The Republican journal. [volume] (Belfast, Me.) 1829-current, 1900-01-18
Studying Out of Doors.
What Is Being Done for hool-Children i,
Washington.

| Washington.
Elizabeth V. Brown tells the readers O
St. Nicholas about the outdoors studies
that are pursued by the school children O
Washington, D. c. The children of thu
national capital are going 70 Paris in large
numbers-by photographs. Perhaps yor
would like to see few Of them before
they set out on their long journey. Sew
eral hundred pictures have been taken,
representing all the grades, and showing
the pupils at both their indoor and out Of
door work. Do you 60 to an out Of doc,
school? Ii you come to Washington, YOU
will find classes studying plants and ami
mails, history, government, geography,
science, and art, and carrying on this
work in the parks, fields, woods, libraries,
public buildings or art galleries.
Visitors from different parts of the
United States are frequently surprised, in
the course of their sight seeing, to come
across these groups of children busy with
note books and sketch blocks. Further
more. at any hour of the DAY a street cal
full of happy children is apt to speed
| past group of waiting passengers on the
corner, branches and flowers, collecting.
| nets and cases, baskets, hammers and
trowels, all telling the story of day in
| the fields. Perhaps this may seem more
like play than work, but in all of these
| ways the children are cultivating theil
own powers by observing things, doing
| things, gathering experiences and infor-
nation with which to int erpret the knowl-
edge stored up in books.
All the photographs for the exposition
are intended to show children getting the
experiences which in time are to lead t(
! book learning.
The wee folks Of the kindergarten arr
sent to work in their garden where early
in the spring they planted flower seeds
peas, beans, corn, and 1adishes. Though
too young to study botany with a great Bis
B, even these babies are studying plan
! growth.
AT the Smithsonian Institute and it
next-d door neighbor, the National Museum
the children spend many happy hour
among things which constantly interes
and delight them. On Saturdays many o
them go alone to see again the object
which they studied with their teacher
during the school week.
The group studying birds in the Smith
sonlan are either verifying work done il
the fields or gathering information for
series of lessons; while the C ildren learn
ing to tell the time are in the museum
where, IN the case around which the
stand, all sorts of time measuring device!
may be found, from the very earliest t
the most recent. The hour glasses sun
dlals, water clocks, long candles with til
hours marked along their sides, allowin:
just enough taliow or wax between til
/ figures 10 burn for an hour, and man,
other queer ''clocks,'' arouse the Chill
dren interest, and lead them to conside
the different conditions under which PEG
pie have lived and how in different pc
RODS of time their necessities have beel
met by man inventions. The history oil
the magnet, compass, thermometer, TIL
electric light, the electric car, various
means of communication, transportation
and other practical matters are studied il
similar ways.
The capitol with it's many historical stat
ues and paintings. the United States Sc
nate. House of Representatives, and thu
Supreme Court gives many opportunitie
for this work
The class gathered before the Roger
bronze doors which lead into the rotund;
is studying scenes in the life of Columbus
and more advanced class is represented
before Carpenters picture of the ''Signns
of the Emancipation Proclamation
The children receive an excellent de;
of Indian life from the large collection o
models, pictures, and relics of variou.
sorts in the National Museum Lifelikt
models of braves in full hunting cos
tunes, of mothers grinding corn, ane
many other interesting phases of Inda1
life, teach the children how the earles
inhabitants of our country lived
From the Indian back to the Assyria1
warriors is a long history lesson, but it is
really class in art which is making
tour of the Halls of the Ancients, where
reproductions of an old Roman house, and
OF Egyptian, Assyrian, and Saracenic art
are to be found. The Assyrian throne
room is the special point Of interest showr
in the picture. In one end of the room
many steps, guarded by huge lions, leaG
up to such a throne as that on which
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS sat, while the walls re.
fleet the art ideas of his time. On back
ground of crude blue the yellow figures
! seen to be pasted rather than painted
| because there We're no shadows in Assy-
, rian art.
| Other photographs of art classes show
sketchlng group in private garden, anC
trip to the Corcoran Art Gallery, where
the children are pausing before Frederick
Church's Niagara Falls.'
Painted in darker colors, but hardly less
interesting, is the picture of the girls who
are dealing with the bread and butter side
of life, which happens at this moment tc
be case of learning how to broil beef
steak.
The hosts of children who go only t.
the indoor school, with arms full or bags
full Of books, books, books, could learr
twice as fast and more than twice as much
if they could go to the out of door schoo
too. This has been proved in the city Of
Washington by the very children whose
intelligent, happy faces are seen in the pho
tographs shown you.
Cat Sense.