In may june 2015 cover

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The Panama Canal - Miraflores Locks.

JVA InterpNews

2 Volume 4, #3, May/June 2015

The international heritage interpretation e-magazine.

Wow - May-June already. And after a cold Michigan winter I 'm really ready for spring and summer!

This issue has a lot of really interesting articles for you. Note our new interpretive training e-live courses now available, including our very popular Interpretive Writing e-LIVE course. I have learned that there are several organizations that have posted InterpNEWS issues on their web site for their members to have access too. THANK YOU! This adds hundreds more readers for IN and helps share the knowledge our authors are providing by their articles in InterpNEWS. We are now over 155,000 InterpNEWS recipients in 36 countries. Check out the interp. panel on the last page - free to use :)

Standing Stone - Isle of Aaron Scotland. jv

Interpretive research - articles please. I really would like IN to be a funnel for publishing interpretive research papers. I know that the Journal of Interpretation has them (I 'm a NAI Journal Associate Editor), but if you've done a really important interpretive research study either as part of a M.S. or Ph.D. thesis, or as an independent researcher and want more than a "few" people to read it, or would like the "field" to USE your research results to improve their agency/services, this is the place to publish your work too. Additional articles I 'm always looking for as well are listed below. Enjoy spring. JV

* Interpreting and using Music for interpretive presentations. * Interpreting heritage foods and food preparation. * Interpretive research results. * Interpretation of communities. * Living history interpretation (planning/presentation).

* Interpretation for children. * Interpretation of churches/cemeteries. * Historic site-home interpretation. * New museum exhibit technology. * Interpreting climate change.

Author guidelines: up to about 4 typed pages, single spaced, with photos as jpegs. Give your contact information web site or e-mail (and a photo of your smiling face if you want to). Send as a WORD document so I can cut and paste to fit the IN format. Let me hear from you: jvainterp@aol.com - John Veverka - Publisher

In this issue:

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- Interpreting the Panama Canal - John A. Veverka - Interpretive Tip: Succession Planning or “Ending on a High Note� - J. Patrick Barry, - Discover Derbyshire & Peak District app launched. Dan Boys - MUSEO DE ARTE DE PUERTO RICO Offers New Community Programs.

- Revealing the "rest of the story" through Art Museum Interpretation... John Veverka - Buried on Huguenot Hill, a Collection of Poetical Stories. Dr. Martha Benn Macdonald - Adding Interpretive Preview Slides to Illustrated Programs. Austin Barrett - Press Release: Exhibit Labels An Interpretive Approach - Second Edition - JVA Interpretive Writing Course.

- Seven new interpretive e-LIVE courses (Interpretive Trails, Planning Interpretive Panels).

- The Benefits of Distance Learning and the Museum Classes Program from Northern States Conservation Center - Peggy Schaller - Empower Visitors to Maximize the Value of Their Visit - Dr Steve Bitgood - Interpretation for Young Children: Making Museums Relevant - Sharon E. Shaffer, PhD - Sharing Docents in a Heartland Town. Elizabeth Vallance and Jean Graves

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- Valeria Klitsounova, PhD

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- Interpretation concept is crossing the border of the former USSR

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InterpNEWS is published six times a year as a FREE John Veverka & Associates publication and published as a service to the interpretive profession. If you would like to be added to our mailing list just send an e-mail to jvainterp@aol.com and we will add you to our growing mailing list. Contributions of articles are welcomed. It you would like to have an article published in InterpNEWS let me know what you have in mind. Cover photo: The Panama Canal - Miraflores Locks (photo by JV) www.heritageinterp.com , jvainterp@aol.com. SKYPE: jvainterp.

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Interpreting the Panama Canal.

"An amazing interpretive experience."

John A. Veverka Certified Interpretive Trainer/Planner Interpretive Coach

Not too long ago I had the great experience of visiting Panama and, during that visit, had the chance to do some interpretive coaching for the Panama Canal Interpreters stationed at the two Panama Canal Visitor Centers and observation decks. The story of the Panama Canal is quite amazing and the interpreters do give just a short overview of it. If you want to know more about the history of the Panama Canal I recommend this web site: http://www.june29.com/tyler/nonfiction/pan2.html.

Having worked as a interpretive planner and training consultant for the US Army Corps of Engineers for 30 years I was/as very familiar with how the canals and canal locks in the United States work. But when you see the ships moving through the Panama Canal - you have an immediate feeling of awe and "wow"! I sure did.

