chosen was with a fair rather than a museum in mind. Some are fortunate locations, but many are far from advantageous even for adults and much less so for children. This is a definite handicap and must be weighed in deciding whether to combine a children's museum with an adult one already established. Another disadvantage frequently mentioned is that of the type of building designed for adult museums. As has been said, where great rooms and massive halls are inspiring and impressive to adults they only frighten and bewilder children and counteract entirely any attempt to create an informal and friendly atmosphere.

[19]

YOUTH IN MUSEUMS This apparent handicap may not prove insurmountable, for with the expenditure of a little thought and money, isolated quarters frequently used for storage or sometimes merely waste space have been converted into pleasing informal exhibit and reading rooms, and workshops for a separate children's section. The Dayton Art Institute and the Berkshire Museum have each set aside one room for children to call their own. The former attracts one with an artistic fountain playing amid selected exhibits, the latter by its very modern and colorful furnishings—the tables having been designed to use in sections or together as the need may arise. The Cincinnati Art Museum has given variety to its one room by dividing it into three sections with railings and groupings of the furniture. The largest unit contains changing exhibits, while the other two are used for workroom and reading room. The Cleveland Art Museum has made use of some of its unfinished ground-floor space and has so cleverly disguised it that no one would dream of hidden pipes, vents, and other basement equipment which a short time ago made it too unsighdy for use. Newly developed quarters in an established museum give more freedom and flexibility to a child's museum where it can also have its own entrance, which is often not difficult to achieve. Through this means the hours may be arranged in the interests of children and not necessarily to coincide with the hours of the adult museum. The Newark and Los Angeles Junior Museums both have satisfactorily changed their hours from those regularly observed in the buildings. Collections throughout the building when displayed for adults are either in desk cases too high for small children to get a proper view of them, or else are placed above their heads in upright cases. These are severe disadvantages even when the objects displayed are of the type that can be interpreted for children, which they frequently are not. To overcome this handicap some museums have been able to lend or to turn over entirely some material, valuable in teaching quality but not so important to the adult museum for display purposes. With cooperation between the departments much worthwhile material that is now serving no good purpose in storage vaults may be used to advantage in this type of children's museum and still conform to accession restrictions under which many of them are bound to use within the building. Some museums which specialize in art or industrial displays, because

[20]

CHILDREN'S MUSEUMS others in the city house natural science or history exhibits, cannot include the latter among the collections. This also is a disadvantage to a combined children's museum because it seems to function more successfully when unlimited as to the type of collections and means for interpreting them. Many specialized children's museums are widening their fields. More and more, under progressive methods of education, they are finding themselves able without criticism to round out their collections for better interpretation by the use of slides, moving pictures, or objects usually considered as belonging to another field. Coconuts and palm leaves, silk worms and cocoons are necessary in telling the complete story of the products made from them and the people making them. Indian quill work on moccasins and pouches is lost to a small child without the presence of a porcupine which is recognized by comparatively few. In addition to the criticisms already given, some say that the children's work in an adult museum is the first to be cut in times of stress. Though this is definitely true in some instances, more usually it suffers only in proportion to the whole, which is also true of the independent ones—when the public suffers, museums of any type are bound to suffer. As far as elasticity of activities and freedom of action is concerned, if the children have their own museum within another they should in no way be hampered. Today most adult museums welcome the interest of children and do everything to encourage it. The Toledo Museum of Art has been a veritable Pied Piper until on Saturdays traffic is almost held up by the vast hordes of children arriving for classes. The Art Gallery of Toronto has days when it is almost impossible to walk around the galleries for the children sketching, and the various activities in the Cleveland Art Museum crowd the galleries in the same way. The University Museum in Philadelphia looks forward to the yearly visit of hundreds of small boys from a certain school who for years have stretched out on their stomachs on the floors wherever the spirit moves them to enjoy and record better the impressions of their visit in picture form. The Seattle Art Museum and the Newark Museum point out with pride the stone camels continually kept polished by children riding them, and Venus' knee, so shiny and dirty from small hands caressing it every time children pass. These do not point to the fact that children are not wanted or that they cannot be made to feel at home. Many an adult instead of being annoyed is seen to smile at their unconcern over adult intrusion. (See Title page.)

[21]

YOUTH IN MUSEUMS There was a time when museums were mainly for scholars, and the general public, including children, were shown little consideration unless they asked for it. This type of museum is passing in this country and in its place is arising an institution that is bending every effort to be of the greatest amount of usefulness. Conferences are being held and every method is being sought to study and experiment on means by which the museums can better serve all individuals and groups whether scholar or layman, adult or child, whether they frequent its buildings or require services elsewhere. There is a great deal to be said in favor of a joint arrangement of a child's and an adult's museum. One of the major points is that of economy. Much of the initial expense of establishing a museum is taken care of; building, taxes, and administrative staff, with collections of the finest specimens right at hand. Frequently also there is the second-series material with first-rate teaching value, already mentioned, which can be adapted to endless uses for children. The administration is established and the curatorial staff is available for information about the collections. The advisorv boards and committees are formed and the contacts and finances are at least partly assured. A check of the building usually discloses some section that can be converted for children even if it means sharp sacrifice. With the initial expenses out of the way, a smaller outlay of money and careful planning will satisfactorily bring to life an inviting and workable children's museum within the walls of most adult museums. This should grow correspondingly with the parent one and more than repay it for any outlay of space and funds, by raising more intelligent and interested members to support it in the future. The hand-in-hand efforts of the combined museums should then give greater stability and make them capable of serving any age or intellect from the first interests of a child to those of the ablest scholar. The statement was made by a young English interne from the Buffalo Museum of Science that he could see "no need for children's museums if adult ones were not falling down on the job." This has its prick of truth. Where the work can be done just as effectively by an already established institution merely by keeping abreast of the times, why duplicate? There are innumerable communities that would greatly benefit bv a children's museum where there is no adult one to do its share for them. It is certainly up to [22]

CHILDREN'S MUSEUMS every such institution to be awake to the possibilities that are open to it; if it sleeps on the job, another organization must necessarily take up its work. Not only are adult museums tackling the challenge of children's museums, but also libraries, community houses, recreation departments and schools are harboring successful children's museums. This does not mean they are merely contributing to their support, but rather that they are assuming the whole responsibility of their existence. The Junior Recreation Museum in San Francisco, built up only a few years ago through the interests of the Recreation and Playground Department of the city, has gone far ahead of many independently established museums with no parent interest. The Reading Public Museum, visualized by a progressive science teacher and carried out by the Board of Education, charts an imposing record of growth. It was created for children, and though today it is shared with the general public, whence comes its name, in every change or addition the child is considered. It is plain to be seen that this institution has gained its present standard not in spite of the parent institution but because of it. Mrs. Robert Sayles, Trustee and Treasurer of the Children's Museum of Boston has written an article, "Should a Children's Museum be Housed in a Separate Building?" In it she says: After all, why try to mix ages? We don't do it in other forms of education. Would you expect children in the grades to have free access to the college halls,—the boy collecting minerals free to go to the college professor to ask for help in identification? Then why not grade our museums at least to the point of having those for children as well as adults? Of the opposite opinion is Dr. Levi Mengel of the Reading Public Museum who feels that children must share in an adult world. Agreeing with him is a former superintendent of schools in one of the large cities, who regrets the tendency of the present day to pull families apart by separate clubs and activities for each member, and who encourages the family camp and projects designed for the enjoyment of the family as a unit. It is not for anyone to settle for all time the question of advantages and disadvantages of combined and independent efforts to reach the same goal. Every instance presents different angles—suffice it to point out that both sides have their scores and may reach the same goal by devious methods. [23]

II

THE STAFF THE type of person who is the most successful in museum work with children is reported everywhere as hard to find. Much of the training received today is of a specialized nature—a girl decides to become a teacher and she trains in a teachers' college or in the department of education of a university. Another is more interested in a scientific subject such as anthropology or geology, and in pursuit of this she may omit educational methods entirely. Another seems especially fitted for executive work and bends her efforts of preparation along these lines; still another goes in for recreation and playground work. Each may become a specialist in her line. The museum docent is neither a teacher nor a curator, an administrator nor a recreation leader, but a combination of all of these and more. The word "docent," according to Dr. Grace Ramsey in her book Educational Work in Museums of the United States, was first used by the Boston Museum of Fine Arts. Dr. Ramsey says: "The term 'docent' meaning one whose function is to explain exhibits, an official commentator on things shown, or a companion among museum exhibits, has since been widely accepted throughout the museum world." As the activities have grown and widened the duties have correspondingly increased, until today the docent must not only be a specialist in the subjects of her museum but a teacher in so far as to be entirely familiar with progressive education methods. She must be flexible and understanding enough to adjust her program continually to meet changing conditions in the community. Finally she must be able to lay aside all of these qualifications and be nothing more than a companion to a small child who has leisure time on his hands, which means a very special understanding and fondness for children. A young college graduate unable to make up her mind about her vocation several years ago applied for docent work in one of our larger museums. It [24]

THE STAFF seems she thought the museum would give her pleasant surroundings and besides she had "tried everything else and didn't fit." Another had taken her university degree, and had "traveled extensively in Europe." Applications by such people as these, and others who have no training but are bored with too much leisure time, show that the general public does not yet know how much is required in the way of training for museum work. There are some sincere ones who inquire what courses they can elect in college that will help prepare them. But who can say, and where are such courses offered? Museums cover practically all of man's work, and most of nature's over the entire world and of every period from increasingly remote ages to the latest disclosure of the modem world, and even into the realm of the future. Its fields therefore cover science, archaeology, industry, ethnology, history, fine arts, and others. Its staff must not only have this specialized information but the ability to interpret it simply and fascinatingly—too much knowledge makes this difficult, and too little makes it impossible. The fundamentals of teaching must be understood, which usually means experience in the classroom, and yet a different atmosphere should prevail in order to make it a dissimilar experience. Imagination and pliancy are the tools with which the teaching and scientific knowledge should be handled to qualify a docent for her job. The person who adequately fulfills these requirements is rare, for she must combine several specialties with an exceptional personality. An industrial arts supervisor who makes use of several museums to a large extent expressed the opinion that the personality of the staff members is perhaps the greatest force toward the success or failure of the museum's work with children. Choice exhibits and a superior program fall flat in the hands of a weak or timid personality. The responsibility of the leader is a great one, and her initiative is equally as important as her training. An executive secretary of the Camp Fire Girls stated, "A capable leader makes use of every resource at her command." Also Dr. William Vinal of Massachusetts State College, in speaking before the Children's Section of the American Association of Museums, emphasized the importance of inherent qualities in a leader when he said, "The leader must have convictions, understanding and ability to direct a small democracy." To quote from the Buffalo Museum of Science Training Course pamphlet: It should be understood by those seeking positions in thoroughly modern museums, that no matter how complete their academic training may be, they cannot be re[25]

YOUTH IN MUSEUMS garded asfittedto cope with the problems and educational methods of these highly specialized institutions. A period of post-graduate training is necessary to make a useful museum worker, and as yet such training is available practically only within the walls of a well equipped museum. One wise director considered new members of his educational staff a total loss for one year, regardless of qualifications in training or experience. During that year each became a sort of apprentice, handling objects, reading publications, mounting photographs, assisting in the library and at the information desk, and in general "digging in." At the end of the year he was familiar enough with the work to begin assisting in the educational department. Today the Buffalo Museum of Science and the Newark Museum conduct intensive training courses based on apprenticeship for those wishing to prepare for museum work. At Buffalo a sixteen-weeks' course, followed by an apprenticeship of the same length, covers the important phases of museum work—administration, school and junior service, adult education, organized group service, photography, research, library and reading room, publicity, publications, and museum technique. The apprentices receive a small remuneration while serving their intemeship. Newark makes a very special effort not only to familiarize the internes with the work of their own museum but to include field work which takes them to institutions in as many cities as possible during their year of training. Graduates from these schools are much in demand, and many have risen to positions of responsibility in a comparatively short period of time. It would seem to be a step toward the solution of the training problem if more museums could offer similar courses. Also universities and colleges might register students to receive credit for such apprenticeships as many of them already do for teachers' training courses in museums. As for opportunities, perhaps they are not so numerous as in some other lines of work, but the very fact that the already established museums are reawakening to their extended possibilities for service, and the fact that new ones are increasing so rapidly, makes a greater need for qualified staff. The difficulty seems not to be the scarcity of positions but rather the scarcity of well-trained applicants. The generally lower standard of salaries offered to museum educators, and the longer hours and shorter vacations make it appear less profitable than teaching or other similar occupations. The fascination of the work, and its variety of interests, along with its ever changing [26]

THE

STAFF

program, attract those who have a sincere interest, and who are likely to show it by their long service. It is not, nor can it be a work in which there is frequent turnover of staff. The majority of museums are handicapped by insufficient budgets to handle efficiently all the work they frequently attempt to undertake. For this reason more and more is being loaded upon competent docents or is being voluntarily assumed by them because of a desire for still greater accomplishment. There is no question but that this is a mistake, as it necessarily brings along a lowering of standards, if not immediately, most certainly sooner or later. While the docent should be keeping up with changing exhibits and new material, with publications and community changes, she keeps her "nose to the grindstone" to find out too late that she has become stale and stereotyped and her department a back number. Dr. Paul J. Sachs of Harvard University in an address before the Trustees of the Museum of Modern Art in New York said: It seems wise to take more time to breathe: for unless the tempo—the typical N e w York tempo—is not modified w e are sure to bum out our able personnel, as so frequently happens in American law and American industry. I suggest with great earnestness that our staff be given more time for work; more time for holidays; more time for taking thought; and in saying this I have in mind every member of the professional staff from top to bottom. I urge also more real assistance; more understudies, at every level; assistance on the scholarly, as on the administrative side:—a further aid to thinking and planning and production.

Considerable thinking is being done on the part of executives to devise a means by which this "time to breathe" may be supplied to the staff without either cutting down the work or increasing the budget. Since many of the talks are repeated over and over to hundreds of children, the idea of teachers' training courses has been suggested. By this means groups of teachers could be given the information necessary to conduct their own classes, and in addition could be supplied with visual material and a room in the museum. Such a plan has met with approval in some centers, although others have had to give it up after a short trial. Individual teachers and supervisors report so many increasing demands on their time that few relish the idea of additional burdens. Even barring the time element, they have not the inclination to undertake it any more than they would attempt to explain the intricate operations involved in the newspaper business or numerous other

[27]

YOUTH IN MUSEUMS specialized branches of visual education in the community which are made use of by the schools. These they prefer to leave to "the people more intimately familiar with the business." Apparently some want the museum docent service and others do not, and since flexibility is almost a byword, certainly neither should be forced on a teacher even though one may appear to be a wise economic measure. Museums supported by boards of education naturally engage teachers to carry on the work. Those supported by other agencies have in some cases, in recognition of their work with children, received the part-time or fulltime help of one or more teachers paid by the board of education. In some instances they spend their allotted time in the museum, correlating the work with the school system and meeting school groups, as do the regular museum docents. In other instances they spend half time in the schools, carrying with them visual material from the museums. For a number of museums this has been the solution of several problems, not least among them that of inadequate staff. Both institutions claim to have benefited from the arrangement and they advocate it for others. However, this plan too comes in for its share of criticism. Some people in the field do not want to so closely unite the school and the museum; they claim museum education should be different from that of the classroom. A teacher who spends part of her time in the schools and is familiar to the children in that capacity would, they feel, unwittingly carry over some of the classroom atmosphere. Those museums located near or in conjunction with art schools are frequendy able to call on the help of students or teachers to instruct in leisuretime activities or to give demonstrations for groups. Such an arrangement is a big asset to a limited staff and gives added variety and color to a program. Federal agencies such as the WPA have supplied both guards and instructors for many a depleted staff, and innumerable volunteers have been recruited for jobs of every description. Boards of management, patrons' associations, women's auxiliaries, and endless committees, all giving valuable volunteer service, help make it possible for the museums to operate smoothly with a minimum of paid staff. In the selection of these advisers to the staff, unusual discernment should be shown, for they can be a definite hindrance or a decided asset to the personnel. They must be willing to give the time to become entirely familiar

[28]

THE STAFF with the work or their advice is of little value. One of the rather general criticisms is the lack of understanding of trustees with the problems within the various departments of their own museums. This, coupled with the responsibility of the budget, and power over other vital concerns, creates a system of remote control which may fail at a critical time. Certain members of governing bodies and advisory groups are selected of necessity because of their influence in the financial and social world who otherwise may be mere figureheads. These should be flanked by actively interested and widely influential people in fields akin to the interests of the museum. The Junior Recreation Museum in San Francisco has a particularly active Advisory Committee to determine its policies. Its chairman is the mother of six children, and her committee consists of a science museum staff member, a university professor, a child welfare director, a mining engineer, a pediatrician, and the city recreation superintendent. No one need be concerned over the balance of interests of a museum so representatively managed. Too often advisory boards are static, and staff members self-complacently plod along year in and year out oblivious to the fact that something is out of gear. Society does not often call a halt and step up to us with a criticism of our personal shortcomings, rather we find ourselves in the end uncomfortably holding the bag, with nothing in it. The Nelson Gallery of Art in Kansas City leaves a place on the teacher's appointment card for her comment on the docent who conducts her class. In the past frequent checks have been made on activities, but so far few in the country are attempting a check on the personal equation.

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Ill

COLLECTIONS THE museum has been called "an educational institution in a treasure house," and for children "a magic carpet which bears the children from the land of books to the land of things." The presence of something worth seeing—the so-called treasure—is the focal point, and but for it the institution and its activities would not exist. To keep our museum a "treasure house" demands the acceptance of standards, and when we let down the bars we find our treasure house crumbling into a common edifice. Standards do not limit us, they only specify that whether the treasure be a beetle or a work of art it must be superior in order to deserve a place in the museum. The standards of our country's great museums appear necessarily higher than do those of our smaller ones still in their formative stages. Through years of working toward their ideals the former have been able to be selective, to replace with better as the occasion arose, and as they grew, greater opportunities presented themselves until today we recognize that they house the best the country has to offer. No matter how small its beginnings, the first thought in the minds of those organizing children's museums must be the setting up of standards. No matter how slowly or how fast the enterprise takes hold, these same standards must be upheld to the end to insure the right to assume the name of museum. The Children's Museum of Boston has always emphasized this quality which is self-evident both without and within its walls today. The museum started with only one case of birds and one of minerals and shells, and it is reported that "one day was ample time for arranging the collections." The Duluth Children's Museum opened with only a few personal possessions of the originator and the art supervisor and a few birds "salvaged from school attics," but even then were standards manifest. [30]

COLLECTIONS SECURING

OBJECTS

As a museum becomes better known, and objects are offered, the decision must be made as to what gifts to accept and what to reject. A committee on accessions is invaluable from the start, for its members not only can encourage the donation of objects, but can keep in mind the various uses to which they may be put, and when found totally lacking in teaching value can tactfully reject them. Such a method is less likely to gain disfavor from donors than the method so frequently used of graciously accepting the object, and storing it in much needed-space in the basement, never again to see the light of day. The submission of every article to such a committee also relieves the director of real embarrassment when pressed to evaluate it on the spur of the moment. In the very beginning there is no better way to get exhibits and at the same time arouse interest than by having the children collect some of their own. Rocks, minerals, flowers, weeds, leaves, and insects can all be made into attractive initial exhibits, and after the collecting is done, preparing, mounting, and labeling will supply leisure-time activities for some days to come. Plants may be gathered to make an attractive terrarium and sooner or later a "live museum" may be started to great advantage. Toads, snakes, lizards, turtles, and other small life provide exhibits of continually changing interests. An aquarium of native fish, snails, and frogs made attractive by shells and greens is a simple addition, and the raising of insect life of various kinds for feeding purposes stimulates interest and instills a desire to care for pets properly. A working colony of honey bees may be possible, or the evolution of butterflies and moths from their larvae stage. There is no danger of such a start being static, for it provides ever changing exhibits. People in the community who have traveled, on seeing an initial effort, will be more inclined to lend objects. Many business and industrial houses have educational departments which will supply mounted charts of objects illustrating the use of wool, cotton, and flax, and the manufacture of numerous articles in everyday use. Later, when exhibit space becomes scarce, these will be welcome in starting a loan collection for use outside the museum. In fact it will be recognized early in the museum's career that the securing of objects for display is not likely to be a problem. On the other hand they may come in so fast that the real concern will be how to make proper provision for their care and exhibition.

