The Washington herald., 1921-10-09

information on all material in the
museum.
Prof j. W. <withers. superIn-
tendent of instruction of the pub
lie schools of 81. Louis. says in his
catalogue of 100 pages that the
board of education maintains a
school museum for the purpose of
supplying the schools with material
for the illustration OF the daily
lessons in geography. history, ma
ture study and the contents of the
reading lessons. The apparatus,
objects and pictorial illustrations
furnished by the museum will. If
properly used, make the schoolWork
more interesting and intelligible.
will give the child vivid and last
ing Impressions of what is taught,
and will bring them into personal
contact with the world in which
they live" With respect to the
matter to which they refer, truer
words than these were never
printed
The materials for demonstration
in this st. Louis Educational
Museum consist principally of all
sorts of domestic and foreign plant
products to illustrate food prod
ucts." Foreign and domestic wooda
are similarly illustrated, as are the
materials used for clothing and
shelter" from furs and wool to all
kinds of vegetable fbers. The vari-
Gus stages in the manufacture of
glass, paper, leather, ink. needles.
pencils, and many other thingl
used in daily life are also fully H.
Illustrated. In another section we
have the articles and models H.
Illustrating the life OF the different
peoples of the world" while the
animal world is illustrated by
mounted specimens of mammals
birds, and other forms from many
| parts of the globe, by skins OF the
same, alcoholic specimens, casts.
skeletons, and so on. BY still other
methods, plants and minerals are
similarly illustrated, and here we
also have models and charts ot
plants, together with an herbarium.
And so 1t goes, by the aid of all
sorts of appropriate material.
through physics. physical geo
graphy, astronomy, anatomy, phy-
sology. etc. A fine series OF Ian
tern slides, monographs, coIored
charts and musical and literary
records for the. monographs in the
various public schools in the CITY
| are also at hand.
Not only are classes of children
brought from the schools on stated
days to this museum for study. but
the teachers may, by telephoning to
the museum, have material prompt
iy deliverd to them by the museum
auto trucks when needed for lee
lures to the various classes. return
Ing 1t in the same way when
through with it. The entire sys-
tenn Is perfect, practical,> and won
derfuliy successful in all that II
aims 70 enect: and IL seems to me
that this would be an admirabl
sort OF enterprise to put on foot and
carry TO completion here In Wash
ington.
What have we in it's place az the
present time? Starting from the
Park View public school, for ex-
ample. and with the children Of the
seventh and eighth grades, in order
to see and have explained TO them
the material illustrating what has
been taught them by their teach
ers. the class must visit the Patent
ONCE, the Geological Survey, the
Agricultural Department, the
United States National Museum. the
smithsonian Institution. the Fish
Commission. the United States
Botanic Garden and other Federal
Institutions, before their attention
Han be brought to what is required
Everything they see is labeled and
arranged for the consideration Of
adults and experts. The Children's
Museum, in the South Tower Of the
Smithsonian Institution is made
quate for the purpose In hand to
the last desree-indeed, a Joke. and
all the collections and museums
are too far from all the schools;
the class is tired out before IL Is
half way through. hungry and de-
pressed by the profitless experience.
At the beginning of THE world