The educational screen (c1922-c1956])

Page 204 The Educational Screen The Diordma Comes to the Classroom THE writer recently had occasion to use the diorama as a teaching aid in her social studies work. This comparatively new medium is still unknown to a great number of school people. But her students were so interested in it that the writer was prompted to delve further into the history, values, and applications of the diorama for classroom pvirposes. The results of this preliminary investigation are presented below. The diorama may also be called the miniature habitat group. It maj' be defined as a graphic reconstruction of a scene, in three dimensions. That is, it has depth, as well as width and height. In its most highly developed form, it is a sort of stage enclosed in a box. The word "Diorama" is derived from the Greek—"dia" meaning "through" and "horan" meaning "to see," and means literally "to see through." Originally used as an exhibit in museums, it was evolved partly from the universal method of installing What the diorama is, how it functions in the learning process, and why it belongs in the classroom—by a teacher that uses it. JULIA VAN FLEET South Orange Junior High School South Orange, New Jersey and fixed. In a few, we find removable figures, i.e., those which can be inserted in their proper place in the scene. These can be easily constructed by students of all ages. They are especially desirable for the lower elementary grades, where students are particularly anxious to partake in or carry on activities. Occasionally we find a diorama with moving parts, such as those ex- hibited in .store windows or other large commercial ex- hibits. Perhaps the most important factor of the diorama that conveys the third dimensional aspect is the figures. A diorama presenting a scene in the Amazon Region. information, on shelves, or in cases, all subjects re- lating to the same thing. Subjects pertaining to science, history and ethnology were commonly presented in this way. The great cost and difficulty of constructing large groups of scenes and the desire to show whole villages, ceremonies and events containing a great number of figures led to the development of miniature scenes. The further method of placing these scenes against background logically led to the use of the curved background. Dioramas vary greatly in size and construction. Some are very small, perha])s with an 8x10 inch front and a depth of 4 inches, in which cardboard cut-outs are placed to depict a scene. On the other hand, the diorama called "The City of Light," which was shown at the New York World's Fair, was of enormous size, measur- ing a full city block in length. In the majority of dioramas, the figures are stationary These may consist of any of the following three forms— the flat cardboard figure, the half-round figure and the three-dimensional figure. In a true diorama, the latter is desired, as it brings home most vividly the third di- mension, which is essential for a realistic reconstruction of the scene. This aid to learning is at present in its infancy, inso- far as educators have been ready to accept it in their teaching program. The literature on the subject is ex- tremely meager, with only one research study having been reported to date. This is the study by Dr. Irene F. Cypher.* A good deal of work in connection with the construction and school use of this device has been performed by museums and WPA visual aids extension projects. Since the diorama is, in essence, an adaptation 1. Cypher, Irene Fletcher. The Devetopmctit of the Diorama in the Museums of the United States. Ph.D. thesis. New York University, 1942.