[31]

YOUTH IN MUSEUMS SUITABLE CASES

Cases, like collections, must have their early beginnings for which provision may indeed be very frugal. The Duluth Children's Museum converted three old tables, a discarded round case belonging to the Board of Education, and empty packing boxes covered with paper, into workable display cases. The Norwalk Children's Museum made use of former school sand tables. The Children's Museum of Boston used some cases that had formerly displayed cigars or chocolates, and "revamped them with pongee linings and paint." Also at this same museum someone's clever idea and a piece of glass transformed a small fireplace into a natural and appropriate ground setting for a family of ruffed grouse. The Director of the Indianapolis Children's Museum purchased uniform window sashes, complete with glass, which were secured to built-in top and sides, and rapidly and inexpensively became substantial wall cases. Glass panes sliding in grooves against the wall formed by wooden moldings at top and bottom have made satisfactory cases for textiles, pictures, or other flat objects. Since cases are the means by which we not only adequately protect but also effectively display our treasures they must not be considered lightly. Badly designed or crudely made cases can draw attention away from the objects for which they are serving as background. "Forests of legs" distract one in some museums, while miscellaneous varieties of ancient and ornate creations bewilder people in another. Tall, weighty, and dark bookcases may protect the object even from the view of the visitor, and too many cases of any kind leave insufficient room for comfort or appreciation of their purpose. Almost every variety has been tried, and out of these experiences have come certain requirements for cases to be used in displaying objects for children. First of all, each, whether an upright wall case or a flat desk case, must be the proper height to give the average child a comprehensive view of its contents. Concerning the case of a sort of "peep show" with a small opening, a step or two may regulate this in suitability for widely varying heights. A child is unlike an adult in that he does not usually mind getting down low to see something, and in upright cases the lowest portion, whether with shelves or without, is far easier to deal with than the upper. Therefore in general it is better to err a little on the low rather than the high side. Children's exhibits should have less permanency about them than adult [32]

COLLECTIONS ones, consequently cases must be able to be opened easily and quickly. It should never be necessary to call the handy man to remove eight or so screws and then wait while he gets someone else to help him lift off a great plate-glass front, as is the situation in many adult museums. On the other hand, it is imperative that they should lock securely to discourage any sudden temptation on the part of a small child to explore carelessly within a case of valuable material. Because of frequent changes in exhibits, cases must also change quickly to suit a number of uses—to be practical they must be flexible. Old type upright cases may thus be adapted by using celotex or some similar material to blot out sections of the glass—some dioramas are being satisfactorily shown in this manner. The Los Angeles Junior Museum has wall cases adjoining each other in a series around the room. Being continuous, their depth or their breadth may be blocked off as in a stage setting for quick and effective installation. Mr. Russell J. Smith of this museum has recently designed a useful built-in case and laboratory for the center of one main room. On a wooden base, a continuous glass wall is built in the shape of a square, leaving a small entrance on one side. Within the enclosure, tables the height of the wooden base make shelf room on which to place exhibits and also to provide working laboratory space. The inner surface of the glass can be blocked off with beaverboard or celotex to allow any size openings, and simple elevations placed on the tables raise the exhibits to any height. The background may be blocked out or a backdrop inserted as the need arises. This type is useful, Mr. Smith feels, both in telling a complete story with a chapter on each of the four sides, or in exhibiting miscellaneous objects. Aquaria of fish have been shown there very effectively. (See Plate I.) Experiments in achieving greater flexibility of cases, and at the same time "retaining the best features of the built-in or false wall type," has brought interesting results to the St. Paul Museum of Science. Its director, Mr. Louis H. Powell, writes: "My original intention was to design a method of installing dioramas and built-in cases that would be as flexible as a series of stage sets." An article written by him in the Museum News, Vol. XV, No. 10 (published by the American Association of Museums), describes the cases as follows: The false walls are constructed of interchangeable panels of unit width or multiples of that unit. The panels are quickly separable from each other. By using unit widths [33]

YOUTH IN MUSEUMS or multiples of the unit one wide panel may be replaced by two or three unit panels. Each panel is joined to those next to it by removable fastenings and is braced to the back wall or the floor by stage braces. The floor line is formed by a permanent mop board against which the bottoms of the panels are fastened. Specific types mentioned by him are: . . . small, built-in display cases opening from the front; a tall, built-in costume case which opens from the back; blank panels before which the curator may put portable wall cases; and diorama fronts before which table cases may be placed. The joinings are covered with three-quarter-inch aluminum strips and the panels are built of an asbestos fiber board known as flex-board which is more expensive than wood or wood fiber, but Mr. Powell adds, "the panels are fireproof and the whole assemblage gives a clean cut, modern appearance that we feel justifies the cost." (See Plate I.) Much valuable space is often wasted by not using the underneath sections of cases, especially built-in ones, which make ideal places for storing extra specimens. Drawers may hold loose objects such as rocks and minerals that do not need to be under glass, or even individually mounted specimens for children to remove and examine such as are used by the Junior Recreation Museum and the Brooklyn Children's Museum. The latter has also devised a wooden apron front, below the cases, which lifts u p and slides back, exposing shelf room for larger specimens such as stuffed birds. A most ingenious arrangement has been devised whereby shallow, cork-lined drawers approximately 24" X 15" X 3" have been built in for mounted specimens of butterflies and insects. When these drawers are removed each is found to be in itself a small glass-covered case. They can be laid flat on a table to be studied by individual children, or they can be stood upright on their broad fronts, to be shown by teachers to their classes. In either usage the delicate specimens are effectively displayed and well protected, and utilize no more space than the original cases of which they are a part. (See Plate II.)

[34]

PLATE

Flexible cases installed in the center of a room, showing on the four sides aquaria of fish JUNIOR

MUSEUM

OF THE LOS ANGELES AND

MUSEUM

OF HISTORY,

SCIENCE,

ART

Trim, modern, flexible wall cases of unit sizes that can be set up on short order SCIENCE M U S E U M

OF THE ST. P A U L

INSTITUTE

PLATE II

Duplicate specimens of those shown in the dioramas may be removed from drawers under the cases and handled by the children BROOKLYN CHILDREN'S

MUSEUM

Diorama cases, each in itself a complete case capable of being removed to stand upright on its broad base

IV

EXHIBITS MR.

LAURENCE V A I L

COLEMAN

points out in his book The Museum

in

America that It should be noted that art, sciences, history and industry, though separate subjects as treated by institutions, are not in separate compartments to the child. The young mind cuts across these sophisticated divisions and sees the world as it relates to the individual. The children's museums that have collections of a general nature have an advantage over those specialized ones that have to depend on charts, slides, and moving pictures to sufficiently round out their hemispheres. Art needs the sciences, just as industry needs history. The arts and crafts of the tropics cannot be attempted without repeated reference to the flora of those countries, and actual specimens far surpass the best accessory material. Many specialized museums are finding it possible to include some natural history specimens to make the picture complete, while others have arranged a cooperative program of visits to the Zoo or halls of horticulture on the way to or from the museum. Here we might apply the old saying, "Where there's a will there's a way." T E M P O R A R Y AND P E R M A N E N T

EXHIBITS

To help those who wish a definite idea of what to include among the exhibits of a general children's museum, the Newark Junior Museum offers the following suggestions from ones that have served them well. I.

Permanent, more or less: 1. Those which arrest attention by size, color or outstanding characteristics, as:—model of Hackensack Indians; of a stockade; an igloo; Eskimo fur coat

[35]

YOUTH IN MUSEUMS with long tails; mounted cobra and mongoose in deadly struggle; old-fashioned peep show, etc. If exhibits are not sufficiently colorful, try a pennant or colored prints in the room. 2. Those which are alive or can be put in motion:—Harmless snakes, salamanders, young alligators, turtles, tadpoles, cocoons, fish, growing plants, seeds, terrarium. Revolving globe, loom. 3. Those which stimulate children to do something:—The case showing necessary steps in earning a badge in the Junior Museum Club. Exhibit of mounted birds stressing:—Usefulness to us; protection; need of water and feeding station, etc. II. Transient Exhibits: 1. Those which children connect with their daily lives as:—Hobby collections; coins; stamps; autographs; photographs; marbles; nature collections; dolls; toys; games; tools. 2. Those which are seasonal, as:—The Japanese Doll Festival for girls, celebrated in Japan on March 3rd each year; Christmas; Spring; etc. 3. Those which show children's work, as:—Work of Museum club members; Junior Red Cross work; work of Blind and Sight conservation classes; work of Girls' Vocational School, etc. Exhibits should be changed often in a children's museum because unlike adults, a child may return nearly every day if he is interested—it becomes his laboratory and he expects to use it. Though he can take pleasure in seeing the same thing more often than an adult, he is also excited by frequently discovering something new. To him it is akin to exploring—the fascination of finding the unexpected. The live animal room always contributes in a large measure to this suspense. Bees storing honey invariably are different, as are snakes shedding their skins, or lizards changing color. Temporary exhibits of all lands can often be borrowed from the community and from museums and other institutions in distant communities. These will give valuable opportunity to try out the child mind and his interest in new departures—it will keep the museum awake to new interests and stimulate new activities. The community shares markedly in the monthly and seasonal exhibits of the Los Angeles Junior Museum. A stamp show by the Playground and Recreation Department of the city demonstrates how to start a collection, the tools and equipment necessary and the common mistakes made. The city library lends exhibits for the Book Week show, and the Model Engineers [36]

EXHIBITS Club sponsors a model show. School arts and crafts are lent by the public schools and are better than the average for museum display in that there are unfinished pieces as well as finished ones to show processes in basketry, weaving, carving, pottery, etc. Individual concerns put on exhibits telling the story of spices and one on air pressure in modern life with devices the children could operate. For the hobby shows each child arranges his own exhibit. The Children's Museum of Boston used a special exhibit on transportation, including exhibits from early America, foreign lands, and modern times. Steamship companies, railroads, tourist agencies, art students who make models, and presidents of many corporations contributed material. The Newark Junior Museum arranged a similar one. An exhibit of drums was also planned by the former to coincide with the showing of the moving picture Drums concerning which unusual interest was expressed. Mr. Laurance Roberts, Director of the Brooklyn Museum of Arts and Sciences, uses temporary exhibits to tie up with the permanent ones and enliven them, such as for example, "Techniques used in Modem Art." He believes that "museums are in the show business the same as department stores and must 'sell' their collections to the public or lose out." This same idea was carried out in the Detroit Children's Museum where all the steps in metal and clay work were shown and then the related finished objects from various countries. Such a rearrangement affords relief from the too usual exhibits of objects by countries. Directors of both institutions anticipate the employment of actual demonstrators to bring such exhibits to life. The Milwaukee Art Institute also deals with processes in the production of Fine and Industrial Arts, lithographs, bookbinding, cloisonne, etc., in its special exhibitions. Two very excellent process exhibits are shown in the Museum of Northern Arizona. The one on Hopi Indian pottery is introduced by information that the "clay is found in the sandstone along the sides of the mesas" and that the "color of the clay is determined by the amount of iron in it." Seven processes follow with unfinished examples to show each one. When it comes to the fifth step, of painting on the design, an actual brush of yucca leaf is shown and samples of paints and the plants or minerals from which they are made. This simple exhibit and other similar ones have proved so popular that it has kept the museum staff and the Indians on the reservation busy filling the requests for them.

[37]

YOUTH IN MUSEUMS Temporary exhibits may then be lent for a definite purpose and time, or they may be merely assembled to explain a subject or tell a story, or they may be no more than the timely rearrangement of permanent material to present a new picture. In any case they sustain more than average interest. Permanent exhibits of course make up the bulk of most collections, and unusual thought should be put on their presentation. Too frequently they give a confused and colorless picture, lacking in interest, too often the objects seem merely to be assembled rather than displayed. Pitiful it is when they are static at the start and remain unchanged through the years, unable even to emerge from the dust. It is far easier to leave a mounted bird droopingly a part of his original black base than it is to free him to form an animated part of some scene or story. His possibilities are numerous. Either by himself, or with a few selected birds, he can become an individual to be noticed, rather than hopelessly lost in row after row in a case to be shunned like an invading army. Even sectional book cases can be divided into small cubicles as has been done in the Ohio State Museum, each one with a setting of twig or nest to form a contributing unit to a story of some sort. Instead of fleeing from them the invitation is irresistible to peep in each before leaving. Small miscellaneous Mexican figures would have passed unnoticed on a shelf in the Indianapolis Children's Museum had they not been called upon to take part in a market scene, the market itself being supplied by a colorful corner background. DISPLAYING

EXHIBITS

At this point we come to the crux of all exhibiting—the importance of "placing" an object whether temporary or permanent. According to Mr. René d'Harnoncourt, in charge of the Indian exhibit at the Golden Gate Exposition, "Whenever an object is placed it is being interpreted." It may be interpreted poorly or well or it may be interpreted for adults or for children. The same Indian object may be of interest to an adult because of its ceremonial usage or its unusual design, whereas its interest to a child may be merely that it makes an Indian seem more real. It is entirely possible to convert many an object to child interest by means of its setting or through the series of which it forms a part. Many objects, removed from their original and natural settings, have lost something vital. It may be possible for some adults to supply this lack, but

[38]

PLATE I

Objects in their natural setting in a Colonial kitchen NEWARK

MUSEUM

A Blackfoot Indian tipi, set up with furnishings SOUTHWEST M U S E U M , LOS ANGELES

P L A T E IV

A gallery lesson. Children listening in comfort on folding stools carried from the museum classroom CHILDREN'S M U S E U M ,

BOSTON

A simple and effective story exhibit ROYAL ONTARIO M U S E U M OF ZOOLOGY,

TORONTO

EXHIBITS the limited experiences of children make it necessary for the setting in the museum to replace the lost elements. There was a time when each branch of the arts and sciences graced its own particular hall and each separate item was a law unto itself—the object and the label was all that was required. This method of display is relegated to the past, for the modern trend even in adult museums is toward composite exhibiting and the creating of atmosphere. Sculpture, painting, textiles, and furniture are no longer isolated but shown in relation to each other. Objects of natural and industrial science are no longer detached but a segment of a whole, as a chapter in a book or a part of a moving force. The Chicago Historical Society reports that new life has been breathed into its exhibits by reproducing as far as is possible the original settings. "The large collection of Lincolniana is not spread about as separate items but is grouped to reenact scenes from his life, and cause him to emerge from the ages." It is giving Chicagoans "not a museum but an opportunity to meet their forefathers as man to man—the past and the present are coexistent." The Newark Museum's Colonial kitchen with its furnishings in place ready to serve their original purpose makes a strong appeal, as does the full size Blackfoot tipi set up complete with its furnishings in the Southwest Museum. Such exhibits inspire the imagination of children and make a far more lasting impression than any diorama of the same setting. (See Plate III.) The Indian exhibit at the Golden Gate Exposition illustrates one of the most successful attempts to replace the atmosphere of which the objects were deprived when taken from their country and their people. It involves an idea so simple that it could profitably be copied in many museums. In short it "endeavors to explain the living Indian and his surroundings through his achievements." The spirit of the interior of a Northwest Coast Indian house was given by high ceilings and the semi-darkness in which the objects were placed, lighted only by a yellow light from beneath as from a camp fire. The Plains Indian section gave contrast with its yellow walls and wide open spaces broken only by a tipi. A large mural of Indians on horseback hunting buffaloes was drawn in Indian style and painted in flat colors on one wall of the room. The nearest figures stood out from the wall wearing feather headdresses and fringed deerskin leggings. The feathers and fringe were kept in constant motion by a [39]

YOUTH IN MUSEUMS system of air flow, giving the illusion of speed through space. In contrast was the Woodland section with filtered light and the ground space patterned and broken as in a wood. The Hopi exhibit appeared hot and desert-like, while the Eskimo one gave a decided chill with its white surroundings. The full interpretation of an object through a successful method of display makes a favorable and lasting impression. It also makes it possible for the object to tell more of its story and thereby take its place in a planned world. The object teaches as it becomes a part of a chapter in a book. Many museums, both adult and children's, are considering this favorable element of story telling. Art museums are accepting it as shown through their process exhibits already mentioned. The Duluth Children's Museum acknowledges it in its aim "to make every exhibit, no matter how small, a complete unit with some definite purpose." The Buffalo Museum of Science has become known as a "Scientific Story Book—science in brief for busy people." Its objects are being used in more ways than one. Even a habitat group may represent "a living picture of a particular animal, or part of a narrative" and "each hall is a chapter, and the exhibits tell a connected and dramatic story." The Children's Museum of Boston has a case called "Use of the Coconut," and in it is quoted an old Polynesian proverb, "He who plants a coconut palm provides food, clothing, shelter and medicine for himself and for a long line of posterity after him." Displayed under it are nuts, leaves, fiber, and some of the many objects made from them. It is definitely a living story. One of the most vivid and yet simplest stories is told with objects in the Royal Ontario Museum of Zoology. Its great value lies in the fact that it makes its appeal to anyone and its set-up involves almost no cost. "Nature's House that Jack Built" comprises a series of six boxes, one upon the other and diminishing in size, holding increasingly larger but fewer animals, each one necessary food to the next, until the pyramid is finally surmounted by a hawk. The legend on the boxes, starting at the top reads: This is the HAWK that eats the SNAKE that eats the FROG that eats the HOPPER that eats the GRASS that grows on the EARTH about us. Simply and graphically it tells two of nature's elementary stories: [40]

EXHIBITS 1. Eating and being eaten is a law of nature and, in the end, all flesh comes from the earth. 2. A large animal needs many small animals as food. In nature, the smaller the animal the greater its numbers. (See Plate IV.) A dramatic stimulus should be given to any story by the "scattering of high points through the exhibit." These may be an unusually artistic arrangement, a surprise or thrill, motion real or simulated, striking illumination demonstration or participation. It may be aided through the use of such commonplace accessories as case materials, supports, draperies, and different colored walls and ceilings. There are numerous agencies that can profitably be employed to sustain the interest of visitors throughout. An artistic arrangement is perfectly simple to achieve with a little time and thought and usually the advice of an artist. Both Hartford and Boston Children's Museums have installed very artistic shallow cases showing beach and undersea life. The depth of the scenes behind and the large size of the cases cleverly push back the walls of the small rooms and give breathing space. The pictures are so accurately done that they become a reality and one begins to discover treasures not at first noticed. The sea shells, sand crabs, starfish and seaweed washed u p on the beach in the Hartford exhibit lie at the base of a large rock forming part of the coast line which extends for miles along the shore, with here and there a sandy cove. Equally attractive is the one showing "Spring birds of Elizabeth Park." (See Plate V.) To stand in front of Boston's "Sandy Beach at Ipswich" is to treat oneself to a vacation. Such discrimination in choosing a few objects and such artistic arrangement of them takes one off to the sea where he has a real experience discovering half-hidden sea life and feeling the restful calm that one actually experiences. Very careful preparation was made for this exhibit and another, the "Tide Pool at Scituate." It is reported that Members of the Staff have made sketches of these two locations, have taken photographs and collected specimens of sponges, crabs, clams, seaweeds—some sixty different types of animals and plant life found on our coast. These with many models made by our preparator are incorporated into the two new exhibits. A piece of an old wreck that is embedded into the sand at Race's Point was hacked off and is now a part of our own sea beachl To insure accuracy of detail in the construction of the two sea life exhibits, many field trips were made to points as far distant as [41]

YOUTH IN MUSEUMS Ipswich, Scituate and Provincetown. Weeks of painstaking work have been required in the preparation of these exhibits. (See Plate VI.) An exhibit with a surprise or a thrill to it, and popular with children, is the cave of bats in the San Diego Natural History Museum. Entering a dark compartment one looks out through a small irregular opening on to a sunny landscape. Pushing a button the compartment is brightly illuminated, showing it as the interior of a cave with hundreds of bats hanging asleep in clusters on the walls until time to emerge at dusk. More and more we hear about the use of motion to give interest to exhibits. The simple motion of fringe and feathers by air flow has already been referred to in connection with the Indian Exhibit at the Golden Gate Exposition. Motion through automatic devices now plays a large part in industrial museum displays. Halting the revolutions of automobile tires on a wet cement block to observe their non-skid possibilities, raising a miniature liner through canal locks or turning the wind on the device that illustrates the lifting power of airplanes fascinates any small boy. But this fascination is due not so much to the results that the device achieves as to the device itself—he is interested in motion and his participation in it. Groups of children in museums of science where automatic controls are featured, may be seen any day, if permitted, speeding from one automatic button to another, as with certain familiarity, operating them almost on the run, and rarely ever waiting to see the results—the device is the attraction, not the exhibit. As long as these can so readily be knocked out of order they will not prove very satisfactory for children's museums. Dr. Clinton G. Abbott, Director of the Natural History Museum of San Diego, feels that "A Natural History Museum should not be a repository for the dead," and has proceeded to introduce motion into his exhibits. By throwing a switch a rattlesnake in a very natural setting may be made to shake his rattle, and a large model of a snake's head shows the motions of opening the jaws and inserting the fangs. Dr. Carlos E. Cummings, director of the Buffalo Museum of Science, anticipates in the near future the use of equipment involving broken rays, by which method the same snake could be thrown into activity merely by the approach of a person to the case. "Egbert," the mechanical man at the Franklin Institute in Philadelphia, is operated in this manner. Dressed as a doorman he greets visitors with a cheerful, "How do you do? I am very glad to see you. I hope you enjoy your visit." At Christmas [42]

