Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1911-12-09
THE NATIONAL MUSEUM,
Its WORK AND AIMS.
By Frederic J. Haskin.

One of the most remarkable institutions
in the United States government is the
National Museum. With some 9cOo,oOI
specimens Of one Kind and another, Gov
ering practically the entire range OF hu-
| man interest, it stands in the front rank
among all the museums in the world.
With the exception of the British Museum
and the French National Museum, no
similar organization in existence has such
extensive collections of animal and plant
life Of the earth as those possessed by
this great institution in Washington.
Even the British Museum collections have
not grown rapidly in the past twenty
years as those of the United States Ma
tional Museum.
OF all the show places in Washington
none equals in the wide range Of interest
the National Museum. Did some Bar
mum own il no one in the entire United
States would be so remote from the Capt.
| tai city not to have heard of the magnifi-
cence and the wonderful educational value
of it's exhibits Among these exhibits are
perhaps 10000, any one Of which might
possess sufficient drawing power to ma e
| it the feature of any dime museum in the
country. Yet with all of these splendid
exhibits thousands of American citizens
have not even heard Of the splendid mu-
scum Uncle Sam has equipped and filled
| with interesting collections for the ben
eft Of the people and in the interest of
science.
The National Museum was founded in
| 1846. Congress annually appropriates
some $4OO,O for its maintenance. In re-
cent years it has authorized the expendi-
| ture of So, 800 600 for the construction of
| a. magnificent new building to house the
| natural history and anthropolOgy colec-
| tons. This building is one Of the finest
structures Of its kind in the world. Built
| of white granite, with a great central rO-
tunda, surmounted by an imposing dome
Capitol and the Congressional Library. it
| is one Of the most perfectly appointed
structures in Washington.
| With an abundance Of windows and
skylights it's great exhibition halls and
it's storage
Ten Acres Of Space rooms for
in the New Building. tho tons not on
exhibition. are as well lighted as such
| rooms can be. This new building has
about ten acres of floor space, of which
one-half is taken up for exhibition pur-
poses. But this new building does not
| represent the entire plant of the National
Museum. The old museum building will
| be continued in service. and collections
and exhibits of arts. industries and Amer
| lean history will be kept there in the fu-
ture In addition to this. much of the
floor space of the Smithsonian Institution
building is used for similar purposes.
The relation existing between the Smith
sonian Institution and the National Mu-
scum Is a most interesting one. The
| Smithsonian Institution is to all intents
| and purposes a government establishment.
| it's governing body. or board of regents.
being appointed by Cong, res and ITS sec
gents. The funds for the work Of the
Smithsonian Institution are derived from
| the income of the bequests and gifts Of
James S;nithson and others. Congress
has made the Smithsonian the directing
agency of the National Museum, and 1t
deposits all of its treasures In the Ma
tiOnal Museum.
The exhibits in the National Museum
are remarkable for their wide range OF
subjects, for the delightful way in which
| they are shown and for their educational
value. Here one may trace the history of
the human race from the time when man.
kind lived in caves and when invention
had resulted only in the use of fire and
stone down to the time of the modern
home, the automobile. the wireless tele
graph and the flying machine.
X
He may study all forms of life from
| the lowest marine invertebrate up to the
human ma
All Forms of Life chine Of today;
Found on Exhibition. oroscopic in
sect up to the giant reptile seventy feet
| long which inhabited the earth In antedi-
luvian times. Hero he may see an exhibit
representing home scene among the