Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1925-12-27
Art Assists Uncle Sam in New Ways of Teaching Farmers

ly. Light motion Is also effective.
Three-fourths of the Federal exhibits
are now based on the use of light and
motion. Rotating signs, cutout fig
ures moving in grooves, and small
working models Of machines and i'm.
PIGMENTS arc used as is necessary.
The cutouts are made of composition
board reinforced with wooden strips.
Fingers of men and women and the
cars Of live stock are backed with
sheetiron strips which are linked to
the body of each figure. Each figure
is mounted on a wooden base. 1t is
so arranged that II looks lifelike when
the spectacle stands away at a little
distance
During the ordinarv 12-month Pc
Rod Uncle Sans agricultural ex-
hibits are displayed at approximate
" 100 fairs, shows and expositions.
In exceptional years. the touring
sldeshows' have been shown at as
many s 200 eNpostions, State, Fed
eral and local. Three years ago a
wonderful display of American farm
ing practices and methods in exhibit
tlon form was sent 10 Brazil where il
ranked among the most popular eX-
hibits at that exposition. Prepare
ions are now being made for another
extensive group of exhibits, which
2
l32', At great international exposi-
tion. The same year Uncle Sam will
send meritorious collection Of ex-
hlblts to Ottawa, Canada. to be SHOWN
at an international poultry congress
which will convene there.
The national Department OF Agri-
culture leads all the other Govern
ment branches in the volume and all
around excellence of its educational
EXHIBITS. The Bureau of Mines and
| the Bureau of Standards use minia-
| ture models and exhibits to sell"
/ many of their scientific conclusions
:" the general public. The Interior
department. also. on occa sion has
utilized exhibits effectively. Naturally.
/ the Smithsonian Institution and the
( National Museum TEEN with miniature
models and educational exhibits.
Time was when the Patent ONCE was
the depository for hundreds of thou
sands of curious models of pending or
/ approved inventions The War and
Navy Departments have utilized eX-
hibits in some of their publicity.
/ Seeing is believing" even today.
Just as 1t was when this expression
was first coined. Man may read
thousands of pages and listen to in
/ Vulnerable speeches by fluent orators
and vet not be convinced But if, In
! the short interval of minute or so,
| he can actually see and feel the sub
/ Jcct matter under discussion, either
/ in full or abbreviated form, the odds
/ are leo TO l that he can be con-
( Ferted TO new way of thinking. And
herein lies the great intrinsic value
/ of yisualized education. Say il in Wis
J lhle action or in easily translatable
! pantomime or pictures these days if
! YOU would aspire to gain a large
audience and to increase your ranks
I of Well-Wishers and converts.
You can not stuff a man full OF
statistics which he will remember and
recall. Dry facts and figures will
never draw crowd while the motion
! pictures are in progress just around
/ the corner. Similarly you cannot for
: long use mechanical elephant sue
/ ccssfully as an att action for a stereo-
typed display of NV irrigation meth
DDS. But mod of an irrigation
ditch set down amidst a dry.land
farming district with the waters from
the ditch regularly flooding over the
thirsty fields-this is the scientific
| message which the irrigation farmer
can understand and interpret into in
creased crops and greater profits dur
! ing pote ntial seasons.
! The ONCE of Exhibits with the mo-
/ ton picture laboratory of the Depart
ment of Agriculture are steps in our
| governmental efforts to disseminate
the findings of science in more effec
| tive form throughout the United
/ States. These sight-of-eye demonstra-
| tons are briefed stories of agricul-
| lures ConQuests; true stories which
/ defy contradiction, which override
/ argument, and which gain adherents
| on short notice, whereas old style
| extension methods required months
and years to accomplish similar re-
/ suits.