PLATE V

"Spring Birds of Elizabeth Park" CHILDREN'S MUSEUM, HARTFORD

EXHIBITS time he is dressed as Santa Claus, and no child ever passes him by at any time of the year. Perhaps this method will be used to operate children's exhibits with less danger of getting out of order. There is such a thing as introducing motion where it has no point. Alternating lights on habitat groups are unsatisfactory in that they are sure to be off at the exact time your eye has located something of special interest. Stepping on a board or leaning on a railing to illuminate or set up motion may be unsatisfactory in that the instrument is too obscure. One who is unfamiliar with it may fail to discover the means for producing the effect. Talking dioramas, unless of the best, after some use may give their information in a rasping voice and detract from the exhibit rather than add to it. The same information on a clearly printed label might have been less expensive and more satisfactory in the long run. A neglected point is the fact that simulated motion can easily be introduced in exhibits by the clever placing of objects. Mr. d'Harnoncourt demonstrated this principle admirably (referring again to his Indian exhibit at the Golden Gate Exposition), in placing a North West Coast rattle on a transparent base. The effect was twofold, roundness by its elevation to a higher plane, and lightness by its apparent suspension in mid-air as if in the hands of a dancer. "Some objects stand naturally," he explained, "but rattles get an unnatural weighty appearance if lying flat." He also gave definite motion to a harpoon point by displaying it at the angle at which it would have landed had it been shot, with its thong trailing behind in a wavy line. Color plays such a distinct role in modern life that museums have turned to it as an important phase of exhibiting—a means of creating dramatic interest. Walls, ceilings, supports, and draperies have been mentioned as contributing factors. Artificial illumination has been proved of distinct advantage to many exhibits, especially dioramas and life groups, for the light can be placed where the dramatic accent is needed. The Cleveland Art Museum and others have experimented with daylight and various blue lights to secure the best possible effect on certain exhibits. The Hartford Children's Museum has recently installed a fluorescent light for its mineral case, a device that adult museums have used for some time. Miss Griffin, the Director, praises its value and interest to the children. The Cincinnati Museum of Natural History claims that "fluorescence has won thousands of people to the study and love of minerals." They further maintain that it is secured by "an inexpensive [43]

YOUTH IN MUSEUMS

argon-filled bulb that can be screwed into any standard electric light socket." Children appreciate such beautiful effects as much as adults. Demonstrations in the arts and crafts are always popular. An individual who can actually show how to spin or weave, throw clay on a potter's wheel, paint a picture, stuff a bird, or make a plaster cast always draws a crowd— the act of doing is indeed dramatic. The Columbus Gallery of Fine Arts uses demonstrators to give children an appreciation of the fine arts. He may be a sculptor who creates a head of one of the children as he explains what he is doing and why, or he may be a water-color artist or a designer. In any case the purpose is twofold—to demonstrate art in the making and to acquaint the children with personalities and local talent. One particular demonstration was done in colored chalk on paper, supported on an easel. The artist drew and explained elements of design to be found in all painting, and told how each unit went toward making up the whole. It lasted approximately half an hour, during which time the children scarcely took their eyes from the artist so great was their interest. Many of the objects among the exhibits become far more interesting when they can be put to the uses for which they were intended. The Newark Museum arranged to have a loom operated for several weeks in connection with its Colonial life exhibit. A member of the staff at the University Museum in Philadelphia chipped flint to demonstrate the making of stone tools during a special Indian show. High points of the Indian exhibit at the Golden Gate Exposition were the demonstrations of Navajo and Hopi silver work, and dyeing, spinning, and weaving, which held the crowds to the very end. A truth expressed at the Newark Museum states that "people have more satisfaction out of anything when they do something with it, or in it, or for it. Seeing is good. Seeing with doing is a hundred times as good." This leads us one step farther, to the participation of the individual in the exhibits, which has already been mentioned in the case of automatic devices. Far more educational and just as fascinating to a child is the chance to make use of some object as was intended—grind corn on an Indian metate, cut a piece of chamois with a stone knife, try on some Eskimo clothes, bore a hole with a bow or pump drill, take apart a large size model of a flower—the possibilities are endless and will be dealt with at greater length in Chapter V. Mr. Levi Mengel, a science teacher whose interest brought about the founding of the Reading Public Museum by the Board of Education, refers [44]

EXHIBITS to "sensory" rather than "visual" education. The exhibits in today's museums are made to appeal to as many of the senses as possible, and the others are reached through the activities. The child's sense of touch has been satisfied in many museums where exhibit objects which cannot be damaged by handling have been selected for the purpose. This one step alone, recently taken by many museums, has brought more favorable comment from teachers and parents, and real enjoyment to the children, than have many other innovations over a period of years. Such an arrangement has long been in use with blind children in both adult and children's museums, and it has been observed that they seem to "see" the objects more thoroughly than those who depend on their eyes. Comments afterwards show that they grasp not only the general ideas but many more of the details than is generally observed by normal children. The Indianapolis Children's Museum is assembling several special groups of material for handling by blind children, and each object will carry a large linen tag with the label written in braille. The Palace of the Legion of Honor in San Francisco has a room set aside entirely for exhibits for the blind. Open cases around the wall contain objects of many forms and varying textures which are secured'so they can be handled without danger of being knocked from their locations; the explanatory labels are in braille. An interesting reaction came when one individual found out how pewter differed from crockery—a fact never before clear in his mind. The texture of jade is hard to describe in words but easily sensed with the fingers. The significant lines of a Chinese design may be felt on incised stone or in low relief, and the dignity of Chinese gods may be understood through touching small statues. The fact that it means so much to the blind gave the impetus for permitting handling by others. Certainly museums would be open to the severest kind of criticism, and justly so, were they to permit the indiscriminate handling of objects, for they are first and foremost the guardians of valuable material. In no time irreparable damage could be done to render objects unfit for exhibit purposes, some of which could never be replaced. It has proved possible in many instances, however, to set aside a few that will not easily be damaged by careful handling; also there are some objects, perhaps in the fields of ethnology or natural science, that can be replaced if necessary after some years. In such cases the results obtained are surely worth the added effort and expense. [45]

YOUTH IN MUSEUMS LABELS FOR EXHIBITS

Labels may contribute much to an exhibit or they may distinctly detract from it. There was a time some years ago when it was felt that to place the object and name it was all that was necessary—that it should be appreciated for its beauty without much information being given about it or without making it part of any connected story. Today with more story-telling exhibits labels have followed suit. In the effort to get over the information sometimes the labels are overdone, with the result of spoiling the general effect, of making squares of printed paper or cardboard more obvious than the objects. One way of avoiding overlabeling is by including a general one for the case, where each object individually does not need one. For example a case of guns in Memorial Hall, Philadelphia, has the following inclusive label: Guns of this type played an important part in the history of the American colonies. They were used by Daniel Boone and his pioneers in conquering the wilderness •whence comes the name "Kentucky." During the revolution such rifles were the most accurate of any firearms, and contributed largely to the success of the freedom of the colonies. . . . Any additional labels that may be needed can be small and inconspicuous, and repetition is not necessary. Where glass or delicate objects are exhibited possibly on glass shelves, heavy labels are distinctly out of place because they usurp the attention. For this purpose the Cranbrook Academy of Art uses a piece of cellophane bent at an angle to stand upright and printed in strong black type. The label is clearly legible, presents a pleasing delicacy, and is entirely unobtrusive. In the case of children, labels may advantageously be in story form such as those at the Carnegie Museum in Pittsburgh. These help a child to enjoy the narrative as shown in a series of habitat groups of small common animals and their homes. This is Molly Cottontail and her three babies. The little ones are about two weeks old. When they were born they were naked, blind and helpless. Notice what a cozy nest Molly has made for the babies at the foot of the dogwood tree. The fur she pulled from her own body. What other material did she use in the nest? Like all mammals, little rabbits are fed on milk and grow very fast. The babies soon learn to eat clover, grass, twigs and bark like their mother. Molly Cottontail watches [46]

EXHIBITS over her family carefully to protect them from hawks, snakes, weasels and owls. She is standing on her hind legs to see if all is safe, . . . The Children's Museum of Boston always uses story labels and has given some of those under dolls very special appeal by writing them in the first person. I am a brave Roman soldier of wood and tin, or Someone in Siam made me from cloth and stuffed me with straw. I look just like a real gentleman, and I was loved and played with 80 years ago. Someone painted my cloth face, and see my hair made of the baa, baa, black sheep. All of its labels are printed by hand. Labels to be read easily by children must be in large clear type whether done by hand or by machine, and they must be at the right height. Here again is the difficulty of finding the proper eye-level when so many ages and sizes use the museum. It can only be gauged for the average child unless we use adjustable labels as in the Brooklyn Children's Museum. These are framed for endurance and hinged below the exhibits so they can be held at any height or angle by each child. The Newark Museum also uses this type for its Colonial room and has made them in keeping with the period by mounting them in the shape of old hornbooks. Captions for cases or for rooms may be made conspicuous and attractive by drawing them first on graph paper, transferring them to and cutting them from plywood and painting them black, as has been done at the Brooklyn Children's Museum. ACCESSORIES FOR EXHIBITS

Aside from original objects for display, all kinds of accessory objects go into successful exhibits for children. Maps, charts, and pictures may not only add to the effectiveness of an exhibit but may also be an important factor in explaining it. Seven charts of the Story of the Boston Basin colorfully and clearly place the objects in the geology room of the Children's Museum of [47]

YOUTH IN MUSEUMS Boston in their respective places in the science of the earth. The Ancient Sea, Volcanism, The Old Ice Age, The Rise of Mountains, The Great Erosion, The Great Ice Age, and The Present build up the stage for man. Beginning with Hundreds of millions of years ago, an Ancient Sea covered our region and ending with Finally man appeared on the stage, filling up many tidal flats, damming rivers, changing the old land to suit his purpose. It spreads like a relief map on which children may place their otherwise isolated collections. The Duluth Children's Museum displays prominently in its Indian room a handmade chart of Indian symbols and their interpretations. These are found repeated and with new meaning on the baskets, pottery, and blankets in near-by cases. The Golden Gate Exposition displayed several charts of such originality and superiority that it is to be hoped the ideas will be used by museums. The science building showed an automatically controlled map to trace the origin of races. By pushing a button opposite the words "yellow race" or "black race" small figures appeared lighted on the map at the spot where the races originated and there followed, slowly enough for the mind to absorb it, two, three, and four more figures spreading in the directions each race migrated. Those in charge of the Indian exhibit conceived a series of transparencies done in Indian style of illustration and so simple that if printed it would make an irresistible child's book. Each picture and a short line of text lighted in sequence as it told the story of the Indian in America: ( 1 ) "This is the easiest place to enter America." ( 2 ) "Some people crossed on a land or ice bridge." ( 3 ) "Others came in boats, some stayed in the North." ( 4 ) "Some stayed on the Great Plains," etc. The National Youth Administration has given very material help in many instances in building up these accessories to the exhibits. The ideas, directions, and materials have been supplied by the museums, and the Administration has supervised and completed the work of mounting pictures, making small boxes for dioramas, games of all sorts, jig-saw puzzles and anything of a similar nature. To enjoy the exhibits to the full there should be corners where tables and chairs may invite one to sit down. This may form a center for more accessory

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EXHIBITS material if desired. Appropriate books on near-by shelves, magazines or folders with stories about the surrounding collections, mounted pictures and possibly puzzles of the same nature—various attractive means may be found for resting the body and refreshing the mind. The Newark Junior Museum keeps stories on the reading tables of current exhibits, as does the Duluth Children's Museum. Others keep theirs free to be used as work tables or as a place for leisurely examining of duplicate objects. Without exception, however, the most general and most frequent criticism of museums today is that of producing fatigue. It has been experienced by all who have ever visited them, it has been complained of continually and apparently little attention is paid to it; at least it would seem so judging by the lack of results. Much of the fatigue may be blamed on the large space that most museums cover, but this would not be so noticeable were it not for the tradition of bare hard floors common to the majority. A place to sit down so often necessitates such a long walk and when found is so usually occupied that it is easier to persevere or to cut short the visit in favor of a seat in a bus or other transportation home. Perhaps we who seek the museum voluntarily can weigh its evils against its attractions and make our own decisions. Those thousands of children, however, who are brought from the schools by their teachers, certainly should not be herded around by a docent who has been in training for such a marathon until their eagerness is completely submerged in their discomfort. It is perfectly possible to make comfort one of the first considerations. The Boston Children's and Reading Public Museums both have folding stools sufficiently light to be handled by even a four-year-old child. These may be easily picked up by each one as he enters the museum or leaves the classroom, and taken with him to whatever part of the gallery his group may visit. Here in comfort he can put his whole attention on the objects of interest. Such stools with sturdy metal frame and woven seat can be purchased at a very reasonable price. (See Plate IV.) The Brooklyn Children's Museum has placed a guard rail close to but just below the glass covering some of their exhibits. This not only provides a means by which a child can brace and guide himself while he is intent on the exhibits, but is also a safety precaution in that it keeps him from leaning against the glass. It is entirely inconspicuous and adds to rather than detracts from the exhibits.

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YOUTH IN MUSEUMS Plans for the installation of exhibits should from the very beginning include plans for seeing them with some measure of comfort. The most original idea and the most satisfactory placing falls far short of its mark in the eyes of one who is physically uncomfortable. A person exhausted at his first introduction is not likely to repeat his visits, nor is a child who was unable to see excited by what he may have heard. The plea has been made especially by teachers for space, space between exhibits, space for groups to see and to see comfortably without having to wait indefinitely for a turn, and a place to rest before the visitor has lost all interest. The finishing touch to successful exhibiting is constant care and cleanliness. This point cannot be stressed too sharply and it is entirely false economy to neglect it even to a small degree. A film of dust on cases or objects immediately gives the impression of carelessness, and carelessness in a museum can mean the ruination of valuable objects. This unquestionably distresses those who have entrusted their collections to its care and threatens its very foundations. Moreover no visitor enjoys trying to see something through a muchfingered case or a layer of filth. Such a condition annuls any attempt to draw the public, and what is more any who may happen to drop in are sure to carry away with them the feeling that the institution is a back number—nor are they far from the truth. Carelessness of this sort is a definite handicap to any museum that aims to lead in the community.

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V

SUPPLEMENTARY ACTIVITIES CHILD PARTICIPATION

THE center of the whole set-up of a children's museum naturally is the child. In our enthusiasm to create and perfect, almost in a fever of achievement, we find ourselves darting toward the goal by paths of our own choosing. The activities we include and the methods we employ may be entirely worth while, but if we stop and look back we may find we have lost the child with whom we started. To show him the way is not enough, for his interests may turn him aside or cause stumbling blocks and soon he is lost to sight. Far better is it for him to lead the way, and choose the paths with someone behind him keeping the goal in mind and ready to help when needed. Together each profits by the other's interest, and before the destination is reached the trip itself has become this "wonderland of experiences." A successful museum is not necessarily one that has arrived at its destination by the shortest, most efficient route—it is frequently not the one that has the widest variety of activities or attracts the greatest numbers, but the one through whose eyes children have experienced the most benefits. Dr. Thomas Munro of the Cleveland Art Museum states that we accept the common aim of progressive educators of "contributing to a normal, well balanced development of personality with ability to make necessary social adjustments and achieve a discriminating enjoyment of life." Miss Mildred Porter of the Peabody Museum adds that "the child must have the best of real things; the child must have time to see and reason. Children's museums aim to make children resourceful and able to find joy in the common things of life." Accepting these aims, it is through our activities programs that we are given the opportunity of working them out. Here we are reminded that "there is no set age at which a child becomes interested in the world around him nor one when his concern ceases," therefore few children's museums [51]

YOUTH IN MUSEUMS have age limits. Neither does a child come through any coercion, but rather because of some awakened interest which he hopes to satisfy. Miss Ruth V. Weierheiser of the Buffalo Museum of Science in writing on The Child and His Museum says: In the case of the Science Museum, a variety of methods and angles of approach may be employed. But there are also many types of children. In order to attract a large percentage without coercion, there must be great variation and flexibility in programs, activities, and materials used. Some boys and girls enjoy collecting things; others like to draw and model; still others wish to explore in the open. The well rounded science museum will have a little of each of these, and there will be no urging for the boy or girl to enter any one of them. Just let one group of children look in on another group, and no advertising will be necessary. Miss Ruth Crawford of the Cambridge Children's Museum emphasizes that "the methods are as diverse as the children." There is almost no limit to the scope of possible activities, for the scope of museums is the world, and the activities bring it into reality. There is, however, something to be said for standards in activities just as in exhibits. If the best sensory material is to be collected, certainly the most worthwhile activities should be encouraged to interpret it. If museums are going to stand for mental development as well as physical relaxation, activities should be more than mere play—though they may be education in the form of play. They should not only have standards but they should relate to the exhibits. There are certain activities in use in many museums appropriately called "bait." These are not going to fit in well with our emphasis on standards, for they are entirely ordinary and used by children everywhere. They may be classed as "busy work" and their only real value is as an introduction, to set a shy child at ease or to bridge over some situation. They are sort of fillers-in or time-passers to be tolerated for that reason. The two in this class most universally used are puzzles of all kinds and outline drawings to color. A newcomer finding halls and rooms full of children completely at home and temporarily absorbing the time of the adults in evidence, might be tempted to back out unnoticed were it not for a handy table of something to occupy his time and a chair to slip into conveniently. At least in this capacity he does not feel awkward, nor is he too conspicuously evident. By the time he has busied his fingers for a few minutes, even though the result is negligible from [52]

SUPPLEMENTARY ACTIVITIES an educational standpoint, he at least has some accomplishment in common with the others and will be more receptive to an introduction. Even this type of "busy work" may be elevated somewhat above the commonplace by tying in with the collections. Puzzles instead of just being anything may be rabbits, moose, or ships—perfectly usual subjects for jig-saw puzzles and yet ones that can be given new meaning through an introduction to their counterparts in the museum. The Worcester Art Museum uses puzzles cut from colored reproductions of its masterpieces. By this means the introduction is brought about unconsciously by the child's own efforts. In the same way a mimeographed outline of a knight of the Middle Ages to color or an Eskimo and dog team will eventually lead to its supplement somewhere in the museum. Such apparently shallow methods cannot be condemned until something better is found to take their place. They claim no greater rank than that of drawing cards, allegedly they hold the attention until an introduction to more worthwhile activities can be effected. A child's introduction to the museum may come about in an entirely different manner. Perhaps through a visit of his school class or with a group of his friends he is whisked into the middle of activities which have been planned for the occasion. He may not come in contact with the so-called "bait" for some time, and when he does it may mean no more to him than his subconscious whistle. It is included among the accessories for a purpose, and when that has been served its usefulness is gone. To include such as these among the regular educational endeavors would seem to overestimate their value. Another thing to be said in favor of the "bait" is that the child himself is doing something—participation is the life line of activity programs in museums. From his very introduction to the time when he has outgrown its facilities it must be his in the way that he should plan for it, and share its benefits and responsibilities. It is believed at the Brooklyn's Children's Museum that "possessiveness is a factor in shaping thoughts and ideals of every youngster," and possessiveness can be brought about only by participation. Miss Anna Billings Gallup, "the first assistant of the first children's museum in the world" and its director for thirty-five years saw to it that "no new program was ever accepted until the children had pronounced it full of promise." Mrs. Garrison, the present director, states:

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YOUTH IN MUSEUMS Adult organized and controlled clubs are not tolerated. Clubs must be the creation of the children and must grow out of the material interests of the group. So the youngsters write their own constitutions, make their own rules, plan the programs, and deliver the lectures. \

The children of Indianapolis "own" their museum. Provision was made in the original by-laws for the creation of a Junior Board of Directors. These are appointed by the schools in each district with the largest proportionate number of visitors, and a teacher acts as sponsor to the Board. The fifteen members meet once a month and each serves for a term of one year. Annually they meet with the governing Board of Trustees and report on their activities. It is said that "many useful projects can be traced to this group of alert young people."" The Palo Alto Children's Museum also has an Advisory Board of child members. As part of the educational program of the Nelson Gallery of Art in Kansas City a children's museum was formed within its walls and the slightly long though impressive title of "Little Museum for Young Modems" was given it by the children. It is in every way a miniature museum belonging to and run by children in a similar manner to the parent gallery. It has its director, secretary-treasurer, and registrar, as well as its committees, and it decides on its own exhibits as part of its activity program. At a meeting on Thursday afternoon, for example, the children may decide to put on an oriental exhibit, and arrangements are made to borrow some objects from the Gallery. Others may be assembled from the children's homes, from friends, or contact may even be made by the director with another institution. When the motley assemblage of objects has arrived, the activity group may invite someone from the Oriental section to speak on "Good and Bad in Oriental Art," differentiating especially between cheap tourist objects and worthwhile material. Following this comes a sorting out by children of the type of thing suitable for exhibition, with the registrar taking an inventory of every object received. The next week may offer a talk on "What to Exhibit and How to Exhibit," with more eliminating and committees appointed to handle the details. A research committee collects interesting information, while a label committee does the actual typing. A publicity committee spreads the news of the show, and any number of others work on the arrangement. A problem is added by the fact that a scarcity of cases has forced the children to use those not at the

