The Educational screen (c1922-c1956])

Page 220 The Educational Screen cal and neighborhood papers. They interviewed the students and teachers of the different depart- ents, prepared material, and finally had the pleasure of seeing their own articles appear in print. These articles naturally inspired requests for photographs by the city papers. These were procured, and ap- pearing there gave us state-wide publicity. Our papers have always been very generous of space for events of this sort. They realize that the pro- ject is not a commercial one and that it is interest- ing to the general public. Traffic Control The next serious problem that was attempted was the definite routing of our visitors through the building. The Safety Council, Traffic Squad, and the Pep Clubs of our school were called in. These individuals in their distinctive jackets and costumes were to act as guides to direct traffic, prevent con- gestion, answer questions, run errands, and help keep order. Through their co-operation a definite sequence of exhibits was planned so that visitors would be conducted to all parts of the school and miss none of the displays. Several important prin- ciples were developed, chief of which was to be sure that no exhibit would be placed in rooms which had only one entrance, further we had to be sure that in no place could the line of traffic intersect or cross. This was beautiful in theory but when the crowd arrived it became so difficult to handle that we finally were forced to open all entrances and al- low the people to go where they desired, thus many people missed displays in which they were espe- cially interested. This could not be avoided. If a third Science night is attempted a definite control of the visitors will be attempted by means of tickets which may be secured on application. We also believe that grade school children will have to have a special display in order to keep them away from the crowds of the evening performancce. We likewise found it essential to have some officers from the city Police force whose presence has a salutory effect on some of the younger people in keeping them orderly. On arrival our guests were greeted by the Commercial Department who gave mimeo- graphed directions as to where the exhibits could be found and when special features planned for spe- cial times of the evening occur. These were mimeo- graphed by the students as the students arrived. In this way a partial check was obtained as to the number of visitors attending. A more definite check was obtained by using the commercial arith- metic classes, who were stationed at the doors to count all entering visitors thus determining the act- ual number attending. Educational Value The motivating idea in back of the exhibits of the various departments was to get as many students as possible to show material with which they were familiar, to as many as their own classmates, par- ents, relatives, and friends as possible. Such train- ing is extremely valuable from several points of view. It develops confidence in his abilit\% in- creases the desire for a complete understanding of the project and gives the student a feeling of impor- tance in the eyes of his classmates and friends that is hard to measure. One young lady demonstrating the testing of milk for butterfat, was questioned by one of our visitors concerning the bacteria count of milk, the casin content, the amount of milk sugar, and many other facts with which she was unfamiliar. W^hen she failed to give him all the answers to the questions he had asked, he told her the exact answers to the same questions. As he turned away she turned to a teacher standing nearby and asked in great dis- gust why that crazy man asked all those questions when he already knew the answers. It turned out that the individual in question was the director in charge of the United States Pure Food and Drug Administration Department in our city, who was questioning these pupils on their training along his line. In a later discussion he remarked how well the boys and girls of today were being trained to appreciate various foods and the value of pure food. Departments The chief departments co-operating were the Art, Biology, Astronomy, Mathematics, Physics, Psy- chology, Chemistry, Latin, Library, Home Eco- nomics News-writing, and several extra-curricular groups of the school. The exhibits were arranged throughout the school with as wide a separation as possible. The one serious mistake made in the dis- play was the attempt to crowd the marvelous ex- hibit on "Consumer Education" into a small room where adequate examination space was not avail- able. In the Biology Department many microscopic displays in charge of students were arranged. In- teresting pets ranging from a Honey Bear, Monkey, and Alligators to White Rats were borrowed from various sources throughout the city. The display of Riker Mounts containing many flowers, leaves, and dry specimens created some attention. The Mathematics Department displayed demon- strations on the slide rule, classes in rapid calcula- tion, figures involving the use of Pantagraphs and manipulation of Napiers rods. A display of various transits and surveying instruments all helped some of our budding engineers explain why mathematics is the foundation of modern industry. The Astronomy Department had just completed a very nice Reflecting Telescope, the only one of its