Describes the Housatonic Museum of Art at Housatonic Community College in terms of its origins; purposes; collection of 20th Century painting, sculpture, and graphics; contributions to the college environment; and safeguards of the art works. Discusses funding barriers to and benefits of replicating the community college museum concept elsewhere.…

Describes the Discovery Room at the National Museum of Natural History, a hands-on exhibit area intended to help children and adults learn about their environment. (MP)

Planning for the Alabama Space and Rocket Center's new recreational-educational complex included (1) goal establishment, (2) needs assessment (including accessibility for the disabled), (3) environmental impact analysis, (4) formulation of objectives and priorities, and (5) strategy development to meet objectives, as well as preparation of a…

A review of key provisions of the 1976 federal copyrights act covers: the rights acquired by claimed copyright, duration, transfer, termination, penalties for infringement, problems for museum collections and archives, and suggested approaches to them. Appended are an acquisitions checklist and suggested legal forms for transfer and deed of…

Describes education programs for children and educators at Chicago's Museum of Science and Industry. (Author/RH)

Describes a museum exhibit of Japanese art designed to enhance tactual awareness. Blind and sighted visitors cooperated in sharing their hands-on perceptions of objects. Display pieces, chosen for functionality and design interest, included ceramics, textiles, folk art, lacquer work, musical instruments, and household objects. (AM)

Discusses the use of film programs developed by art museums to increase elementary-level student appreciation of art. Films can be used to provide a frame of reference for museum visits. Twenty films which are helpful in preparing children for art museum field trips are listed. (AM)

Discusses the potential for cooperation between schools and art museums and examines the use of visual materials in the classroom. Surveys show that teachers normally use nonprint visual materials only to make their classrooms attractive or to illustrate information. Museum experiences can enrich student visual imagery and appreciation of art. (AM)

Describes the Advanced Drawing Studio for talented students at the Albright-Knox Gallery in Buffalo, NY. The program's purpose is to improve students' drawing skills and increase their ability to look at and appreciate abstract art. (AM)

Reports on the attitudes of 520 New York City students toward the city's museums. (DS)

Outlines the kinds of contributions picture postcards can make to library or museum materials, particularly to historical files as documentation of certain aspects of history. Various methods for putting collections of cards in order are described, from general policies concerning use and disposal, to sorting, indexing, and housing. (Author)

Describes recent publications and traveling exhibition services (and related materials) of the Smithsonian Museum. (RH)

Reports on the Smithsonian Institution's four-day international symposium on "Children in Museums." (RMH)

Describes benefits of museum field trips to elementary school children. Suggests that the experience is especially beneficial to students with learning disabilities and physical or emotional handicaps. (KC)

Describes the role of research in designing ScienceWorks, an innovative gallery at The Children's Museum of Indianapolis. The gallery was constructed on the basis of existing and new research on how children think and learn about science. The gallery is atypical in several respects but perhaps most fundamentally in its overarching agenda to foster…