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SUPPLEMENTARY ACTIVITIES moment in use in the Gallery. Frequently these are not of the type that would be selected for the particular exhibit in question, and unusual thought must be put on it to make the best possible show with the material at hand. When the venture is planned, no one, least of all the adults, knows exactly where it will lead or what the results will be. They are sure of two things, however, and these are the children's interest and their own willingness to help them meet problems as they arise. Contemporary art from the schools was sent to them upon request but in rather overwhelming quantities for the size of their room. Forcing them to be selective was entirely beneficial. Their pride was boosted when a request came from a settlement group asking permission to display its work for the year in the Little Museum. After due consideration the request was granted with the understanding that the children should do the arranging. Crafts of all sorts began to pour in until one child was heard to remark, "This is going to look more like a country fair than a museum." Again the problem arose of being selective, this time in a rather different way—of choosing from the great mass of things those that were the most suitable to be shown in a museum. After a number of such experiments the adults agree the children are right in saying, "It's a swell idea," and they plan to continue. Scarcely is one show launched before the child staff starts scouting around for the one to succeed it next month. Also at the Nelson Gallery a group of children who wish to qualify as docents for the Gallery train once a week in identifying objects, meeting people pleasantly and speaking with poise. The course is stiff and out of approximately seventy-five children only about four or five may qualify to escort visitors. These young people volunteer their services with pride on Saturdays and Sundays for individuals who wish explanation of the collections. The praise of the children's knowledge and interpretation is high. The same experiment has been tried with young people from the Junior and Senior High Schools at the Walter's Art Gallery in Baltimore. When each junior docent passed his final test "he was allowed to invite groups from his own school to come to the Gallery for a talk. The children came in large numbers and listened with careful attention to one of their own age explain art objects in their own language.' Public interest was aroused of its own accord in this project with the result that the junior docents gave five Sunday afternoon lectures to which the general public was invited and came." [55]

YOUTH IN MUSEUMS The Boston Children's Museum has a Museum League made up of children who have earned diplomas and pins. These are known as junior and senior docents and are a real help to the staff. Other children also share the duties such as coat-room checking, ushering, and clearing up the auditorium as well as gathering news for the papers. The Field Museum claims that older children make excellent docents for the younger ones. The Buffalo Museum of Science employs the help of older boys and girls as assistants for the Story Hour on Saturdays. The Carnegie Institute in Pittsburgh handles great numbers of children with only one adult through the appointing of twenty boys and girls to take attendance, direct the seating, distribute supplies, and collect and store the materials. The Museum of Modem Art is seeking the help of students in a new experimental activity. A Young People's Gallery has been set aside . . . for the purpose of showing works of art especially prepared to meet the needs and interests of young people . . . juries of students chosen from the various schools will select and hang the exhibition. The purpose of this is to give them an insight into the selection, to promote judgment and appreciation and to give them a sense of belonging to the Museum. Any and all of these efforts foster a feeling of possessiveness in the child in varying degrees even to the point of making him decide policies. The culmination of this feeling of ownership was illustrated in the Brooklyn Children's Museum by the remark of a child to an adult, "Perhaps if you have a child with you, you can get into the lecture room." There is no little concern among those directing activities in museums over the falling off in numbers of high-school boys and girls. Various explanations are given: (1) an inflexible school program that requires every energy; (2) a natural growing-up phase that offers other interests; (3) the wrong type of activity offered in museums. Though the smaller attendance of this age seems to be entirely general, a number of museums report special high-school groups of a very flourishing nature. Much thought is being centered on this subject and conferences of museum and school people are being called to try to discover the cause, and if possible find a remedy. The Rockefeller Foundation has recently appropriated a generous sum to be used by several selected art museums in a three-year plan to make a study of art in relation to the high-school student. As one of the recipients of the [56]

SUPPLEMENTARY ACTIVITIES grant, the Milwaukee Art Institute is planning a project of carrying art into the schools. It is believed for the time being that . . . difficulties of transportation, teacher liability for accidents and a heavy curriculum tend to center all educational activities in the school building. Most of the work will be accomplished therefore . . . by taking the Art Institute to the schools with the hope that as the students and teachers become more conscious of the vital part which art plays in everyday life, some of their leisure-time activities will include voluntary visits to the Art Institute. To encourage such visits special exhibitions and activities of interest to high school students would be planned at the Institute. The plan includes a committee to . . . make a study of the present high school curriculum and suggest ways and means by which various courses such as history, social science, economics, and industrial and household arts can be enriched by the introduction of art as it relates to these specific subjects. Due to the fact that Mr. A. G. Pelikan, Director of the Museum, is also Supervisor of Art in the public schools the Institute is in an excellent position to conduct such an experiment. The findings will undoubtedly be of help to other museums wishing to tackle the problem. SCHOOL COOPERATION

Among museum activities the one most universally in demand is the guidance of large numbers of children in school classes among the collections. This would appear to be a stated type of thing with little variety, but like everything else it may be superior or mediocre, it may include as much participation and variety of interests and value as the ability of the docent and the cooperation of the teachers can conceive. The initiative for setting up the activity may come from the schools—an individual teacher seeking more visual aids may remember certain things from her visits to the museum, and may telephone or write for an appointment. Or the first step may be taken by the museum docent who wishes to convince members of a board of education of the value of allowing teachers to extend their classrooms into the museum with visits during school

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YOUTH IN MUSEUMS hours. In any case it is advisable to introduce the idea to the highest officials: first, to avoid any misunderstandings or petty jealousies; and second, to reach the whole school system. After a talk with the superintendent he may suggest seeing the director of visual aids, who may in turn send some supervisors to the museum to go over the actual material. With their knowledge of the school curriculum, certain objects can be selected for use and made to fit accurately into the picture which the child is being shown in school. A set of trips can be planned for each grade, to include exactly the material needed to supplement its textbooks. As a result of these faculty visits, no time will be wasted in planning talks that anticipate the child's course of study by some months—he will see things that dovetail with his current studies. Frequently school people looking for a definite thing will locate enough visual material to supplement a course of study formerly considered entirely out of the realm of a particular museum. The projected survey by a member of the Board of Education and a WPA worker has already been mentioned in connection with the Franklin Institute in Philadelphia. They will attempt to locate every object that may bear on studies even apparently far distant from science. The Detroit Institute of Arts worked out its program through conferences with the Art Department of the Public Schools, so that art classes from every school visit the museum once a year. In this way art is correlated with its historical study. The Metropolitan Museum in New York holds informal meetings for teachers of the elementary schools so they can get first-hand knowledge of illustrative material that can be correlated with their classroom studies. The Worcester Art Museum reports constant working together of schools and museum in arranging programs, assembling exhibitions, providing lecturers, giving demonstrations, and participating in educational conferences. The Cambridge Children's Museum, supported by the Board of Education, holds a unique and important position as a "connecting link between the public schools of Cambridge and the Harvard University Museums." Certain museums have found a closer cooperation by a sort of interchange of staff. The Cleveland Art Museum has three people on its staff who are paid by the public school system, making possible the actual teaching of classes by them in the arts and social sciences, and the including of museum [58]

SUPPLEMENTARY ACTIVITIES visits as part of the curriculum. The private and suburban schools contribute to the museum budget for their share of the teaching. The Commercial Museum in Philadelphia and many others are working out their museum-school relationship in this way. It seems to depend on the community and circumstances within it whether complete independence of institutions with cooperation by conferences is the better method, or the latter mentioned of an exchange of staff. Arguments have been advanced against and in favor of each. Under some systems the program that has resulted from this museumschool cooperation makes it a required part of the school course for certain classes to use the museum at stated intervals. In other cities the opportunity is given, but the carrying out is optional with the individual teachers. With either arrangement the statement has proved true as expressed by Dr. William Bagley of Teacher's College, Columbia, that "progressive education is playing into the hands of museums." Likewise the prediction by the St. Joseph, Missouri, Children's Museum that "the educational program of the future will not be complete without the inclusion of museum benefits."

DOCENT WORK

There are many theories as to the best way for the docent to help the teacher who brings her class for a visit to the museum. The majority of teachers seem to prefer to turn their classes over to the museum docent, whether she is selected by the board of education with a teacher's training or by the museum with a technical training. Perhaps the most general criticisms of the docent are "not simple enough language," and "too long-winded." As these are both perfectly possible to overcome, and an individual matter, there is no need to dwell on them. It is quite generally agreed, aside from those museums that have boards of education staff, that it is not the business of the museum instructor to assume the work of the teacher. Here a museum should not concern itself, according to Dr. Charles Russell of the American Museum of Natural History, with direct but rather with supplementary education; it should assist the teacher, not displace her. It is felt at the Newark Museum that "teaching is not the aim of Museum assistants." Its staff would like to avoid "pouring information into children," it would like to "help the imagination create

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YOUTH IN MUSEUMS adventures in understanding." Consequently they avoid any duplication of schoolroom facilities, they use no slides, movies, or stories—they concentrate on giving out information entirely through their objects. The St. Louis Art Museum follows the same policy and stresses the fact that the approach is frequently experimental, and the method should be entirely flexible. "Children should not be told what to see but rather asked what they see." In fact many docents are reporting more interest where the children really conduct the lesson, that is, do the talking, with the clever guidance of the adult. There is no doubt but that enjoyment is necessary, and whatever is found to contribute toward this is of value. When the class arrives at the museum it may be divided into several informal groups of ten or fifteen children as is the case in Newark, or in larger groups according to the staff available. It may go directly to a classroom for an introductory talk, or it may go to the galleries and spend its time entirely among the objects. Whatever its course may be, variety helps hold the interest. The Columbus Gallery of Fine Arts arranges about one halfhour of introduction or demonstration and one half-hour of exploration for its sixth-grade classes which come as part of the curriculum. Classes are held strictly to one hour so they will go out wanting more and not exhausted and joyful to be freed. All the sixth and seventh grades scheduled for the day at the Nelson Gallery of Art assemble in an auditorium for a short talk and then divide into small groups for the remainder of the time in the galleries. Museums are unanimously agreed in discouraging the so-called "sightseeing" trips to take in the entire museum in one visit. Whether the time be limited to one hour or the whole day given over to it, nothing is gained, the group can get little more than a very confused idea which leaves neither a good nor a lasting impression. Fortunately we relegate to a past century the habit of trailing great numbers of tired, disinterested children over a large area of space past innumerable objects which for the most part remain unseen. Today all are concentrating on some small correlated section to make a worthwhile contribution to a definite picture. Since it is felt at the Reading Public Museum that all the senses have their place in education—how things feel, their odor, and in many cases their taste—the set-up and educational program is arranged to take care of these needs. A horticulture building provides any raw materials which may be brought to the classroom for use or given to the children. Miss Josephine [60]

SUPPLEMENTARY ACTIVITIES Moyer, a former teacher in the schools, was chosen by the Board of Education to direct the educational work in the museum that grew from its visual aid department. So interested has she become in coordinating the work with the schools that she sought her master's degree in this field and the title of Museum Coordinator was created for her at the University of Pennsylvania. She describes a typical lesson on the cotton industry of the Southern States. The children will see a growing cotton plant, they will pick cotton from the boll, examine the fiber, gin the cotton, comb and spin the fibers into a thread by hand, and see the process of weaving. On the large tables in the children's room, placed there for their inspection, the children will find the products of the industry.

Later "through slides and motion pictures they visit the region under discussion." Each lesson varies in its procedure: If a class is studying about China they will visit first on the Museum floor among the beautiful Chinese porcelains, silks, embroideries and carvings. They find that China's contribution to civilization is beautiful beyond description and they begin to wonder just what is meant by "backward" as applied to nations. In the children's room they will perhaps discuss silk, rice or tea culture, and by means of specimens, pictures and slides, they can be led to discover that Chinese methods of farming and manufacturing are the people's response to a mountainous country and to a dense population which demand an intensive type of agriculture. After such contacts, children come away with a feeling of admiration and respect for a people capable of real endurance, and with an appreciation for a culture and an art which is different from our own.

A typical lesson as given by docents in the University Museum may be suggested by Eskimo life, planned especially for the third grade. A few slides of the country, the homes, and hunting are shown on the screen in the classroom. Fifteen or twenty minutes in the gallery show a model Eskimo village, life-size figures in costume, and other objects of everyday life. Following this the group sits around informally on rugs or chairs while one child dresses in a complete fur outfit. Another attempts to make a fire with a bow drill and moss, after which an open stone lamp is lighted and placed under a stone dish suspended by thongs from a rack. A woman's work kit with thimble, needle, and sinew thread is examined, and the articles of dress are inspected for their careful work, also toys, tools, and weapons to show the [61]

YOUTH IN MUSEUMS man's share of handiwork. Depending on the length of time the class has to wait for buses a reel or two of movies of Nanook of the North may or may not be shown. Not only is this relaxation and fun, but it gives a fitting climax in action of a people who already are better understood and more appreciated by the children's first-hand experience in the museum. Other classes are conducted in a similar manner. (See Plate VII.) The time that groups stay in a museum varies according to the distance from which they come, and the facilities for transportation. It is certainly desirable for those near-by to limit their visits to approximately an hour and to return more frequently if the school system permits. Board of education buses utilized for conveying crippled children to classes are available in some cities to transport other children to institutions during unscheduled horn's. In these instances a museum visit may of necessity be somewhat shortened or prolonged. Also groups from a long distance, sometimes a hundred miles or more, may have chartered a bus for the day and have planned to see all they can with an intermission for a picnic lunch. In these cases the ingenuity of the docents must provide enough variety and relaxation to make it a pleasure trip and not an ordeal. A docent may be inspired to go on talking, or fresh ones may reinforce her, but it is well to remember that a point is reached early in the game where no more can possibly be absorbed by the children, and further talking annuls any favorable impressions that may have been given.

PREPARATORY AND FOLLOW-UP

SHEETS

An observation by the Buffalo Museum of Science states: By carefully controlled experiments it has been determined that the children who have had, a few days before visiting the museum, a half hour reading lesson on the subject to be observed at the museum learn more from the exhibits than do children without this preparation, and more than children receiving a formal fifteen minute lecture by one of the docents on the museum staff. The Museum therefore sends out to the teachers before their visits a folder known as the "Silent Reading Lesson." The lesson on Transportation for fifth grade devotes the first page to a glossary starting with: [62]

PLATE VII

Representation of a Classical school scene, one of several tableaux for a Greek and Roman Life demonstration UNIVERSITY MUSEUM,

PHILADELPHIA

A colored child wearing objects during a class discussion on Tropical Life

PLATE VIII

MOURNING

DOVE

O n e of more than twelve hundred circulating cases, equipped to hang in the school classroom on stands supplied by the B o a r d of E d u c a t i o n FIELD M U S E U M ,

CHICAGO

A museum corner in a playground with traveling cases supplied b y the JUNIOR RECREATION M U S E U M ,

SAN

FRANCISCO

SUPPLEMENTARY ACTIVITIES Museum—a. place in which there are collected objects of interest which deal with nature, science and history. It includes such words as these: Egypt—an old country located in N. E. Africa. The Nile River flows through Egypt and empties into the Mediterranean Sea. Domesticate— to train for home use, as the taming of oxen, camels, horses, dogs, etc. Sedan—a travelling chair carried by two servants. Helium and Hydrogen—gases lighter than air. On the second and third pages is the story of transportation, and on the fourth a test in the form of a game. The Academy of Natural Sciences in Philadelphia sends out a single mimeographed sheet. For example, How Seeds Leave

Home.

To the Teacher: The Museum Talk, How Seeds Leave Home, consists of the meeting of a single class in a museum class-room. Here the topic is introduced by the museum teacher or docent and the pupils join in group discussion. The talk is illustrated with a variety of specimens of seeds, charts and colored lantern slides. Although it is sufficient as a single unit, the Talk is designed to supplement the work in the school. For that reason the teacher is urged to give the pupils some brief preparation, using the accompanying outline. It is hoped that after their visit to the Museum, both teacher and pupils will have the opportunity of using the material of the Museum Talk as a follow-up assignment in their own class-room. What the Lesson Will Cover I.

II.

Seeds and Seed Houses. 1. Seeds are the plant's children. 2. A typical seed has three parts:— (a) Seed-coat-covering ( b ) Embryo—miniature plant ( c ) Stored-up food. 3. Seeds are encased in houses;— Examples (a) Acorn-oak ( c ) Pod-bean (d) Shell-nuts ( b ) Bur-chestnut Importance of seeds, etc.

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YOUTH IN MUSEUMS At the bottom of the page are "References" listing books on the subject. One very progressive and enthusiastic science teacher made several visits to the Franklin Institute in Philadelphia ahead of his classes and composed his own preparatory sheets. These contained general instructions, and also specific questions and guides for each exhibit which was to be studied by his students. The Cleveland Museum of Art's preparatory sheet gives no information about the talk but rather inquires in some detail about the children: ( 1 ) Their mental ability; ( 2 ) how far the class is advanced in the subject of the lesson; ( 3 ) any particular phase for emphasis; ( 4 ) any questions the children may raise; ( 5 ) whether or not the teacher wishes to take slides back to the school. Some of the museums also send follow-up sheets, most of them in the form of questionnaires. In a few cases they are answered as a sort of game while the children are in the museum, and in others they may be used or not as wished by the teacher in the classroom. Such questions as the following are asked by the Cleveland Museum of Art after a visit to its Egyptian Gallery: SUGGESTIONS TO T H E TEACHER FOLLOWING A VISIT TO T H E EGYPTIAN GALLERY

Note: For the sake of clarity these questions have been phrased for the children. 1. How did the Museum help you to answer the following questions? a. Did you see anything that tells one way in which the Egyptians traveled? b. What did you see that proves the Egyptians passed through a stone age? c. What did you see that proves the Egyptians passed through a bronze age? d. How are the legs of an Egyptian chair different from those in your school room? e. Did the Egyptians have barbers? f. What is a scarab? Answer as many of these questions as you like by drawing. 2. From what you saw in the Museum, tell some of the kinds of work you would have done if you had been an Egyptian laborer. Draw any scenes illustrating this work that you can. Draw them as you would if you were an old Egyptian artist. 3. From what you saw, tell some of the kinds of things you would have made if you had been an Egyptian craftsman, that is, skilled in hand and trained for a particular trade. You might draw these things or make them from clay, plasticene, or any other materials that you like to use. [64]

SUPPLEMENTARY ACTIVITIES 4. Write a list of things you would find in a Cleveland jewelry store. Then make a second list of the kinds of jewelry you saw in the Egyptian Gallery. Draw as many pieces of Egyptian jewelry as you can remember. If you find that you do not remember as much as you want, consult photographs and books. 5. What materials did an Egyptian scribe use? How is the form of an Egyptian book different from ours? If you have had a lesson in hieroglyphics perhaps you could write some words in the way the scribe did in his books. 6. If you had been an Egyptian potter how would you have described to your customer the way in which you made clay pots and stone pots? Can you draw shapes that would have tempted an old Egyptian to buy? Can you model them in clay or plasticene? There are two distinct fields of thought about these preparatory and follow-up sheets—the first in favor of them, as I have illustrated by the foregoing examples. The second field of thought is against them as being too closely tied to the classroom. This group would have the visit an entirely different kind of a pleasure trip—leaving it to the museum instructor to connect with the child's experience and to the teacher to make use of afterwards as she sees fit. According to teachers in all sections of the country there is great need of printed matter in "brief, provocative, and understandable language" that is free or can be purchased for a few cents. Pleas are also being made for more purchasable material, such as casts, models, prints, pictures, etc. Museums and widely scattered boards of education recognize also the need of bibliographies for both teachers and children. Bulletins called Art for Children in the Museum are published by the authority of the Board of Education in Detroit. A foreword by the Supervisor of Art Education, Miss Mabel Arbuckle, states: The cooperative program of the Detroit Institute of Arts and the Department of Art Education in the Detroit Public Schools is planned to provide opportunities for groups of children in all schools to become acquainted with the Institute collections and to recognize the importance of the Museum in the life of our city. Through this program we believe that the children in our public schools may learn how to live more happily and richly. This does not mean that any one of us needs to own or possess things. We do need to know how to enjoy things that are provided for us through such a splendid city-owned institution as the Detroit Institute of Arts. [65]

YOUTH IN MUSEUMS Some of the headings in the bulletin Clay are "Pottery of the Cave Man," "From the Tomb of an Egyptian Mummy—the Invention of Glaze," "China— the Invention of Porcelain," "The Clipper Ships Bring Porcelain to the West, etc." It was prepared by the Museum Staff and includes maps of three floors, showing where to locate the objects mentioned, and also bibliographies for teachers and children. Members of the public schools' General Science Committee in conjunction with the Indianapolis Children's Museum publish circulars at so low a cost that teachers can provide them for pupils' notebooks. Neighbors of the World deals with stars, planets, satellites, meteors, comets, etc. and there is one for each other unit of science study. The Columbus Gallery of Art, Metropolitan Museum, Boston Museum of Fine Arts, Worcester Museum of Art, and others prepare sheets of gravure plates to supplement the work of different grades. In the majority of cases a charge is made of five or ten cents a sheet of anywhere from seven to thirty-seven illustrations that can be cut out and pasted in school notebooks. These are far cheaper and more satisfactory for the purpose than the more usual postcards. The Columbus Gallery of Art gives several sheets to each teacher along with suggested uses. Its most fruitful service is considered to be as a souvenir for individual students, but it also recommends a variety of other ways in which it may prove of benefit: (1) As a reminder of the trip to the Gallery by posting in the classroom. (2) In scrapbooks, if such are already being made, or as a nucleus for a scrapbook which could be supplemented by magazine and newspaper clippings. (3) As subjects for special assignments. (4) Or the sheets could be cut up and each student given one of the pictures as a memento. Miss Minnie Goldstein of the Worcester Art Museum writes: In connection with these sheets the Art Department of the Worcester Public Schools prepared some pamphlets—"Art Objects in the Worcester Art Museum and Their Stories," for the use of teachers and pupils. The pictures together with the explanatory matter are studied in class during the year as part of the regular art appreciation work. Gallery study at the museum for sixth grade classes, based directly upon the study sheets, is now a requirement of the Public School Art De-

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SUPPLEMENTARY ACTIVITIES partment, and regular visits are undertaken during school hours so that such instruction becomes part of the normal day's routine. This project with the schools has developed into a most worthwhile activity, and its success may be attributed both to the amount of preparation which goes on in the classroom and the cooperation between the school teacher and the museum docent.

