Museums’ Services To N.Z. Schools Praised

Press, Volume CII, Issue 30288, 14 November 1963, Page 5

Museums’ Services To N.Z. Schools Praised

The standard of museum services to schools in New Zealand compared favourably with any other in the world, Mr R. H. Riecalton, preparator at the Canterbury Museum, told the recent seminar for artist-technicians engaged on school projects. Staff members from the Auckland, Wellington, and Dunedin museums attended the seminar, the first of its kind to be held in New Zealand. Mr Riecalton returned recently from an extensive trip overseas, during which he visited many leading world museums. He had taken special note of the services offered to schools, and felt that New Zealand could equal much of the material and techniques used, he said. These were particularly good in New Zealand because of the joint operation of the service by the museums and the Education Department, both of which were able to

contribute to the programme. New Zealand could learn from overseas, however, in the high standard of microscope slides which were made available to secondary school science courses, and also in the large, mobile exhibitions and art competitions which were organised for children and encouraged their interest in museums and sciences of natural history. The topics studied at the seminar ranged over the fixing and mounting of specimens, display techniques, construction materials, modelling media, and subject research for teachers’ notes. The course had been well worth while, and the chance to exchange ideas as well as the possibility of exchanging materials or duplicating them at all New Zealand museums promised to make the standards of the schools service even higher, the artisttechnician at the Canterbury Museum (Mr L. Capell), said yesterday.