New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1908-05-16
Of Interest ~
~ to Uo,ne11.
EDUCATIONAL WORK
DR.. Bumpus Explains Methods OF
Natural History Museum.

The members ar the Eastern Art Teachers As
ISOLATION went away from yt erdays session Of
their tenth annual meeting at the American Mu-
scum of Natural History knowing more about what
that institution has to offer New York than most
New Workers know. The afternoon address was
by Dr. H. G. Bumpus, director of the museum
and he outlined few OF the things that are be-
ing done there in educational and scientific lines
We were almost bowled over by the success OF
the lectures designed for school children" said
DR. Buupus ION the day for which the first one
was announced 1 was sitting In my office. about
o'clock when. gIancing out Of the window sa"
long lines of color radiating from the diferehl
avenues They children descending upon the
museum l thought there was fire, but 1t proved
TO be school children coming TO the iecture-six
Thousand and we had thought there might per-
hans be six hundred We had to parcel them on
in different rooms and call out the reserves 10
look out for them till could rush around anu
collect some extra lecturers. We decided after that
that If we going to undertake the educa1lon
Of the children OF New York We must go at II
more systematically
Dr. Bumpus had on the platform specimens OF
the small travelling collections. some eight hun
dred thousand Of which are lent to the puohc
scbooIs in the course OF year. He showed some
30 tho thousands OF lantern slides which are there
AZ the DISPOSAL of teachers who may wish TO bring
their pupils there and give them an Illustrated
talk on some subject they are studying lie had
q few of the innumerabe photographs which the
them.
THESE photographs are classified. Dr. Bdnpus
said 80 that II you are writing book, say on
o1rost any conceivable subject in natural science.
YOU can come here and get your illustrations Dur
,,r tho Russian-Japanese War photographs we had
-, /, those countries were in great demand by
the newspapers Of New YORK
.,-a nort Of the work mere has given more salts
x.- res,its than that Of placing exhibits in
ith~aries we have found-and not in one instance
OF inStanCeS-that when a col
I.c,5on NJ articles showing life among the Esqui-
rnaus was placed in a library there would instant
y, he a demand among the readers for BOOKS on
tho Arctic regions-which books had previously
hoon standing on the shelf unread use the Arctlc
exhibit as an example merely: the same thing
bannened in regard TO all kinds Of exhibits
The speaker said that the museum was under
going a radical change in methods Time was.
he went on when it was not necessary TO make
n difference between the exhibition halls and the
,1oc.s for research work But sciences are chang
Inr-ornithology. for example. is changing so that
the ornithoIogist can't study birds behind glass
cases-he must hold the material in his hands
We are more and providing small roons-a
largo mart of the new building will be devoted to
then-in which the student may SIT. and have his
material brought TO him
coma or our recent requirements is instructor
Mrs Rissler is the instructor and il parents want
70 send their children here for afternoon. or il
any adults want TO come learn about some
particular thing, Mrs. Rissler is happy to take
them about and tell them and show them what
they desire know and see
After the lecture DIR. Bumpus gave several hun
dred of the teachers personally conducted tour
through the museum. The doctor being an ener-
setic man, the teachers had quite a bit of lively
exercise Painting for knowledge-literaIly pant
ins-they streamed upstairs and downstairs and
through echong halls. but matter how fast they
were the doctor and his little stool were always
there before Them and he was smilingly mounted
on the STOOL ready 10 talk