TEACHERS' TRAINING

A different light is thrown on the question of conducted museum visits in Education Bulletin # 1 , of the Dominion Bureau of Statistics, Canada, quoting from a memorandum of the Board of Education for England and Wales. Experience appears to indicate that as a rule, and subject to striking individual exceptions, any instruction given in the Museum building can be undertaken more satisfactorily by the teacher than by a museum curator, or even a guide lecturer. The teacher knows his pupils, their previous acquaintance with the subject, and their individual needs; he is quick to detect signs of bewilderment or boredom. He knows when it is necessary to repeat, when to dwell on a topic, and when to give his pupils a rest or a change. Above all, he knows that they need to be allowed to do things themselves, that listening and looking are not enough. It is his business to be expert in these matters, just as it is the business of the museum officer to be expert in the subjects represented by the exhibits. The best results are therefore likely to be obtained where the teachers previously have the help of the museum staff in planning the lessons, but are themselves responsible for the instruction actually given during the visit. While the majority of teachers want to turn their classes over to museum instructors, there are also those who much prefer to conduct their own, but who ask for various kinds of help in the use of museum materials. In either case it is important to remember that museums are only supplementing other work—that it is not their duty to displace the teachers, but to give them help as they need it and in the form in which it can be of the greatest value. The Worcester Art Museum makes it possible for teachers to conduct their own regular weekly art and music appreciation classes in the museum. A special Study Room for Teachers equipped with books, slides, photographs and exhibitions is maintained for study and conference purposes. The Carnegie Teaching Equipment Set together with supplementary material is kept permanently here.

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YOUTH IN MUSEUMS A Lecture Room supplied with a stereopticon and a screen where teachers may conduct their classes is available throughout the school year. The Lecture Hall equipped with sound film projectors, a concert radio phonograph and an excellent collection of musical recordings is available to teachers both for the study of music appreciation and for general assemblies and conferences. The Museum of the City of New York gives practical training for teachers which is correlated with the syllabi of the public schools in history, civics and geography, and which gives help under three heads: ( 1 ) research, ( 2 ) preparation, and ( 3 ) practice. The American Museum of Natural History gives courses in conjunction with Hunter College and New York University. Registering with the College or University allows the receipt of credit. Classroom discussions and gallery work are arranged . . . to guide teachers in finding source and supplementary teaching materials—to assist them in acquiring skill in selecting authentic, interesting and appropriate materials—to assist them in simple basic techniques for preparing exhibit materials for their own school museums. Since the time that must be given over to the taking of such courses calls for serious consideration among teachers, the reports on their popularity vary. The Detroit Institute of Arts finds its Teacher Training Courses "still in the experimental stage." The staff of the Institute continues a weekly twohour course in History of Art, based on the collections, and for post-graduate credit at Wayne University, even though the enrollment is small. Also . . . through the Art Supervisor of the Public Schools, four times a year all art teachers come to the Museum for an hour's lecture on some one particular period in Art History illustrated by the museum collection. It is believed that in a few years' time by this training they will become familiar enough with the whole museum to conduct their own classes. If teachers' training methods can be made workable they will serve the double purpose of aiding the teacher and at the same time releasing the docent for additional services. Other methods have also been devised with this same purpose in mind. Various museums are working through representative children to carry at least some of the museum benefits to the large numbers they represent.

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SUPPLEMENTARY ACTIVITIES CHILD REPRESENTATIVES

The Indianapolis Children's Museum presents general science programs beyond regular classroom study to selected pupils on consecutive Saturdays. It is felt that a child to be well rounded must give out knowledge as well as absorb it. For this reason and also to extend the museum to greater numbers, these children are asked to give reports to their classes the following Mondays. The Toledo Art Museum does intensive work on how to make tapestries, bookbindings, etchings, etc., with small groups that report to their classes or in some instances to the whole student body of their schools. Some of the projects thus inaugurated were carried out in the schools. Ten tickets are sent by the Chicago Historical Museum to each principal of a city school for distribution to representative children. The tickets admit them to museum talks, after which they fill in the answers to questions on printed sheets which may act as notes for the classroom discussion that is intended to follow. ART CLASSES

Most of the art museums and others besides are offering art classes for children outside of school hours. The John Herron Art Institute of Indianapolis offers Scholarship Art Appreciation Classes. Each public school appoints one talented person from the fifth and one from the sixth grade to receive extra instruction which could not otherwise be afforded. Objects are brought up from storage rooms to illustrate a certain topic, and later the children are turned loose to sketch anything in the museum that illustrates the point. The Cincinnati Art Museum "abandoned the idea of selection through the schools as this is too apt to exclude the child who has never been outstanding but who enjoys trying." The Toledo Museum of Art also claims, "Our problem is not the exceedingly rare child of genius, but the average child and adult who by proper guidance will admit art to enlarge his life interests." This museum conducts very extensive art classes for children, so that it is entirely possible to receive without tuition fee the equivalent of a complete art-school education. The Buffalo Museum of Science lets loose a miscellaneous group of four hundred children on Saturdays with pencils and crayons who see the instructor once before leaving, and who leam of their own accord how to use the museum for source material. [69]

YOUTH IN MUSEUMS RADIO PROGRAMS

It is well known that the radio has recently become a powerful factor in education, and both museums and schools are using it to advantage. Some local stations are finding it possible to allot time for museum and school programs, and some boards of education have been able to secure their own short-wave sets. The Radio Council of the Chicago public schools works closely with the science museums on its programs. A handbook is sent to the teachers of specified grades before the Science Story Teller's broadcast. This contains suggestions to be used by the teacher before, during, and after the program. On the heavy cover at the back are four tickets that may be cut out and used each to admit four students for special lectures in the Academy of Science or Field Museum, as specified. For example, a radio program on September 28, "The Passenger Pigeon," was followed on October 3 by a program of the same title in the Academy of Science. Also a radio broadcast on November 23, "How Animals Take a Winter Vacation," was followed on November 28 by a Field Museum entertainment on the same subject. The purpose of course is "to stimulate an appreciation and to acquaint students with the wealth of material in museums." The Supervisor of Museum Instruction of the Cleveland Public School System, also a member of the Art Museum staff, conducts radio lessons over its short-wave-length station. Slides illustrating the material are in the hands of each teacher of a particular grade and likewise illustrative material in the way of loan collections from the museum. It is anticipated that this system will also be used for instructions to teachers' groups rather than bringing them from widely scattered regions to the museum for meetings. The Board of Education of Indianapolis conducts its art and music broadcasts over a city station once a month, closely following the work of the fifth and sixth grades but of interest to anyone listening in. Children of these grades are supplied with mimeographed sheets of drawings which may be referred to during the broadcast. The program is in the form of a dialogue between Alex and June, actual children selected from the schools. Alex asks questions which June attempts to answer. A preliminary sheet sent to the teachers before the program on "Use of the Figure in Egyptian Art" suggests things to do to stimulate interest, activity during and following the broadcast and references to books on the subject. [70]

SUPPLEMENTARY ACTIVITIES The Worcester Art Museum conducts a "Picture Frame" broadcast once a week over a local station. In preparation for this, one of the local papers prints a picture of the object for the week so it may be in the hands of each person during the broadcast, and also so that questions may be sent in to be answered over the radio. The object selected is given a prominent place in the museum and an audience may gather around it to hear the discussion. MOTION PICTURES

The appeal motion pictures have for children cannot be denied, and museums are finding it a useful instrument for handing out information in the form of pleasure. Hundreds of children stand in line on Saturdays for a chance to see the movies as the small auditorium at the Brooklyn Children's Museum pours forth its eager audience, only to refill as often as the hours in the day will permit. Editorials in the Boston papers lauded "the fine purpose behind the Saturday morning showings of selected films for young folks under the joint auspices of the Cambridge Museum for Children, the School Department and the University Theatre." Another article adds that "an enjoyable part of these entertainments is the half hour of community singing before the show." An eye witness states: . . . the theatre was packed from the orchestra to the last seat in the gallery, with as many more boys and girls outside, sadly disappointed. The film was Douglas Fairbanks' "Robin Hood," a fine example of how high adventure can be presented with beauty when handled by an artist. The response of this eager audience was quick, sincere and stirring. For the time being—perhaps for longer—every boy was a gallant Robin Hood and every girl a gracious and lovely Maid Marian. They had been entertained but had also learned something of wholesome romance and chivalry. This same museum is the possessor of fifteen motion pictures—the Chronicles of America, illustrating the history of America from the time of Columbus to the end of the Civil War, distributed by the Yale University Press for use in the schools. There is no denying the difficulty of getting authentic films of a suitable nature for children, and for this reason some museums prefer to omit them altogether. The Field Museum shows films even though they have minor in[71]

YOUTH IN MUSEUMS accuracies and then corrects them through the story leaflets given the children as souvenirs. The Children's Museums at Brooklyn and Indianapolis both have films of child life relating to their museum experiences. That of the former is entitled "The Child Explores His World" and shows how the museum helps the city child "to enjoy the larger world of rocks and earth where plants and animals grow, where men build cities. There the boys and girls also begin to know people of other times and far strange lands." The film of the latter museum also shows its services other than its exhibits: "How, through a fuller use of the museum and its service, the horizons of young people may be pushed outward." Both films are shown by staff members along with brief talks to schools and other organizations for promotional purposes. TRANSPORTATION

Nothing so seriously handicaps the development of school programs in museums as does the general lack of adequate and cheap transportation. Where classes must depend on trains, trolleys, or public buses it is impossible for teachers to undertake many trips away from the school building. Written notes and carfare from parents, besides the teacher's own responsibility for such large numbers as the classes comprise, make it too tedious and hazardous a process to be undertaken except in comparatively rare instances. Buses may be chartered, but this also is too costly a thing for the average public school child, and few schools have a fund for the purpose. It has been mentioned that board of education buses in some cities are available for trips outside of their regular scheduled hours. By considerable maneuvering this has worked satisfactorily except for the fact that class visits may of necessity be too short or too long, depending on uncertain bus arrangements. An unusual angle on transportation is shown in Columbus, where the interest of the school bus drivers often leads them to drive past and point out Indian Mound Dweller sites to the children on the way to the Ohio State Museum. Several associations have financed buses to carry classes to the Indianapolis Children's Museum. Also its Guild has a transportation committee which concerns itself especially with children from settlement houses and places where bus fare is always an item. The School Service Department of the Peabody Museum of Natural History anticipates the purchase in the near

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SUPPLEMENTARY ACTIVITIES future of a station wagon through the financial assistance of its Auxiliary and interested friends. Miss Griffin, Founder and Director of the Hartford Children's Museum, does not want the responsibility of owning a bus, but would like to charter a Connecticut Company bus to run on a museum schedule. By leaving children from one school in the museum at 10 o'clock it could arrive with another at 11 o'clock and return the first group, and so on. With a carefully worked out schedule it should be able ordinarily to collect and return six groups from six schools in a day's time.

EXTENSION

WORK

The difficulty and expense of arranging transportation for large numbers has been partially solved by increased activity on the part of extension departments. In other words it has become the policy of many that "if the children can't come to the museum, take the museum to the children." It is quite generally agreed, however, that taking the museum to the children is not and never can be a substitute for the museum itself. Much of the original material is too valuable and perishable to risk the amount of handling involved in sending it from place to place. Aside from access to superior material there are many other advantages to be had from the museum visit—a change of environment and new contacts, and an experience in making use of one's community, a habit which if formed early is likely to persist through life. There are those who would omit this branch of activity because they claim it involves the use of material "so unimportant that its destruction would pass unregretted." On the other hand its advocates assert that carefully selected objects from replaceable or even second-series material may have first-rate teaching value. Lending has the added advantage of allowing "a more leisurely examination of visual material" which may stimulate the interest and instill a desire to visit the museum. It is advised through the Commercial Museum in Philadelphia not to take "just anything because it is rare," that its "value is its teaching value and nothing else." Recommending from experience they suggest, "add to the series slowly and select your specimens well." They add that samples of commercial products may be secured from grocery, dry goods, and drug stores, [73]

YOUTH IN MUSEUMS and even from the children's own homes. In teaching about Japan they point out that rice, tea, silk, bamboo wares, paper, hat braids, matches, pottery, silk and cotton fabrics, and many others may be used attractively and advantageously. Also that state legislatures allow geographical collections to be distributed to schools in the state. It is felt by those in the New Brunswick (Canada) Museum that one reason its loan service is so popular is because the material for loan is chosen by the teachers and not the museum staff: "They have asked for those things which they know will make their teaching easier and more effective. These we endeavor to supply." It is hardly worth while to mention objects for loan except in a very general way, for they include almost anything. Fragile objects and those hard to pack are naturally to be avoided, while anything that can be replaced if damaged is particularly desirable. One good specimen is as valuable for teaching and far more effective than many duplicates. Habitat groups and processes in making objects have proved popular. A sample loan exhibit from the Children's Museum of Indianapolis consists of Navajo material—a small rug, a picture of a woman weaving, wool, a spindle and batten. One from the Commercial Museum in Philadelphia contains material relating to the coconut—a coconut in the husk, palmwood, fiber (showing straight and tangled coir), coir yam, coco matting, part of scrubbing brush made from coconut husk, shredded coconut, copra, coconut oil, oil cake, charcoal, and photographs of a plantation in Ceylon, opening coconuts in the Philippines, making coconut oil in Ceylon, and a map of the geographic distribution of coconut palm trees. To avoid expense at the San Diego Natural History Museum, instead of mounting and stuffing animals and birds for loan purposes, the skins are cured and stretched flat on a board and covered with a form of cellophane for protection. Art museums have mounted prints and textiles that are catalogued and can be borrowed in the same manner as library books. The Cincinnati Art Museum has a file of over ten thousand prints mostly in color for this purpose. The Dayton Art Institute has a picture loan library of good framed prints which individual children may borrow to hang in their rooms at home. The small fee for each new membership goes for the purchase of additional prints to enlarge the library. [74]

SUPPLEMENTARY ACTIVITIES

Victrola records and music folios, films and slides, posters and charts, are also listed among the lending material of museums. Some excellent charts have been supplied complete or made up from material supplied by industrial houses. The lending department of the Newark Museum makes all of its charts in uniform size 16 X 22 inches to hang in its storage cabinets. These are covered with a tan linen paper and reinforced with black tape; the objects are either glued on or fastened with shoe string to hold them securely. Cases for traveling exhibits are as varied as the objects, with merely a few essentials in common. They must be light in construction and yet sturdily built against jolts and wear and tear. They must hold the object securely in any position and yet make it possible to remove and replace it without difficulty. They must present a good appearance and still be inexpensive. Some of the loan cases at the Duluth Children's Museum have been made by WPA labor and some by the manual training classes of the schools. They have even used disguised cigar boxes. Some have come complete from industrial firms manufacturing blankets, glass, rubber, etc. Clubs at the Newark Museum, such as the woodworking group, find it possible to include the making of materials for the loan department as part of the program. Cases at the Field Museum are uniformly 2 inches wide and high and 4, 7, and 10 inches deep. The cabinets are built of polished mahogany and equipped with hangers by which they can be hung on standardized types of stands furnished by the Chicago Board of Education or on hooks in the walls of classrooms. The cases are provided with handles on the ends and may be easily carried by children from room to room. Also at each end is a sliding frame holding a label measuring 7 X 10 inches. These labels in large, legible type, state in simple language the most important facts about the exhibit. They can be pulled out when the case is in service or pushed back into a protected position when the case is being moved. (See Plate VIII.)

A school always has two cases on exhibit at one time, and these are changed every two weeks, thus displaying thirty-six cases during the school year. Quite similar in appearance are the ones used by the San Francisco Recreation and the Royal Ontario Museums. The former rotates small exhibits of rocks, insects, etc., from playground to playground not only to reach more children but to call attention in a vivid way to the museum. The rotating exhibits of the Indianapolis Children's Museum are distinct from its exten[75]

YOUTH IN MUSEUMS sion division because they are assembled for one occasion only—having been requested for school corridor cases or branch libraries, etc. The loan department of the Field Museum tries not to interfere with biological supply houses, which are equipped to supply visual aids inexpensively for the classroom. Many schools are able to take advantage of this through funds for the purpose or with the help of parent-teacher associations. It is also important that museums should not duplicate each other. Where, for instance, the Field Museum has a tremendous loan service to the schools, the Chicago Academy of Sciences concentrates its loan material elsewhere such as in field houses of city parks and Trailside Museums of the County Forest Reserve District. Delivery of loans is handled in a number of ways. Board of education trucks for the most part transport them to schools, working out schedules with museums so they can go in sequence from one school to another, thus saving the time they would otherwise consume in unnecessary return trips. The Newark Museum uses its own truck, but the Board of Education pays for deliveries made to public schools; fifty cents a stop is charged for private schools. Special contact is made with county schools where it is felt the museum is more essential because of fewer facilities. The St. Louis Educational Museum keeps two two-ton trucks of the Board of Education busy delivering anywhere from seven thousand to ten thousand objects a day to the 166 schools of the city. Loan material is reaching not only elementary, high, and normal schools as well as colleges and universities, but Sunday schools, institutions for the handicapped, such as blind, crippled, and deaf and dumb, also settlement and community houses, clubs, Christian and Hebrew associations, libraries, hospitals, theaters, stores, industrial and commercial firms, shows and campaigns, other museums and even individuals including children. The Brooklyn Children's Museum lends a large variety of objects without cost to children who have passed the required tests and are members of the Children's Museum League. Where many duplicates are necessary they have found expediency in labeling by photographing the original label and reproducing it on heavy shiny paper that withstands wear from handling. Grants from states often make possible the lending of slides, lectures, lanterns, and screens to public schools without charge except for transportation. With such a grant the Commercial Museum in Philadelphia prepared geo[76]

SUPPLEMENTARY

ACTIVITIES

graphical collections suited to the needs of the public schools, from the primary to the high school. The schools furnished the cases, except where they were unable, in which instances upright cabinets were supplied. These occupied only a small space in the classroom and the exhibits showed the use of materials, the countries producing them, the methods of preparation, etc. Nine different series were contained in drawers; shelves below held woods, minerals, photographs with descriptions on the backs, and teacher's charts and instruction books. Such a collection is valuable in starting classroom museums. With the help of a Carnegie Grant a School Museum enterprise was undertaken by the University Museum in Philadelphia in which original specimens were sent out from duplicate collections for long term loans to the high schools. Schools admitted to cooperate in the enterprise are required to set aside a room (or part of a larger room) and to fit it with proper cases for the installation of the museum specimens. It is advisable that some one teacher in each school be designated as curator of the museum—this teacher to have charge of the care and classification of the material, its distribution at the proper time among the various grades, and its safe return to the museum. The sponsoring museum requires that the collections b e adequately protected and kept together in one room, from which they will of course b e temporarily removed for classroom work as the need arises.

It is further stated: In order to insure cooperation of all grades and all children in the School Museum's development, the selection has been made of groups of specimens, photographs and lantern slides, each of which while illustrating some part of the required lessons in geography, history, etc. also fits into the exposition of some broader topic, such as the Development of Records, Clothing, Shelter, Transportation, etc., which is touched on in one phase or another of the work of every elementary and secondary grade.