The main point of interpretation of the Panama Canal takes place at the Miraflores Visitor Center and Museum. This is a huge facility. When I visited it there were over 50 tour busses parked outside. The center is "the" main tourist attraction for tour companies and the center receives thousands of visitors a day. Note that the site visit time for the tour busses is about 2 hours People gather at the Miraflores Visitor's Center to watch ships go through the locks. The center features a theater, three observation decks, two snack bars, a restaurant with panoramic view of the Canal, a gift shop, and a hall for special events. Exhibits at the Visitor's Center include historic pieces, video presentations, models of the Panama Canal, and objects used in Canal operations.

Visitor's Center at Miraflores Locks.

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The museum experience is usually the first interpretation visitors receive here. There are four large exhibit areas: The History Hall portrays the background, technological innovations, and sanitary initiatives that went hand in hand with the construction of the Canal. This exhibition hall honors the hundreds of men and women who made this achievement possible.

The Hall of Water: Source of Life emphasizes the importance of water, conservation of the environment and biodiversity, protection of the Canal Watershed, and the ACP’s commitment to the sustainable management of this resource and the inter-oceanic region.

The Canal in Action depicts in an amusing manner how the Canal operates and allows us the experience of being inside a navigation simulator and one of the lock culverts. A virtual ocean-to-ocean transit is also made possible through the use of a topographical model. This exhibition showcases Canal improvement, modernization, and maintenance projects.

The Canal in the World provides information on the importance of the Canal to world trade; describes the trade routes it serves; and identifies its main users, the various types of vessels that transit the waterway, and the commodities they carry. In addition, it presents an overview of studies conducted in order to guarantee the future competitiveness of the Canal and the benefits to the Republic of Panama.

Some of my favorite exhibits:

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This view of the visitor center shows the five main viewing areas - and typical mid-day visitor numbers. When I was there the interpreters were located on each of the viewing areas giving a short 15 minute talk about how the canal works and "canal fun facts". The interpreters are interpreters in two senses as the visitors come from all over the world, so interpreters can also interpret in Spanish, English, German, and a few other languages. Our coaching was in how to use "provoke, relate, reveal in creating their talks, and in audience engagement.

The interpreters told me that there are usually the same questions over and over again and they develop their talks to address these most commonly asked questions. But they also created dialogs with the visitors asking them questions like "how much do you think it costs for ships to travel through the canal?" They enjoy the "reveal" and surprise on the faces of the visitors when they hear the answers. Here are some of the canal facts they interpret.

Interpreting the process of guiding ships through the locks.

1. Before a ship can enter the canal it has to pay the toll. How much the toll is depends on the size and "tonnage" of the ship. Here are some general tolls. A vessel must pay a toll fee to use the canal, which is calculated based on the size of the ship, type of ship and the number of passengers or the amount of cargo onboard. The typical rates paid are as follows: Yachts and Other Small Vessels: USD 1,300 to USD 2,500 Loaded Containerships: USD 50,000 to USD 250,000 Cruise Ships: USD 80,000 to USD 300,000 The most expensive toll fee ever paid was by the Disney Cruise Ship on 16 May 2008; of USD 331,200 for one West to East passage.

2. The Pilot comes next.

When the ship has paid its toll (in CASH by electronic bank deposit), it is given a position number to enter the canal. When the ship first enters into the canal a Panama Canal official pilot boards the ship and takes over the movement/piloting of the ship through the Panama Canal. Then the ship makes its way out of the canal the pilot return the control of the ship to the captain and then may pilot another ship through the canal in the other direction.

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As the ships move through the locks they are towed by the "mules". In the old days they were actually mules.

Today they are the small locomotives you see in the photo below. There are mules on each side of the ship pulling it through the canal locks and keeping the ships from "bumping" on the sides of locks.

It takes between 8 to 10 hours for a ship go move through the canal. The canal operates 24 hours a day with a steady flow of ships moving through it.

With the increase in size of today's mega-ships, the canal currently cannot handle all of them, so the canal is being expanded to handle today’s megaships. In 2007, work began on a $5.25 billion expansion project that will enable the canal to handle post-Panamax ships; that is, those exceeding the dimensions of so-called Panamax vessels, built to fit through the canal, whose locks are 110 feet wide and 1,000 feet long. The expanded canal will be able to handle cargo vessels carrying 14,000 20-foot containers, nearly three times the amount currently accommodated. The expansion project, expected to be completed in late 2015, includes the creation of a new, larger set of locks and the widening and deepening of existing navigational channels. However, while the new locks will be able to fit many modern ships, they still won’t be super-sized enough for some vessels, such as Maersk’s Triple E class ships, the planet’s biggest container ships, which measure 194 feet wide and 1,312 feet long, with a capacity of 18,000 20-foot containers.

