Evening star., 1936-05-10
faces of brightly-arrayed dolls which

faces of brightly-arrayed dolls which
come from many lands.
The beauty of simple things is here.
Here, for instance, is a table on
which shells, large and small, of diff
ferent shapes and delicate colorings,
mutely call attention to their lowell
ness. Nearby is collection of min
erals from the far corners of the earth
and from less distant places. Also
near is a collection of coins and
medals.
An aquarium in which goldfish
swim stands in the center of the room
BY one wall is a set of shelves labeled
Miscellaneous Collection" and filled
with carved animals and figures from
Switzerland, ivory toys from China,
chopsticks from Korea.
An early American" corner near
the door contains old cradles, minia-
ture four-poster bed, properly equipped
with a spread of the period; dolls
kitchen utensils of the SOS, rag rugs
and an ancient china doll in calico
dress and practical apron. In another
corner stands a two-burner electric
stove, cooking utensils, cups and sau-
GERS, all ready for making tea for
guests or chocolate or candy for the
girls who gather in this pretty room.
which they planned, arranged and
manage.
THERE is an interesting story be-
hind this room. 1t Is story
rooted in the love of children and an
understanding of their needs, the
same story that lies behind the his
tory of Hillcrest itself, the beautiful
children's village growing out of the
institution founded in 1915 to care for
the children of wounded or dead SOL
diers of the War of 1912. Situated
in one of the loveliest spots of Wash
ington, surrounded by spacious, we'll
kept and attractive grounds, and con-
structed after the cottage type of in
stitution, Hillcrest is in every ma
terial way unlike the orphan asylum
characteristic of the days when its
founders-among them Dolly Madi-
son and Marcia Van Ness-worked
hard and earnestly in its behalf.
Because the work is endowed, those
in charge of it are spared the usual
task of raising money" for the ac-
customed activities of the place, and
are thus enabled to study the chill
dren under their care and to provide
more than merely the so-called prac-
tical training for them.
The children's museum, affection
ately called the Little Museum, is
among the more recent activities at
Hillcrest. 1t grew from a small be-
ginning. One of the members of the
board of lady managers "a delightful
name bequeathed by the founders)
observed that whenever any of the
girls came to talk to her they usually
had in their hands flowers, leaves,
pieces of stone, or other things picked
up on their walks to and from school.
Seeing how much these simple things
seemed to mean to the girls, this
"lady manager" suggested that a place
be found where they could be. kept
safe.
The idea met with favor at once.
The girls searched their rooms and
brought out for the projected
museum" a variety Of objects gath
cred here and there-coins, stamps,
, birds eggs and many other treas
ures.
8, They began, also, to search sys-
tematically for new objects. One girl
/. killed a snake which she had discov-
etred near the stream flowing through
: the village grounds, and, having
skinned it, she stretched and dried the
skin so that it might be added to. the
exhibits. Another girl found a dead
bird, which she stuffed; still another
brought a uve turtle. and others
brought bees, caterpillars, and even
flies.
COON the collections had grown be-
~ yond the point where they could
be kept in one limited spot. The
present room was given to the Museum
Committee in 1888. The girls who
were to use it spent many hours cut
ting and hemming curtains for the
windows, saving. mailing, and paint
ing the shelves to hold the exhibits,
and placing the collections. The
material was organized, put on
shelves, labeled, and catalogued with