An elementary school in Corsicana, Texas, during the past year organized a school museum which is meeting with great success in the community. Mr. Frank J. Wallace, the school Principal, explains that the exhibits are prepared "by children for children," and that "each exhibit has a single purpose, which is to present all that a group of children could discover about a given subject." He adds:

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YOUTH IN MUSEUMS . . . the secret of success in this museum is in the fact that provision is made for every child to have a vital part Exhibits are presented by various classes. A second grade class or group presented an exhibit on Birds. They made use of visual materials (pictures and charts which they drew and prepared); tactile material was provided in many media such as bird houses and bird eggs; audio materials were used in phonograph recordings of bird voices, and through the presentation of live birds. A third grade group presented an exhibit of Farm Life; various phases were depicted. A fourth grade class presented a study collection and exhibit on trees. One case on display contained types of foods derived from trees. There were displays on lumber, medicines, bark, insects, rubber, leaves, etc. A fifth grade group presented an exhibit on insects. An ant bed and a beehive were featured displays . . . another fifth grade group presented an exhibit on Indians. At this time material was loaned by the North Texas State Teacher's College Museum, Denton, Texas. Articles were loaned by local organizations such as the Camp Fire Girls and loans from private sources were secured. The final exhibit given by the sixth grade was on the geography and history of the State of Texas. Children were hosts and guides to each exhibit which lasted for two weeks, and some groups were taken through the museum without a teacher. Neighborhood museums seem to be sort of an outgrowth of the loan department. They have been found necessary in a large center of population, and the Metropolitan Museum began in 1933 to experiment along this line. Its neighborhood exhibitions are really small temporary museums existing for eight- or nine-week periods in settlements, young people's associations, libraries, high schools, colleges, art schools, museums, and public buildings. A corridor or entrance lobby or lounge is often the only space available. Exhibits are completely arranged to the last detail before they are taken out, and the museum carries the cost of transportation insurance, installation, publicity, etc. The buildings must be fireproof and it is necessary to have guards and instructors—these have been supplied through the WPA. Under the regular extension system "the fate of the material lies in the hands of the borrower" while neighborhood exhibitions are entirely controlled by their museum just as they were when displayed in its halls. This type of extension work serves a similar purpose to branch museums without requiring the heavy investment for building, heat, light, and service which are supplied by those receiving the exhibitions.

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VI

INDEPENDENT ACTIVITIES SURROUNDINGS AND EQUIPMENT

THE activities so far discussed with the exception of some introductory ones were planned to supplement other organizations, principally schools; this represents the largest and perhaps the oldest service of museums. Another equally important phase of the work is with groups that organize independently within the museum. These are made up of children who may have become interested through school visits, extension work, or perhaps hear of it through another child or simply drop in while passing. If the museum or a department of it is to belong to children, as it should, then there must be a place that is entirely theirs. A child should be made to feel at home, and to think of the place and the equipment as his so that he will respect it and at the same time make the most use of it. Mrs. Grace Golden of the Indianapolis Children's Museum says, "A modern museum becomes a place of activity as well as a storehouse of visual aids." According to the Boston Children's Museum, it "should be a beehive of activity." Also it should not be a place where children are too restrained or regimented. Surroundings from a whole house down to one room make the settings for group activities. There are those that are fortunate in having every equipment, from their own horticulture building where raw products can be raised, to the latest looms for weaving. These are in the minority, for the large majority is having to use ingenuity to make the most out of the least. Sharp contrasts are evident between those institutions that have cut out all activities because of lack of funds and those that offer an amazing variety on the same budget. In fact the ones with less money and equipment seem to be doing the more interesting and worthwhile things. Where whole buildings or many rooms are available it should be possible to give over some of them for informal clubrooms. Boston Children's Museum [79]

YOUTH IN MUSEUMS uses the third floor for this purpose—with the adventures of Pinocchio painted on the walls to lend a "whimsical" atmosphere. The Brooklyn Children's Museum uses the rooms that are least suitable for display purposes, including some basement ones. The University Museum in Philadelphia converts its weekday classrooms, offices, and corridors for Saturday activities. The Cincinnati Art Museum divides its one large children's room into sections by railings, one for exhibits, one for reading room, and one for activities. As for equipment, if chairs are not available, rugs or mats may be used for sitting or working on the floor, such are made use of by the Newark Museum and the University Museum of Philadelphia. If given the choice many children, especially the smaller ones, much prefer to paint lying prone on the floor. It has been said that "lack of equipment stimulates ingenuity." Certainly it is quite possible to make some of the simple equipment that is used in the pursuance of most arts and crafts, and the children's interest will be the greater because of it. Since few of those contacted by the museums will be able to have complete equipment at home—it is surely much better to make them self-reliant from the beginning rather than dissatisfied later. The Junior Recreation Museum in San Francisco encourages children to make their own collecting and mounting equipment such as nets, plant presses, and mounting boards. Where some money is allotted for equipment much or little can result from it. Simplicity combined with sturdiness should always be the keynote. The Detroit Children's House and the Toledo Museum of Art use double easels for their painting classes with a rim at the base to hold jars of paint, water, and brushes. While working the children face each other but are not disturbed since the easel stands between them. Not only are these an economy in space but are more attractive and less expensive than two of the single easels. The Philadelphia Museum of Art makes use of a combination stool and easel, comfortable, workable, and pleasing in design. "Too small a staff' has been used as an argument against carrying on independent group activities. This holds true only when the small staff has little or no imagination, for there are many ways to manage it successfully. According to results observed, a few clever adults make up for any number of mediocre ones. The policy of the Detroit Children's House is against small groups with too much dependence on adults. Rather should the child through larger groups gain self-reliance, and a sense of responsibility toward others. [80]

INDEPENDENT ACTIVITIES Miss Freda Pepper finds it possible to handle forty to sixty children, alone, working in five or six arts and crafts in different rooms, at one time. She finds no discipline problem where there is interest and the older ones voluntarily help the younger. No great equipment is supplied, for she believes the children should be resourceful. INEXPENSIVE

ACTIVITIES

The cost of materials can be minimized by the selection of activities. The expense of making miniature models is practically negligible. Old wooden picture frames of any size make excellent supports for models. A piece of cement board can be cut to rest on the ledge which formerly held the glass and a small amount of plaster will turn it into uneven ground. Sand, glue, twigs, stones, sponges, scraps of old basket wood, celotex, old wire sieves, thimbles, chamois, hairpins and a little paint, in fact almost any scraps can help create an Egyptian nobleman's villa of 1500 B. C., a Zulu kraal, an Indian encampment, or almost any setting one's fancy desires. The amount of information gathered by the children through such an activity is far greater than if twice the time had been spent in talking or reading books on the subject. (See Plate IX.) Every type of material is used in the Children's Art Center of the Toronto Art Gallery. Metal sheets, screening, colored papers, wire, wood blocks, bottle tops, asbestos, sawdust, cellophane, tinsel, corks, spools, spatulas, skewers, pipe cleaners, and in fact anything that will excite the imagination of the children. It is claimed that "Techniques arising out of new materials often make for the discovery of new paths by the children themselves." Designs are cut in potatoes and printed with dyes and showcard colors, plaques are modeled with paper pulp on cardboard, and murals are painted on brown wrapping paper thumb-tacked to the wall. A most effective Babylonian mural was enlivened with blue straw hat-braid to outline the costumes, and copper wire for the faces, filled in with copper screening. The children often travel to docks, farms, and factories to get original ideas for the use of these miscellaneous materials. A Clipping Club at the Children's Museum of Boston makes use of old magazines which have been given to the Museum to illustrate geography notebooks to be used in work for Scout nature badges and in illustrating stories for sick children. Its Wigwam Club studies Indian homes by build-

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YOUTH IN MUSEUMS ing small models similar to those mentioned, the best of which go to make up part of the Indian collection in the museum. Interest has been added to clubs by the collecting of native materials such as willow twigs and yucca leaves to be used in basket weaving, clay and even dyes to be used in arts and crafts. Routine museum jobs can be turned into live-wire clubs—a garden group may not only plant the gardens but help care for the lawn and shrubs. Bird houses, and feeding tables may be made to attract wild life. The work of the taxidermist, the plasterer, or the preparator holds fascinating possibilities for club groups. Arts and crafts of the American Indian, especially using his own material, makes a great appeal and costs little or nothing—flint chipping, feather and porcupine quill work, use of sinew thread for sewing and tying, games, basketry, etc. The use of Indian names and signatures in picture writing will lend atmosphere. The Indian and Astronomy Clubs appear to be the two most popular at the Buffalo Museum of Science. The Nelson Gallery of Art has been experimenting to help children tell good from bad and ancient from modern. For an illustration—glass of all lands, Steigel, Roman, and Mexican, was gathered together from the museum, also a miscellaneous assortment from the 5 and 10 cent stores which was mixed with it. A land of game of "observation with knowledge" made this learning fun. The same thing was tried with pottery, etc. The Newark Museum maintains a Collector's Club at little cost. Such things as minerals, plants, animal tracks, arrowheads, leaves, etc., can be collected and will not only awaken an interest but will give real results in the knowledge acquired in selecting, preparing, and mounting. Here the emphasis is placed on an experimental attitude, rather than teacher-child, in order to avoid the schoolroom atmosphere. A Marine Club at the Hartford Children's Museum studies boats from the first log raft down to the most modern ocean liner—picture notebooks and sailors' knots and hitches add reality. Museum material can be used profitably as suggested at the Boston Children's Museum, "to arouse an understanding of the peoples of other lands, trusting that by beginning with the children, better international friendship may be promoted." The Museum of the City of New York builds its Saturday afternoon stories around nationality groups that make up the city population. The Round the World Club at the Newark Museum is "similar to project

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PLATE IX

A miniature model of an Egyptian villa of 1500 B. C. made by children from nine to twelve years of age in a hobby class UNIVERSITY

MUSEUM,

PHILADELPHIA

An electric question board in operation JUNIOR

MUSEUM

OF T H E

LOS ANGELES AND ART

MUSEUM

O F HISTORY,

SCIENCE,

PLATE X

Children playing instruments which they built in a class in creative art TOLEDO

MUSEUM

OF

ART

A Mexican Show by the Pantomime Club ROCHESTER

MUSEUM

OF ARTS AND

SCIENCES

INDEPENDENT ACTIVITIES groups in progressive schools." Objects from the collections are used and handled by the children at almost every meeting. One of the most interesting of these international clubs is found at the Rochester Museum of Arts and Sciences, and is known as the Explorer's Club. The name was decided on by the children themselves, and the working out of the various stages in the program depends on their suggestions. First they decide what country they will explore, and from then on their procedure resembles as nearly as possible the actual moves that would be experienced on a trip to the country chosen. Small folders act as passports with the seal of the museum and a picture of the child, while the visas are postage stamps of the countries. The luggage is a portfolio to hold such trophies as pictures or information gathered; it is pasted with hotel stickers, and even goes through customs inspection. The program itself has no limits, lantern slides of the country, actual costumes to try on, market places to visit in the imagination with real objects of every sort, native theatricals, food, and even arts and crafts. "The importance of relating activities of a children's museum to the objects on display" has been stressed—such a club not only meets these requirements but the cost is negligible and it is of value from an educational and international standpoint. ALLIED ARTS

"Art Museums are more than picture galleries," according to the Milwaukee Institute of Art—"they should foster all the Fine and Industrial Arts, as well as related arts such as music, dramatics, dancing, etc." The Cleveland Museum of Art attracts many hundreds on Saturday morning through its program of allied arts—two adults work as team mates for each group, one for the visual part of the program and the other for music or dancing. For example, if Indian textile and pottery designs are being used by a craft group, they will be followed up by the learning of Indian chants or dances during the second half of the program. The Dayton Art Institute also correlates a music and art program—different lands of music may be played by the leader, and the children paint their responses such as a dance or a thunderstorm or whatever the music inspires. "For listeners who crave to perform," the Toledo Museum has tried experiments in creative music. Quoting from its booklet, The Museum Educates:

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YOUTH IN MUSEUMS Children naturally express themselves in movement and sound. . . . Teaching them to build simple instruments such as those used by primitive peoples in the Childhood of Mankind or simplified adaptations of more sophisticated ones combines occupation for hand and mind and through the making of even a crude instrument, instills respect for a perfected one. Instruments so intimate and so inviting as to disarm self-consciousness are constructed from cheese boxes, cigar boxes and other discards available to every child. Those with ability as yet undeveloped to cope with complicated instruments can turn to the work of their own hands and with it produce at least a semblance to music. As an initial effort Indian drums and rattles were made. The words of a prayer for rain were written and the music composed and set down in number of notations. From this primitive use of the drum and its rhythm so welcome to childhood, they progressed to tuneful music found in objects that give a ringing sound when struck. Glasses were tuned to a three-toned scale. Then the ocarina was employed and the psaltery created a liking for other stringed instruments. Through the marimba which they constructed they became attracted to wood instruments. Accustomed to many instruments in their simplest elements, the child can choose the form most congenial to him. From his home-made violin he can graduate to a real one, secure in his familiarity with it and eager for its companionship, to him now worthy of effort and study. (See Plate X.) Closely allied to these arts is the theatre; dramatics is taking many and varied forms in museums. The M. H. de Young Memorial in San Francisco found little enthusiasm in the ordinary story hour as given by most museums. To arouse more interest a member of the educational department arranged the same stories for dramatization, and members of the National Youth Administration made puppets and scenery and presented the plays. So successful were these that a puppet-making club developed for Saturdays, taught by an NYA Marionette Division leader. Such a play as Little Brother, a Chinese story, required constant reference to the collections by the children, and through it they learned the value of the museum for source material. Dramatic Clubs with the show entirely pantomime have been popular at the Rochester Museum of Arts and Sciences. After choosing a certain country every child has some responsibility; dancing, music, publicity, tickets, costumes, properties, etc., are entirely handled by them. A child whose illness necessitated her absence from school during her class's study of Japan, was able to attend a Japanese Show of the Pantomime Club. She absorbed so much information that her school teacher praised the museum, saying that in spite [84]

INDEPENDENT ACTIVITIES of missing the classwork she had passed her test with the highest mark in the class. This speaks well for the details and general impression, and also shows what visual education can accomplish. (See Plate X.) The Newark Museum is strong for play making, with ideas originating from the children and the show written, cast, costumed, and directed by them with the staff in an advisory role. It is believed at the Art Gallery of Toronto that "what happens to the child in producing a play is far more important than what the audience sees." Consequently the important element to the child is the research for designing full-sized properties and masks rather than the production. Their shows are staged only for their own child audiences, and time is spent on getting the idea across rather than on the finish. A real tribute to the handling of clubs at the Rochester Museum of Arts and Sciences is the requests coming from children's neighborhood groups. Some solicit the help of staff members in their own locations, while others ask the privilege of holding their meetings in the Museum building. The A. T. A. (Ability To Act) Club, created by local youngsters, made such a request and so became interested in museum activities. The great popularity of children's clubs in museums is attributed by the Worcester Art Museum to enjoyment and the fact that "there is no compulsion." The general attitude is that advocated by the Junior Recreation Museum of "clubs rather than classes" with a staff to "help rather than teach." The child can seek out his interest, secure what help he needs, and with a minimum of restraint pursue it to his heart's content.

SCIENCE FAIRS

Science fairs like specialized hobby shows have been held for some years in the American Museum of Natural History and others. They are 'like the final round in a tournament" with the aim "to stimulate originality and creative ability in the study of science." According to Dr. Grace Ramsey, of the American Museum of Natural History in New York City, Some three thousand children have been successful each year in having their work selected for exhibition in about 500 individual and group exhibits varying from health habits in the home through many phases of nature study and biology to advanced work in physics and chemistry.

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YOUTH IN MUSEUMS The children assume the responsibility of the Fair, adults acting only as specialist consultants. A similar fair is held by the Junior Recreation Museum in San Francisco^ Admission cards are sent to the schools for the use of any child who wishes to submit his or her science hobby. The exhibits are entirely set up by the children and include such items as prehistoric animals in clay, cardboard bridge models, spatter prints, electrical displays, and charts of animals, plants, and insect enemies. Such a fair provides hobby suggestions for others and at the same time good advertisement for the museum. The Indianapolis Children's Museum held a variation in the form of a Pioneer Craft Fair. The children demonstrated candle-dipping, corn-husking, corn-grinding, basket-weaving, tin-smithing and other old arts, while the Staff showed wood-carving, rug-braiding and shingle-making. There were also demonstrations of spinning wool, and hand looms were set up "that any young visitor who cared to, might try his hand at weaving."

EXPEDITIONS

A treat for almost any child, and very especially an underprivileged one, is an expedition somewhere outside his immediate locality. At the Brooklyn Children's Museum such trips are a sort of reward for individual effort. Each child "must justify his membership for the trips by progress in scientific studies." No child under nine is admitted, and small groups allow really effective work. The Pick and Hammer Club of Mineralogy requires certain accomplishments before joining the expeditions. Such trips may be described as the summer phase of club work. At the Boston Children's Museum these also include trips to woods, fields, and ponds to collect leaves, fruits, insects, rocks, and minerals. Future work then would include mounting, labeling, making leafprints, blueprints, spatter prints, and plaster leaf and twig plaques. Expeditions to aid the birds, sponsored by the Reading Museum, set out thousands of bird boxes in all sections of the country accessible to Reading. A Christmas bird feast is prepared by children in their Indianapolis Museum —garlands of food are strung up with gay Christmas tags letting the passers-by know who was responsible for the gifts. The San Diego Museum conducts a Junior Archaeologists' Club for children approximately thirteen years of age. [86]

INDEPENDENT ACTIVITIES We studied the materials produced by Southern California Indian groups. We learned the technique of working stone, methods and materials used in making pottery and basketry. Types of dwellings, clothing and food items were considered. Permission was granted for surface digging and near-by Indian sites were visited where actual material could be secured. The Roosevelt Field Club of the Buffalo Museum of Science, one of its oldest activities, makes ten trips every spring and fall in chartered buses. Its two to three hundred members from ten to eighteen years of age, ask, Have you ever dipped tadpoles out of a stream with a strainer and carried them home in a fruit jar? Have you ever caught and tamed a snake so that it would sun itself in your hands? Did you ever chisel out a Devonian fossil that had been imbedded in a limestone prison for three hundred million years or more? These are a few of the field activities of the Roosevelt Field Club, now in its eighteenth year of existence and named for Theodore Roosevelt. (See Plate XI.) Since practically no nature study is included in the Buffalo School curriculum the Museum's "extra-mural courses have aided hundreds of boys and girls in their transition from the public to the high schools." Perhaps the most elaborate expedition of all is sponsored by the Indianapolis Children's Museum. Approximately twenty boys form an expedition to explore the Southwest, in the region of the Navajo Reservation of New Mexico, for a period of ten weeks each summer. They investigate flora, fauna, and geology and collect photographs and exhibits. Each member elects his definite field for work, and commissions from the Children's Museum and the American Museum of Natural History in New York provide special assignments in the different fields. Under direction of the Cambridge Children's Museum a Winter Tree Trail was laid out on the reservation of the Cambridge Water Department, a hill overlooking the pond. The trail takes a circular route a quarter-mile long and is directed by three master labels telling what to look for and how to follow. Does your interest in trees fall with the falling leaves or would you like to know them better in winter? This trail is planned for anyone who likes trees and wants to get better acquainted with them. In other places such trails have been of real help to Scouts and others. Follow the white tags. Look sharp for detours. The trail will bring you back within sight of the starting point.

