The Parent Fatigue Museum.
The parent fatigue museum is in Providence, Rhode Island, and was started by us some years ago with five devices,—three chairs and two devices for conveying material. It has grown very slowly, and even now comprises but a dozen devices and a few score of photographs. It is open every day of the year, free for inspection by visitors. Most of the devices submitted and exhibited have not been patented. The Fatigue Museum patents no devices, has no commercial interest at all in the devices exhibited, but it accepts fatigue eliminating exhibits of any kind from inventors or managers, and posts, along with the exhibit and the description of its special features, the name of the inventor and his address; this, that any one interested may get in touch with the maker of any devices already in existence. Realizing that few find it possible to visit the museum, we have taken photographs of the various exhibits, and are glad to send these with descriptions to any who are interested, and who write to ask for them.
We find that the interest in the museum grows. Branch museums are springing up in different parts of the country. Every man at the second session of our Summer School of Measured Functional Management, which consisted of professors of psychology, engineering, and economics, volunteered to open a branch at his college. We are glad to have others who are interested, no matter what their field of activity, start branches also. All that is necessary to open a branch is to collect photographs, drawings, or actual examples of fatigue eliminating devices. Some of the college fatigue museums have consisted, until now, simply of such collections, though one college in particular has appropriated one hundred dollars, and is providing space for the exhibition of working models.
The parent museum is called Museum of Devices for Eliminating Unnecessary Fatigue, Number One, and the branch museums are numbered chronologically. There is no reason why such museums should not be started in every factory, as well as in every college, and we are delighted to co-operate with any one who desires to start such a museum.