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the Constitution Avenue portico. We will then be able to convert that area into a pleasant lounge where our visitors can come to relax and see exhibits of the research that is going on behind the scenes in the Museum and at STRI, RBL, and Chesapeake Bay Center.

The education area that will be available on the first floor of the West Court building will enable us to present to all the guided student tour groups an orientation program (including a movie) that will prepare them for their visit to the exhibit halls. It will be modeled after the Introductory Theater at Williamsburg. At the present our student tour groups hit the Rotunda in a state of chaos without any understanding of what to expect from the Museum. In the evenings and on weekends the education area will be used by the Associates for their classes.

We have a most exciting plan for the use of the second floor. Here we intend to have a "Discovery Room" for the amateur naturalists. On this floor will be assembled synoptic collections of biological, geological, paleontological and anthropological specimens. The people using these collections will be able to handle specimens directly so that they can compare and identify their own material. Microscopes, hand lenses and other equipment will be available to them together with a small reference library. Local amateur science clubs will be able to use this area for their meetings. Trained volunteer docents will help the visitors by showing them how to use the collections and the equipment. This area will function like a library but with specimens in place of books. It will serve to bridge the gap between the regular exhibits and the research collections.

So as you can see, the West Court building will make it possible for us to do many things which we have not been able to do. Although construction has turned out to be more expensive than was first considered, most of the operation will be self-supporting and it will eventually pay for itself entirely. I am most alarmed at any possible delay, for not only will it postpone the availability of the new facilities and services, but it will also result in an increase in the cost for the building owing to inflation. This West Court building will do much to give the Museum of Natural History the kind of luster and excitement already present in the other "new" Museums on the Mall. We need the sparkle that this new building will provide. I hope that you will be able to convince the Regents to support this investment.

With best wishes,
Sincerely,
[[signed]] Porter [[/signed]]