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YOUTH IN MUSEUMS Miss Ruth Crawford, the Director, writes: The trees are labeled with linen tags printed by hand with waterproof India ink, and tied with waterproof string. The tags are hung on the trees in November and are checked each week. . . . The tags point out characteristics of trees which make it possible to recognize them in winter; attention is called to the shape of a tree, and its method of branching; also its bark, birds, and fruits, whether catkins, winged seeds, nuts or cones, are noted. Samples of individual tree tags are as follows: 1. This is a member of the Black Oak group but which one is it? Why couldn't it belong to the White Oak group? Answer on tag behind. 2. This is not the American Hornbeam. This has scaly bark. American Hornbeam has smooth bark. A feeding station made by the boys is kept filled with seeds, and suet and stale doughnuts are tied to the trees for hungry birds. A whole class was found to be too unwieldy to accomplish much so four boys with a knowledge of trees formed the Nature Club and elected themselves as officers. They became secretary, artist (to do the more fancy labels), ornithologist (to keep an eye out for birds), and chief scout and weather man to report on winds and other essentials for outdoor work. Once a week the boys visited the trail, planned their tags and signs, hung the ones previously made, replenished the feeding station, looked for birds and for tracks in the snow when conditions were suitable. The club was so much in demand that a waiting list had to b e formed, and a Treasure Hunt with clues based on tree characteristics was given by the boys for their friends who had been clamoring for admission. The treasure was a Tree Book for the winner, and a piece of maple sugar for all who participated. The boys who worked on the trail not only gained a working knowledge of trees, but gave to others who may visit the trail at any time an opportunity to learn to recognize trees in winter. Novel innovations for expeditions within the museum make fun out of learning to know the collections. Mr. Dana P. Vaughan, Dean of the Rhode

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PLATE

C o l l e c t i n gO fossils and shells from the shore of L a k e E r i e ROOSEVELT

FIELD CLUB;

BUFFALO

MUSEUM

S e a r c h i n g for insects in the country

OF

SCIENCE

XI

PLATE

XII

C h i l d r e n receiving question sheets and outlines of o b j e c t s to color NELSON G A L L E R Y

OF ART, KANSAS

CITY

F i n d i n g answers in the M u s e u m galleries

INDEPENDENT ACTIVITIES Island School of Design, writing for the National Association of Art Education, says: An experimental link for increasing acquaintance in the Museum collections is being tried at the Rhode Island School of Design Junior School. Each week on Saturday mornings 500 children coming for creative work in the art fields are given a little pamphlet—"Chips." This pamphlet contains a short account of some object in the Museum and an adjoining space for a quick pencil sketch of the object. The object in the Museum is marked with a star, and during the morning eager youngsters from tiny tots to sophisticated high schoolers are found peering through the galleries in search of the week's treasure. A ring of children sprawled on the floor making their sketches is the usual thing throughout the morning. The Museum objects chosen for "Chips" have been varied, such as a Chinese painting done on silk, or a silver cup by Paul Revere, who is famous as a silversmith, although children know him better for his famous ride. One week's "Chips" says: "The dragons we read about in fairy tales were evil creatures, but the dragon in the Museum is friendly like an eager dog. He is a Chinese dragon, and the Chinese believe that dragons are kindly. So much do the Chinese revere the dragon that he was chosen as the symbol of the Emperor, and dragons were embroidered all over the Emperor's ceremonial robes. The dragon in the museum is made of cindergrey clay, and he was once painted bright vermilion, but most of the color is rubbed off for he is quite old, about 1500 years. Look on the E. floor to find him." In the "Chips" every means is used to intensify the children's interest, attractive color, textured papers, well-set type, and through the way the story is presented. Such small helps or links quicken a child's interest and so broaden his appreciation. MUSEUM

GAMES

Games based on the exhibits are conducted two or three times a week or even every day after school by some museums. Bright-colored card scraps anywhere from 1 " X 3 " up to library size and even mimeographed sheets are used to contain the information. For example, a child wishing to play the game of True or False at the Los Angeles Junior Museum asks for the cards containing the questions. Armed with these he wanders where he will to hunt out the truth or fallacy of such statements as "The Reedbuck is a good swimmer," and "All of the giraffes are the same kind," or "The leopard does [89]

YOUTH IN MUSEUMS all of its hunting in the daylight." As it is perfectly possible to guess without any knowledge, the warning is given Do not guess at the answers. If you cannot find the correct answer in the Gallery, ask at the Junior Museum Office. This same office hands out, upon request, cards filed under the children's names, permitting them to use the adult museum which adjoins. When they have finished, the cards are returned to thefile—bythe well-worn appearance of most of them it would seem to grant a privilege much in demand. For some of the solutions at the Brooklyn Children's Museum it is necessary to also consult models and even the library material. At the Newark Museum it is found possible to allow capable members of the Junior Museum Club to conduct the games which provide fun for the members and release for the staff. Duluth Children's Museum uses games for individual children after they have exhausted their own resources in the exhibit rooms. A game on hats states: There are many queer and interesting hats in the Museum. See how many you can find and answer these questions. In what country do the men wear stiff black hats, and long white kimonos? Where do the men wear little round white caps? There are two bride's headdresses in the Museum. The one trimmed with many pearls and strings of beads comes from . The other one that is red and trimmed with gold coins comes from . The St. Louis City Art Museum uses games made up of pictures cut from discarded bulletins. They are designed to stimulate observation and each set becomes increasingly difficult. The first group is merely to identify the picture on the card, that is, locate it. In the second series the picture is cut in half and identification must come from just a head or perhaps a base. The third series asks such questions as "Find a marble set in wood. Find a woven garden. Find some oysters" (which are on a plate in a painting), and "Find Cupid riding a dolphin" (which is a tiny Greek gold earring). The game trays used at the Nelson Gallery of Art are most efficient for the purpose. They resemble serving tables with handles and rollers for moving them into the galleries or wherever they are to be used. The top is partitioned to provide space for games, answers, records, pencils, and cray[90]

INDEPENDENT ACTIVITIES ons. Each game card is covered with cellophane and remains fresh in appearance even after hard usage. The staff finds that the games make the greatest appeal to children from eleven to thirteen years of age even though a wide range is recorded in attendance. (See Plate XII.) One of the most popular is the clue game, in which clue slips are provided in a small envelope to tell one where to look for information necessary to fill in the blank spaces of a story. Such a game has the added advantage of including considerable material for information as well as interest. For example, One day in 1477 in Cadore, a sleepy little town in Italy, there was great happiness in the home of Signor and Signora Vecelli. A new baby boy was bom to them whom they called ( 1 ) . Little did they dream that he would live to be (2) years old or to become the greatest painter the city of (3) ever knew, etc. Another clue game known as "Who What or Where Am I" asks : I am not a person, but a god. I am dancing in a temple. I have four arms. Who am I? , or I am a lovely blue green color. I am made of pottery and decorated with strange Arabic writing. I was made in honor of a beautiful Persian Princess. What am I?

and I am a lotus blossom. I am carved in wood. You will have to look up to see me. There are many blossoms together. Where am I? .

REWARDS

Reward for merit in the various activities has been variously dealt with. Simple rewards such as having one's model exhibited among the museum exhibits or mounted specimens selected for club cases is often sufficient. Credits at the Brooklyn Children's Museum give privileges of joining clubs, going on trips, or borrowing material. After twenty credits are achieved at the Buffalo Museum of Science, a diploma is awarded during a special program, [91]

YOUTH IN MUSEUMS forty credits wins a silver medal and a museum membership until the age of twenty-one, sixty credits merit a hand-made gold pin. The Boston Children's Museum policy makes a point of "no prizes," but diplomas, pins, and medals are distributed, and such encouragement as bird glasses or equipment that might help in pursuing hobbies. The museums that offer games help promote interest by giving postcards or reproductions or credits for good work. For the fairs money awards are usual with the stipulation that they shall be used to further the hobby. Newark Museum gives badges for merit work in activities specifying "Service to the museum and the community." LEISURE T I M E

The fact that museums have become "beehives of activity" leads one to wonder whether children emerge exhausted rather than refreshed. Just such a criticism has been made even though children are entirely free to choose whether or not they wish to participate. Too few museums until recently have considered seriously the leisure time of individuals—their whole accent has been on group organization. Miss Molly Godwin of the Toledo Museum of Art in an article in 1936 said, "Children today need training in personal responsibility without recourse to constant companionship, money or organized activities." Leisure for children in museums certainly does not mean the absence of all adults, for this kind of leisure comes in their everyday play. Rather does it mean leisure with recourse not only to things but to people—adults—when needed. Children feel the desire often to ask questions even when labels are self-explanatory; they also want the interest of someone who can encourage them. As an experiment, in the Cincinnati Museum of Art all kinds of odds and ends were placed in a box in its Children's Room to inspire children to use their imaginations without other encouragement. Only relatively few children made use of the opportunity, proving that at least some indirect supervision is important. It is a definite problem to know how to arrange help for some numbers of individuals with a wide variety of interests at the one moment, without herding them into groups. Museums are attempting to provide certain means by which children can provide entertainment for themselves at the same time that they are acquiring knowledge. The Los Angeles Junior Museum has a [92]

INDEPENDENT ACTIVITIES comer for bookshelves and a table of magazines with articles relating to or bearing on the subject of museum material. A table with built-in center boxes contains puzzles. Another table has an old stereopticon or two with a series of travel pictures. Several game boards are in strategic places to catch attention and are always busy even to the point of a waiting line. One contains pictures of the common birds with their names below. A sort of electrical switchboard combination rings a bell when the correct name is plugged in for the designated bird. More satisfactory is another with compartments for actual specimens of insects, shells, or minerals with a chart of names below. Rather than the annoying bell or buzzer, a light has been found perfectly adequate and far more satisfactory as a signal of a correct answer. (See Plate IX.) The Brooklyn Children's Museum encourages real leisure on hot sunny days in the summer by the wheeling of a truck of books into the park "where a branch library operates under a huge umbrella." Wandering through its buildings any day one may find a boy dissecting a bird found dead in the street and before the admiring eyes of an inexperienced audience, demonstrating how to prepare it for mounting. Another room may yield a lone child fascinated by the legs that have recently been acquired by some tadpole, another beaming with the privilege of carefully holding the snake that is everyone's pet. Presiding in each room is an adult, ready for any impromptu activity but quietly unobtrusive unless her assistance is wanted. This unorganized branch of the activities is one to be stressed and not neglected, for through it are children able to be themselves. They can absorb at their leisure the things that interest them most in lives that are deprived of many of the experiences common to the majority of children.

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VII

PUBLICATIONS all directions come requests for more publications and of a different type from the usual technical bulletins which most museums offer the public. Something in a "more understandable language," says one, "of a more popular nature," says another. Such things as pamphlets on "special subjects," inexpensive leaflets, bibliographies, the type of thing to help teachers with classes, or individuals with hobbies, even as souvenirs of the visit. The museum has the information and there is every evidence that the public, especially the young public, wants it. Many children bring with them on a museum visit anything from one penny to ten cents to spend, and this most frequently purchases postcards bearing little information and unsatisfactory to paste in notebooks. In the discussion on visits of school classes, picture sheets and other help for schools has already been mentioned. The Milwaukee Art Institute urges that "sensational or cheap publicity should be avoided as much as possible" and that literature, pamphlets, bulletins, news letters, etc., which are distributed to the members at large must be of sufficient interest to warrant being read. A number of cities including New York and Buffalo get out small folders for visitors with a map locating the museums, giving a short summary of what may be seen in each, also hours, fees, how to reach the buildings, etc. The Buffalo Museum of Science prints for free distribution colored game cards approximately 5 " X 7 " with the game on one side and an invitation to visit on the other. For example, FROM

Bird Game # 3 1. Some nests are built on the , some in 2. The ovenbird's nest is built . 3. The red-winged blackbird's nest is built [94]

, some in .

, and some in

.

PUBLICATIONS 4. 5. 6. 7.

The woodpecker's nest is built The oriole's nest is built . Many materials , , Baby birds have very stubby some time.

. ,

, , , are used in nest building. until they have been out of the nest for

8. How do you know that it is the mother Redstart that is on the nest? Name

.

On the reverse of the card is written, Dear Children: This game that you have just played is like the games we play in the Museum after school hours. If you have enjoyed it we invite you to join one of our regular groups which play Museum Games Monday and Thursday afternoons at 4 o'clock, and Saturday afternoons at 2 o'clock. We would also like to have you join our study courses where you will learn about minerals, flowers, animals, stars, Indians, and birds. Come over and see us about it. In our Library are many interesting books for children about all these things, and you are invited to come in after school any afternoon or any time on Saturday to read them. Why don't you bring your Father and Mother with you to the Museum? Tell them it is open weekday evenings from 7 to 10 except Saturday evening, and on Sundays from 1 to 5.30. On these evenings and on Sundays children are not admitted unless they are with older people. Tell your younger brothers and sisters about our Saturday morning Story Hours for children between six and ten years of age. These are heldMat o'clock. BUFFALO U S 10.30 E U M OF SCIENCE Humboldt Park

Jefferson 10,000

The Cincinnati Museum of Natural History has a miscellaneous publication of 330 facts and questions chosen at random to draw attention to the museum. Do You Know That 7 ) a single oyster eats 72,000,000 organisms in one day 39) At one time all the black ink used by man was made from insects 40) Some aquatic beetles carry a bubble of air under the water with them, from which they derive their air supply [95]

YOUTH IN MUSEUMS 64) 79) 82) 216)

Some spiders attack and eat fish Snakes walk on the ends of their ribs Rattlesnakes cannot hear their own rattles Rodents are forced to gnaw to keep their incisor teeth worn down or they would grow so large the animals could not close their mouths 263) An Indian species of fish can climb trees. For special information of interest to most people the Chicago Academy of Sciences publishes small leaflets available on request, e. g., Bird Houses, How and Where to Collect Spiders, Dates of Arrival of Spring Migrants etc. It is even difficult to keep a supply of these on hand, for they are so much in demand. The Science Club of the Buffalo Museum of Science mimeographs sheets on various topics with drawings and visual and reading references. Fossils includes "What Fossils Are," "How Fossils Are Formed," "Where to Look for Fossils," "What We Learn from Fossils." The Philadelphia Academy of Natural Sciences responds to the call for bibliographies by mimeographed sheets of "Good Books to Guide You in Pursuing Outdoor Hobbies." Such interests as Hiking, Animals as Pets, Reptile Study, Birds, etc., can be furthered by reference to this carefully chosen list. In conjunction with its School Museum Project the University Museum in Philadelphia issues a series of classroom projects on Records, Clothing, and Shelter. Under the History of Records, for example, one deals with How to Make Papyrus Paper, giving a story of facts about the paper, the materials (which are supplied if desired) and the procedure, concluding with a bibliography. Another in the same series concerns the Horn Book, another the Painted Buffalo Robe. "Attractive printed stories in souvenir form based on museum material should be distributed to child visitors," it is believed at the Field Museum. Two-page leaflets, "Museum Stories for Children," are given out during entertainments for a . . . three-fold purpose, viz. 1) To counteract any misinformation which thefilmsmay contain. As the Museum must rely chiefly on the products of commercial producers of educational moving pictures for its films the pictures are not always historically or scientifically correct in every detail, and the stories in such cases give the children the facts . . . 2) To direct the children to Museum exhibits correlating with the subject matter of thefilmsthey have just seen . . . 3) To give the children a souvenir of their museum visit. [96]

PUBLICATIONS These leaflets are punched to fasten in a ten-cent notebook cover (sold at the Museum Book Store) eventually to complete a book of stories. The movie film Cheeka, an Indian Boy was supplemented by the story of A Birchbark Canoe. Inexpensive publications on nature subjects are available in many museums, Nature Bulletins from the American Museum of Natural History may be obtained for five cents on such subjects of common interest as "The Terrarium," "Insect Music," "Bird Migration," "Poisonous Plants," "Study the Stars," etc. They are "brief, accurate and authoritative" and in order to meet the large demand many have had to be reprinted. Museum Notes are published by the Museum of Northern Arizona to be sold for ten cents each, "The Hopi Craftsmen," "Why the Navajos Came to Arizona," "Life in Pueblo II," "Why Birds Are Banded," etc. The Southwest Museum has a popular series of "accurate, informative and well illustrated leaflets" for ten cents, "America's Earliest Man," "The Blackfoot Tipi," etc. The Denver Art Museum has won fame for its Indian Leaflets, which are excellent for reference purposes where authoritative information is wanted quickly and simply. One hundred different ones may be purchased at ten cents apiece. The Junior Recreation Museum publishes the Junior Naturalist. Short articles such as "Diamonds" and "Model Airplane News" are contributed by children and other items like "Did You Know?" with a list of curious nature facts, are added. The Children of the Newark Junior Museum publish Drums because "throughout history drums have been used to spread the news of events." The magazine is a collection of miscellaneous subjects of interest to children. The Junior Hobby Club of high school boys and girls in the Buffalo Museum of Science publishes several times a year a mimeographed magazine Hobbies Jr. which sells for five cents a copy and keeps the club independent. The relative dissatisfaction with home mimeographing and the cost of printing have been deterring factors to further publication of material of an inexpensive nature. Some museums are fortunate in having their own presses, others have worked out cooperative plans whereby a large share of the cost other than paper and ink is borne by schools for vocational training. Pamphlets at the Reading Public Museum have been printed by the Department of Practical Arts in the High School for Boys and some for the Worcester Art Museum have been done by the Boys' Trade School.

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VIII

FINANCES UNIVERSALLY wherever museum work for children is being carried on the fact is bemoaned that there are not more funds available to give form to all the ideas for service. It has previously been pointed out that this seems to be an advantage, at least in those cases where it develops more ingenuity in settings of greater efficiency. There is, however, no question but that too little money may curtail growth to an unhealthy degree of inactivity. As Henry Lionel Williams wrote in the Museum, News for December 15,1937, "It is the active, live museum that gets the support." Accordingly if an institution appears to lose its vitality it also loses its means of livelihood, and finds itself in a vicious circle. There are many Ways out, though they may be obscure. First of all it is necessary to take a broad enough look to see the whole picture and size up the situation. If those close to it cannot, others on the outside may have advice to offer. Experiments in other museums may give some ideas—not only their successes, but also their failures, for those who have not experienced both are few indeed. Edward Libby, first Director of the Toledo Art Museum, believed fundamentally that a museum "must be a community venture, and to present it outright to the city would inevitably drain it of vitality." Something easily achieved is never as much appreciated as something that requires constant effort. Museums that are city, state, or federal institutions receive the bulk of their support from these sources. Several children's museums are maintained through boards of education, and at least one through a city recreation department. The majority, however, are independent corporations depending on contributions for their existence. They are hard hit when people's pockets are empty, and this means that their progression is not always steady. It may also mean that at times they have to cater too much to the whims of indi[98]

FINANCES viduals, but it also means that they must be wide awake to demonstrate their importance to the community. Many museums are finding the greatest help through the formation of guilds and auxiliaries whose members give their time to secure friends and funds. The Indianapolis Children's Museum has a guild of thirty or thirtyfive women who raise money by various cultural means, and who also assist periodically in clerical, docent, and research work, "a real economy when activities demand increased staff." It has likewise seen a fine spirit of cooperation with clubs of the city from which the museum receives additional financial support—such organizations as the Association of Childhood Education, D. A. R., Reading Club, Grade Teacher's Association, Social Study Club, Nature Study Club, and the Women's Rotary Club. A large share of its budget is borne by the Board of School Commissioners "in recognition of the service rendered." Memberships, contributions, and interest from a small endowment fund provide the balance. A Woman's Committee at the Hartford Children's Museum assists financially in organizing lectures, giving card parties, and generally promoting the interests of the museum. The Auxiliary at the Brooklyn Children's Museum states its purpose as "the upbuilding of the museum and the advancement of its interests, the broadening of the scope of its educational work, the increase of its collections and the enlargement of its equipment in every branch of its activity." Both of these museums are supported partly by municipal funds and partly by private subscriptions. The School Service Department of the Peabody Museum of Natural History finds that much of its greatest aid is given through individuals in an auxiliary that becomes interested and works for one particular thing rather than contributing to a general fund. Money for a station wagon to be used for field trips was secured in this manner. The Los Angeles Museum has a large Museum Patron's Association formed of some of those "hundreds of thousands of persons who visit the Museum annually." The purpose of this large association is "the collecting of the museum's friends into a tangible organization." It has been incorporated as an auxiliary of the museum and helps with such necessities as pin-chase of objects, pictures, books, and equipment; it also gives aid for expeditions and research and provides prizes, scholarships, etc. These isolated facts concerning budgets, and those previously mentioned

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YOUTH IN MUSEUMS under other chapters, can only serve to give an idea here and there of attempts that are being made to meet increased demands for money. It would seem profitable to have more of a connected story from at least one museum. The Children's Museum of Boston appears to be holding its prow to a wellcharted course, weathering both inflations and depressions to achieve at least some of its goals, and to see before it an ever widening horizon. A brief account of the means by which it has successfully arrived at its present position is not amiss. The Story of the Children's Museum of Boston has been given in full by its treasurer, Mrs. Adelaide B. Sayles. The chapter on "Financing the Work of the Children's Museum" is of special interest and is given here in brief. Owing to increased and rapid growth . . . it became imperative to plan ways and means by which more regular contributions could be obtained to meet the running expenses. The Museum Aid Association was organized at "a meeting of women of vision and influence." By-laws stated: The object of this Association shall be to aid the Children's Museum of Boston, first, by interesting the public; second, by securing enough annual subscriptions to provide for the running expenses of the museum; third, by maintaining a careful oversight of the Museum through regular visits; and in general, by rendering the Museum any assistance in its power. The members were not to exceed twenty-four in number. It is reported that The Association became active at once. . . . An afternoon tea for publicity purposes was held on the Museum grounds, attended by approximately 600 guests. The Association inaugurated the Museum's series of yearly Benefit Lectures; initiated the Annual Appeal. . . . Even to refurbishing the whole Museum with fresh paint and polish, the Museum Aid Association bent its helpful energies. Another step up came when the Museum was . . . invited to join with the other organizations in the Boston Emergency Relief Campaign, as one of Greater Boston's "morale-sustaining" agencies. [100]

FINANCES Two members of the Museum Aid Association were elected to the Board of Trustees of the Museum because . . . although carrying such responsibility, the Association had no voice in the determining of the policies or other affairs of the Museum. As the trustees enlarged their organization and assumed more financial responsibility the Association disbanded in favor of a Ways & Means Committee, of any number "that it deemed advisable for efficient work." Carnivals and benefit lectures were held with such important people as Donald MacMillan and Vilhjalmur Stefansson as speakers. "A fine profit for the museum's treasury resulted" and successful benefit lectures and entertainments were held for twenty years. It was realized at the outset that apart from an endowment fund, necessarily of slow growth, the backbone of the wherewithal for the Museum work must come from a strong list of annual contributors. Personal letters from the treasurer developing into "delightful acquaintances 'on paper' " built up a strong membership that responded rather than fell off each year. Certain philanthropic trust funds were given as a "reward of merit," and contributions for "special purposes" made museum expansion possible through difficult periods. The Treasurer's pet mottoes were always "Nothing venture, nothing have" and "Nothing succeeds like success" and each crisis would somehow be passed so that the Museum could proudly close its books without a deficit. Twenty-five years ago an Endowment Fund was started as a backlog for the growth "so confidently foreseen by the new Board of Trustees." Before many years this fund was placed in the hands of a Finance Committee that "could appoint a Fiscal Agent, such as the State Street Trust Company, to handle the securities." Careful management is responsible for today's "gratifying condition" of the Endowment Fund.

