What a Fatigue Museum Is.
A fatigue museum is a collection of devices for and information concerning the elimination of fatigue, or for affording rest for overcoming fatigue. Its purpose is to serve as an object lesson as to how the fatigue problem may be approached practically. It aims primarily not to show beautiful exhibits, but to show devices which have actually done service. Many of these bear the marks of clumsy workmanship and hurried and cheap construction. This is an advantage rather than a disadvantage. It shows that fatigue elimination does not demand a large expenditure of money, nor depend upon having at the beck and call highly skilled mechanics to make the devices. Some of the exhibits have the excellent finish and the careful workmanship of the perfect product; but no chair or piece of equipment, photograph, or drawing is too rough or too unfinished to find a place in the museum, if it contains an idea that actually may be utilized to eliminate or overcome fatigue.
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.
What the Fatigue Museum Contains.
The fatigue museum contains, at the present time, types of chairs, types of devices which hold working material in a convenient position, several assembly devices, several transportation devices, a work apron, and various drawings and photographs. It emphasizes, particularly, the chairs, as we feel that these are needed immediately and pressingly in all industries. A detailed description of the chairs will, perhaps, prove of most interest.
What the Museum Does Not Contain.
The museum contains, as yet, few exhibits, though we are expecting more in the near future. We are constantly impressed with the fact that it contains so few exhibits; this, in spite of the fact that we have sent out appeals since 1913, that have reached large numbers of people.