Not only does the Germanic Museum foster art appreciation in the college with its many exhibitions of modern painting and sculpture but it has recently entered into a new and original field of activity. Since last fall it has opened its doors to the Cambridge Art Center for Children, which provides a definite step towards the development of art in the school children of the city.

The plan was fostered by Dr. Charles L. Kuhn '28, director of the Museum, who is president of this new Massachusetts corporation, and it is patterned after the Children's Art Center on Rutland Street in Boston where work of this sort has been in progress for some time.

That the Germanic is becoming an art resort for the younger generation of Cambridge may be seen any afternoon in the basement of the Museum where often a hundred children of all ages are gathered to work on art projects of their own choosing. Although some doubt was held at one time as to the value and popularity of the venture, it was all dispelled when over 200 showed up on the opening day.

The nature of the work is purely voluntary and there is no thought of digging up a genius now and then. The children do just whatever they wish in three hour periods each afternoon and on Saturday mornings. Each one is given a large paint brush and a biscuit tin full of colors and told to go ahead and paint. The idea is simply to give the children a chance to express themselves creatively in any way they want.

Work was first started on purely imaginative drawing, then each afternoon small groups were taken outdoors to make sketches of Cambridge scenes. Later it is planned to take them on tours through industrial sites and to Boston Harbor and then have them draw these scenes from recollection.

The subjects of the youthful artists are widely varied, everything from boats and airplanes to lighthouses and parades. The colors are on the bright side for the most part, with reds and blues predominating.