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IX

THE FUTURE IT is scarcely possible to predict what the future will hold for young people in museums, for this would be mere speculation. It is entirely profitable, however, to anticipate what museums may give to the future, for this is foresight. It embraces what administrators, staff, and trustees hope for them, what communities anticipate from them, and a realization of what the child of today lacks in his equipment for becoming an intelligent and socially adjusted human being of the World of Tomorrow. The Young People's Museum of the future anticipates: A more live meaning for the word "museum" because of increased awareness rather than becoming obsolete because of unrecognized aloofness. A high standard of quality in keeping with its inception. A friendly house open to all, and far removed from any cold austerity or snobbishness. An attitude of cooperation rather than of dictation. A spirit of assisting, rather than of assuming the duties of visiting teachers and their classes. More material help for teachers in the line of pamphlets, leaflets, conferences, and lectures—authoritative but understandable. More souvenirs and reminders for children in the form of leaflets, picture sheets, and story pages, free or sold for under ten cents. More publicity and encouragement through publications of schools and boards of education. More advertising by means of the radio, newspapers, circulars, and other public announcements. A more colorful and moving show, not a "repository for dead and inanimate objects." More natural settings and demonstrations in place of lectures and slides. [102]

THE FUTURE More modern and less monotonous installations. More motion, either real or simulated. A greater number of adult museums allotting space for children's exhibits or children's museums, within their buildings. Further organizing of independent children's museums in small communities. At least several buildings planned and erected for the sole purpose of housing young people's museums. A more specially trained and better paid staff. More time for staff members to keep abreast of the times. Less adult-planned exhibits and adult-controlled activities. More active participation of the child in the administration—through junior trustees, junior officers, and junior docents. Greater numbers of individual children dropping in because of interest, not herded. More "ambassadors" between institutions. More pioneering and withdrawing when duplication is evident. More comfort and less crowding. Greater simplicity and understanding. The security of an endowment fund. A museum whose interests will be entirely interwoven with every facility and every concern of the community, but one whose identity and influence will remain distinct.

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APPENDIX

MUSEUMS VISITED FOR STUDY ARIZONA

Flagstaff Museum of Northern Arizona

CALIFORNIA

Los Angeles Los Angeles Museum of History, Science and Art Southwest Museum

Oakland Oakland Art Gallery Oakland Public Museum

Palo Alto Children's Museum of Palo Alto

San Diego Fine Arts Gallery of San Diego Natural History Museum San Diego Museum

San Francisco California Academy of Sciences California Palace of the Legion of Honor Junior Recreation Museum Ki. H. de Young Memorial Museum San Francisco Museum of Art

San Marino Hen y E. Huntington Library and Art Gallery COLORADO

Denver Denver Art Museum [105]

YOUTH IN MUSEUMS CONNECTICUT

Bridgeport Fairfield Children's Museum Hartford Children's Museum of Hartford Wadsworth Atheneum and Morgan Memorial New Haven New Haven Colony Historical Society Gallery of Fine Arts of Yale University Peabody Museum of Natural History Norwalk Norwalk Children's Museum

DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA

Children's Federal Art Gallery Smithsonian Institution

ILLINOIS

Chicago Art Institute of Chicago Chicago Academy of Sciences Chicago Historical Society Museum of Science and Industry Field Museum of Natural History

INDIANA

Fort Wayne Art School and Museum Swinney Homestead Historical Society Indianapolis Children's Museum of Indianapolis John Herron Art Institute

MASSACHUSETTS

Boston Children's Art Center Children's Museum of Boston Museum of Fine Arts Cambridge Cambridge Museum for Children

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APPENDIX: MUSEUMS VISITED FOR STUDY Fogg Art Museum of Harvard University Germanic Museum of Harvard University Pittsfield Berkshire Museum Worcester Worcester Art Museum MICHIGAN

Ann Arbor University Museums of the University of Michigan Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook Institute of Science Cranbrook Museum of the Cranbrook Academy of Art Dearborn Edison Institute of Technicology

MINNESOTA

Detroit Children's House Detroit Children's Museum Detroit Institute of Arts Duluth Duluth Children's Museum Minneapolis Minneapolis Institute of Arts St. Paul

MISSOURI

Minnesota Historical Society Science Museum of the St. Paul Institute Kansas City William Rockhill Nelson Gallery of Art Sf. Joseph St. Joseph Museum St. Louis City Art Museum Educational Museum of the St. Louis Public Schools [107]

YOUTH IN MUSEUMS NEW JERSEY

Newark Newark Museum

NEW YORK

Albany Albany Institute of History and Art New York State Museum Auburn Cayuga Museum of History and Art Buffalo Albright Art Gallery Buffalo Historical Society Buffalo Museum of Science New York City American Museum of Natural History Brooklyn Children's Museum Brooklyn Museum Metropolitan Museum of Art Museum of Costume Art Museum of Modern Art Museum of the American Indian Museum of the City of New York New York Museum of Science and Industry Rochester Memorial Art Gallery Rochester Museum of Arts and Sciences Syracuse Syracuse Museum of Fine Arts

OHIO

Cincinnati Cincinnati Art Museum Natural History Museum Taft Museum of the Institute of Fine Arts Cleveland Cleveland Museum of Art [108]

APPENDIX: MUSEUMS VISITED FOR STUDY Columbus Columbus Gallery of Fine Arts Ohio State Museum Dayton Dayton Art Institute Toledo Toledo Museum of Art PENNSYLVANIA

HdTTishurg Pennsylvania State Museum Johnstown Cambria Library Children's Museum Philadelphia Academy of Natural Sciences Atwater Kent Museum Commercial Museum Franklin Institute Philadelphia Museum of Art University Museum of the University of Pennsylvania Pittsburgh Carnegie Museum and Institute of Fine Arts

RHODE ISLAND

WASHINGTON

Reading Reading Public Museum and Art Gallery Providence Rhode Island Historical Society Museum of the Rhode Island School of Design Roger Williams Natural History Museum Mt. Rainier National Park Mt. Rainier National Park Museum Seattle Seattle Art Museum Washington State Museum

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YOUTH IN MUSEUMS WISCONSIN

Milwaukee Layton Art Gallery Milwaukee Art Institute Milwaukee Public Museum CANADA

BRITISH COLUMBIA

Vancouver City Museum and Art Gallery

ONTARIO

Toronto Art Gallery of Toronto—Children's Art Center Royal Ontario Museums

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INDEX Abbott, Clinton G., 42 Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia, preparatory sheets, 63-64; bibliographies for hobbies, 96 Accessions, 31, 73-74, 76 Accessories to exhibits, 47-50 Activities, 4; independent, 79-93; inexpensive, 81-83; materials for, 82; surroundings for, 79-80; supplementary, 51-78 Adult museums, 21-22; buildings, 16; children's museums sponsored by, 19-23; children's rooms, 20, 80 Advisory committees, 11, 29 Allied arts, 83-85; music, 83-84; drama, 84-85 American Association of Museums, 1, 7, 25, 33 American Museum of Natural History, 59, 87; nature bulletins, 97; science fairs, 85; teachers' training, 68 Apprenticeships for museum workers, 26 Arbuckle, Mabel, 65 Art classes, 69 Art Gallery of Toronto, 21, 85 Art schools, cooperation with museums, 28 Automatic devices, 37, 42-43 Auxiliaries, 11, 99-101; (see also Advisory committees ) Bagley, William, 59 Berkshire Museum, 20 Bibliographies, 65, 96 Blind children, exhibits for, 45 Boards of education, buses, 11; loans to, 3, 7576; motion pictures, 71; museums, 3, 7, 28, 44, 58, 61, 76; publications, 65, 67; staff in museums, 11, 58; surveys in museums, 11, 28; radio broadcasts, 70 Boards of management, 28-29, 54 Boston Museum of Fine Arts, 66 Broadcasts, ( see Radio programs ) Brooklyn Children's Museum, 4, 5, 6, 8; aux-

iliary, 99; building, 18, 19, 80; cases, 34, 49; credits, 91; expeditions, 86; games, 90; labels, 47; leisure activities, 93; loans, 76; motion pictures, 71-72; participation of the child, 54, 56; Pick and Hammer Club, 18, 86 Buffalo Museum of Science, 22, 42, 52, 56; art classes, 69; clubs, 82; credits, 91-92; preparatory sheets, 62-63; publications, 96, 97; publicity, 94, 95; Roosevelt Field Club, 87; A Scientific Story Book, 40; Training course, 25, 26 Buildings for children's museums, independent, 15-19; shared, 19-23 Bulletins for teachers, 12, 65-67; (see also Publications ) California Palace of the Legion of Honor, exhibits for the blind, 45 Cambridge Museum for Children, 3, 52, 58; community cooperation, 12; motion pictures, 71; Winter Tree Trail, 87-88 Campfire Girls, 25 Carnegie Corporation, grant, 77 Carnegie Museum, 56; story labels, 46-47 Camell, Mrs. Harrie Gardner, 15 Cases, 32-34; securing of, 10; for loan, 75 Chicago Academy of Sciences, loan exhibits, 76; publications, 96; talks following broadcasts, 70 Chicago Historical Society, exhibits, 39; talks for child representatives, 69 Child participation, 51-54; collecting specimens, 31; in exhibits, 42-44, 56, 77, 78; in classes and clubs, 61, 80, 85-86; in organization and management, 54-56; (see also Activities) Child representatives, 69 Children's Art Center of the Art Gallery of Toronto, 19, 81 Children's Art Center of Boston, 3, 19

[1 L]

INDEX Children's Federal Art Gallery, 3 Children's House, Detroit, 80 Children's Museum of Boston, 3; accessories for exhibits, 47, 48; clubs, 79, 80, 81-82; early days, 14, 17, 18, 23, 32; exhibits, 37, 40, 41; expeditions, 86; financing the work, 100-101; labels for exhibits, 47; Museum League, 56; standards, 30; stools for comfort, 49; rewards for merit, 92 Children's Museum of Englewood, 11 Children's Museum of Hartford, building, 3,16, 18; exhibits, 41; lighting, 43; Marine Club, 82; transportation, 73; volunteer help, 11, 99 Children's Museum of Indianapolis, 3, 79; bird feeding, 11-12, 86; blind children, 45; cases, 32; children's expedition, 87; exhibits, 38; junior directors, 54; loans, 74-75; motion picture film, 72; Pioneer Craft Fair, 86; programs for selected children, 69; publications, 66; Women's Guild, 99 Children's Museum of Oklahoma City, 4 Children's Museum of Palo Alto, 54 Children's museums, 1-23; buildings, 3, 4, 1523; classified, 1-2; definition of, 5; management of, 3-4; the name, 2, 5, 6-7; purpose of, 8-9, 51 Chronicles of America, 71 Cincinnati Art Museum, art classes, 69; children's room, 20-80; lighting, 43; leisure time, 92; loans, 74 City Art Museum, St. Louis, 60; games, 90 Cleveland Art Museum, 8, 21, 51; allied arts, 83; children's rooms, 20; lighting, 43; preparatory and follow-up sheets, 64; radio lessons, 70; staff, 58 Clubs, 13, 18, 81-89 Coleman, Laurence Vail, 1, 35 Collections, 20-21, 30-34 Colonial Dames, 12 Color in exhibiting, 43 Columbus Gallery of Fine Arts, 60; demonstrations, 44; picture sheets, 66 Comfort in museums, 48-50 Commercial Museum, staff, 59; loans, 73-74, 76-77 Community cooperation with museums, 4, 8, 9-13, 31, 36 Cranbrook Institute of Arts, 46 Crawford, Ruth, 52, 58

Credits for museum courses, 26, 68; for children, 91-92 Cummings, Carlos E., 42 Daughters of the American Revolution, 12, 99 Dayton Art Institute, 15; allied arts, 83; children's room, 20; loans, 74 Demonstrations, 12, 17, 44 Denver Art Museum, Indian leaflets, 97 Detroit Children's Museum, 3, 4, 17; temporary exhibits, 37 Detroit Institute of Arts, school cooperation, 58; teachers' training, 68 d'Hamoncourt, René, 38, 43 Displaying exhibits, 38-45 Docent, 27, 29, 59; meaning of, 24; training for, 25 Docent work, 59-62 Dominion Bureau of Statistics, Ottawa, Canada, 67 Donors, 31 Dramatics, ( see Allied arts ) Duluth Children's Museum, 3, 30, 32; accessories, 48, 49; exhibiting, 40; loan cases, 75; games, 90 Educational Museum of the St. Louis Public Schools, 7, 76 Educational staff, (see Staff) Emergency Relief Administration, ( see Government Agencies ) Endowment fund, 101 Equipment, 17, 20, 80 Exhibits, artistic, 41; care of, 50; child participation in, 54-55; composite, 39; permanent, 35-36, 38; process, 37; rotating, 75-76; temporary, 12, 36-38 Expeditions, 86-89 Extension work, 73-78; cases for loans, 75; delivery of loans, 76; objects for loan, 73-74, 76; loans for school museums, 77; neighborhood museums, 78 Fatigue in museums, 49-50 Federal Theatre Project, ( see Government agencies ) Field Museum, 56; loans, 75, 76, 77; motion pictures, 71-72; "Museum Stories for Children," 96-97; talks following broadcasts, 70 Finances, 98-101

[] 2 ]

INDEX Flexibility, of activities, 5, 8; of cases, 33-34 Fluorescent lighting, 43-44 Follow-up sheets for museum visits, 64-67 Forecasts, 102-103 Franklin Institute, automatic devices, 42; community cooperation, 11, 58, 64 Future hopes for children's museums, 102-103 Gallup, Anna Billings, 8, 53 Games, (see Museum games) Garrison, Mrs. William Lloyd, III, 5, 6, 53 Gillmore, Gertrude, 17 Godwin, Molly Ohl, 92 Golden Gate Exposition, charts and maps, 48; Indian exhibit, 38, 39-40, 43, 44 Golden, Grace, 79 Goldstein, Minnie, 66 Government agencies, 2, 10, 11; Emergency Relief Administration, 10, 12; Federal Theatre Project, 12; National Youth Administration, 10, 48, 84; Works Progress Administration, 10, 11, 12, 28, 58, 75, 78; Writers' Project, 10 Griffin, Delia, 43, 73 Guilds, (see Auxiliaries) High school work, 6, 56-57 Hobbies, 4, 13, 36, 37; bibliography for, 96; "Hobbies Junior," 97; science fairs, 85-86 Horsfall Children's Museum, Ancoats, Manchester, 9 Hunter College, 68 Illumination, 43 Inexpensive activities, 81-83 Installation, (see Displaying exhibits) Instruction, (see Museum instruction) International clubs, 82-83 John Herron Art Institute, 69 Junior boards of directors, 54 Junior docents, 55-56 Junior League, 2, 11, 12 Junior museum, the name, 7; (see Junior Recreation Museum, Los Angeles Junior Museum and Newark Junior Museum) Junior Recreation Museum, 3, 4, 7, 23; advisory committee, 29; cases, 34; community cooperation, 12; equipment for activities, 80;

[1

"Junior Naturalist," 97; rotating exhibits, 75; "Science Fair," 86 Labels, 46-47; adjustable, 47; braille, 45; storytelling, 46-47 Leisure time activities, 92-93 Libby, Edward, 98 Libraries, cooperation with museums, 12, 36; buildings shared with museums, 3, 4, 14, 15, 23 Little Museum for Young Moderns, (see William Rockhill Nelson Gallery of Art) "Live" museums, 14, 31, 36 Loans, (see Extension work) Location of museums, 13-15 Los Angeles Junior Museum, 7; cases, 33; community cooperation, 12; hours, 20; exhibits, 36; games, 89; leisure-time activities, 92-93 Los Angeles Museum, 18; Museum Patron's Association, 99 Memorial Hall, Philadelphia, labels, 46 Mengel, Levi, 23, 44-45 Metropolitan Museum, 7; neighborhood museums, 78; picture sheets, 66; teachers' meetings, 58 M. H. de Young Memorial Museum, dramatized story hour, 84 Milwaukee Art Institute, 83, 94; grant for high school work, 57; process exhibits, 37 Model making, 81 Motion in exhibits, real, 42-43; simulated, 39, 43 Motion pictures, 71-72 Moyer, Josephine, 61 Munro, Thomas, 8, 51 Museum, the word, 7 Museum Aid Association, 100 Museum of the City of New York, nationality stories, 82; teachers' training, 68 Museum coordinator, 61 Museum games, 89-91, 94 Museum instruction, for children, 57-67, 69; for teachers, 67-68 Museum of Modem Art, 27; Young Peoples' Gallery, 56 Museum of Natural History, Cincinnati, 95-96 Museum of Northern Arizona, Museum Notes, 97; process exhibits, 37

3]

INDEX Name of Children's Museum, 6-7 National Youth Administration, (see Government agencies) Natural History Museum, San Diego, exhibits, 42; loans, 74 Nelson Gallery of Art, (see William Rockhill Nelson Gallery of Art) Neighborhood museums, 78 Newark Junior Museum, 7, 11, 20, 21, 44; clubs, 82-83; demonstrations, 44; docent work, 59-60; equipment, 49, 80; exhibits, 35, 37, 39; games, 90; labels, 47; loans, 10, 75, 76; merit work, 92; play-making, 85; publication: "Drums," 97; training course, 26 New Brunswick Museum, Canada, 74 New York University, 68 Norwalk Children's Museum, 32 Objects, 5; handling of, 9, 45; for loan, 73-78; securing of, 10, 31 Ohio State Museum, 38, 72 Participation, (see Child participation) Peabody Museum of Natural History, 3, 6, 51; transportation, 72; auxiliary, 99 Pelikan, A. G„ 57 Pepper, Freda, 81 Philadelphia Museum of Art, 80 Picture sheets, 66-67 Porter, Mildred, 51 Powell, Louis H., 33-34 Preparatory sheets for teachers before museum visits, 62-64 Printed matter, need of, 65; (see Publications) Process exhibits, 37, 40 Publications, 13; by boards of education, 65, 67; by museums, 89, 94-97 Publicity, 12, 94-95 Purpose of children's museums, 8-9 Puzzles, 52-53 Radio programs, 70-71 Ramsey, Grace Fisher, 24, 85 Reading Public Museum and Art Gallery, 14, 15, 23, 97; expedition, 86; gallery stools, 49; museum lessons, 60-61; sensory education, 44 Rejecting gifts, 31 Rewards for merit work, 91-92 Roberts, Laurance, 37

Rochester Museum of Arts and Sciences, dramatics, 84-85; Explorer's Club, 83 Rockefeller Foundation, 56 Royal Ontario Museums, "Nature's House That Jack Built," 40; loans, 75 Russell, Charles, 59 Sachs, Paul J., 27 St. Joseph Museum, 10, 59 San Diego Museum, "Junior Archaeologists' Club," 86-87 Sayles, Adelaide B., 23, 100 School classes, in the museum, 57-62 School loans, (see Extension work) School museums, 1, 77-78 Science Fairs, 85-86 Science Museum of the St. Paul Institute, 18; flexible cases, 33-34 "Science Story Teller" broadcast, 70 Scope of museums, 25 Seattle Art Museum, 21 Securing objects, (see Collections) Sensory development, 4, 45 Smith, Russell J., 33 Southwest Museum, leaflets, 97 Staff of museums, 24-29, 80; interchange with schools, 58-59; volunteers, 28-29 Standards in children's museums, 2, 5, 16, 30, 52 Stevens, George Washington, 9 Storage space, 34 Story-telling exhibits, 39-40 Study rooms for teachers, 67-68 Surroundings, for museums, 13-15; for activities, 79-80 Taylor, Francis, 7 Teachers' College, Columbia, 59 Teachers' training, ( s e e Training courses) Temporary exhibits, 12, 36-38 Theatre, 84-85 Toledo Museum of Art, 9, 21, 80, 92, 98; allied arts, 83-84; classes, 69 Trade schools, (see Vocational schools) Training courses, for museum staff, 25-26; for teachers, 27, 67-68 Transportation, of classes, 72-73; of loans, 76 Treasure hunts, 88-89 University Museum, Philadelphia, 21, 80; classroom projects, 96; How-To-Make-It Club,

[1 4 ]

INDEX 13; museum lessons, 44, 61; school museums, 76 Vaughan, Dana P., 88-89 Vinal, William, 25 Vocational schools, cooperation with museums, 12, 36, 97 Wallace, Frank J., 77-78 Walter's Art Gallery, junior docents, 55 Wayne University, 68 Weierheiser, Ruth V., 52

William Rockhill Nelson Gallery of Art, 7, 29; clubs, 82; games, 90-91; junior docents, 55; Little Museum for Young Modems, 54-55; museum lessons, 60 Williams, Henry Lionel, 98 "Winter Tree Trail," (see Cambridge Museum for Children) Worcester Art Museum, 12, 85; picture sheets, 66; puzzles, 53; cooperation with schools, 58, 66-67, 97; "Picture Frame" broadcasts, 71; study rooms for teachers, 67-68 WPA, ( s e e Government agencies)

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