Besides the interpretation via the viewing deck, the other way to experience the canal, and have interpretation with a "different view" is to do a canal boat trip through one or two of the canal locks, about an hour experience. You get to see the locks system from the water view which adds a new dimension to the total canal interpretive experience.

Waiting for the lock to open (left photo), and my wife and I enjoying our interpretive experience.

All in all, the Panama Canal variety of interpretive experiences was a wonderful full sensory interpretive experience, and thee interpreters at the visitor centers, and on the canal boat trip, managed to have fun, enthusiasm, and enjoyed sharing the Panama Canal stories, facts and experiences with us.

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Interpretive Tip: Succession Planning or “Ending on a High Note”

By J. Patrick Barry, Certified interpretive Trainer

In the television show “Sienfeld”, character George Castanza tried to “end on a high note.” In one episode he walked out of a meeting after he told a great joke which left everyone laughing heartily.

When we leave our jobs as interpreters it is good to leave on a high note. As I prepared to retire, I postponed the date so I could train successors to teach the two interpretive classes I taught for my agency. Another ranger took over a national website replacing me as the subject matter expert. A different ranger took over distribution of software for a program used agency-wide. I could not retire in good conscience until all of these tasks were passed on to others who would maintain continuity.

I followed the advice of my friend and emeritus interpretive ranger, Nancy Rogers, who told me not to take on anything new, but to focus instead on finishing what I already had in progress. Good advice!

Retirement is one thing. There are a huge number of steps involved to make sure that you can navigate life after work. But, what if you are simply leaving one job for a different job? Don’t you owe it to your coworkers to leave your records in a state so they may seamlessly move on after you are gone?

Here are some things that will help.

I view paperwork as a “necessary evil” I must complete so I can get on with the more enjoyable parts of my job. (See my forthcoming book, “Last Ranger in the Woods” about the disappearance of rangers from the outdoors where they belong to offices where they really don’t).

When leaving an interpretive site, it is good to get everything as “caught up” as possible including performance appraisals (whether you are on the giving or receiving end of these).

Some of us have property inventories to complete. Some have projects that need to be passed on to coworkers for completion or continuity.

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Where I worked for many years we wrote “Farewell Newsletters” for all departing rangers. Someone assumed the role of editor and others contributed articles ranging from “roasts” to very sentimental and heartfelt notes of encouragement. This probably had as much to do with closure and saying goodbye as it had to do with giving our fellow workers a good sendoff and some stories to remember.

As I looked through my old computer files I realized that many of the files would be helpful to those remaining behind. Planning documents, display text, contract information and useful trivia are all helpful to the people you leave behind. If the materials are not needed, let them decide.

Have you presented meaningful and memorable interpretive programs? I hope so! Why not leave a video behind so your coworkers can, as Kelly Farrell, Chief of Interpretation of Arkansas State Parks says, “Honor you by using your idea!”

In addition, there are some processes that you (and only you) handled. No one else knew the details. Please share that information with several people before you move.

If you ever want to hear from fellow staff members again,leaving some forwarding information is a good idea.

What if that letter from a dear old friend arrives a month after you start your new job 1,000 miles away?

Wouldn’t it be good to get that letter?

We all possess institutional memory. At the 2005 National Association for Interpretation National Workshop in Mobile, Alabama I presented a session called “Preserving Institutional Memory.” Your office needs safe backups for important records in case of fires, earthquakes, storms, floods, or theft. This needs to be done regardless of whether you are staying or leaving.

When all of this work is completed you can walk out the door feeling that you’ve helped your coworkers fill the void you left as you moved to your next assignment.

We can all be replaced. Completing the above tasks makes it so much easier for those you leave behind to train your replacement. Then, they can start on a high note!

By J. Patrick Barry, Certified interpretive Trainer jpatbarry@hotmail.com

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News Release Discover Derbyshire & Peak District app launched.

Dan Boys

Discover lesser-known cultural highlights that Derbyshire and the Peak District has to offer with a brand new app.

At the heart of this free app are personal oral reminiscences and some of the best archive photography the region has to offer. Use this app to compare now and then. Listen to local residents personal stories that bring the past to life and fade old images of Derbyshire into your camera view and see how today's scene has changed.

There are walking trails to download and nearly 200 ‘hidden gems’ to explore across the region. Further places and trails will be added to the app throughout the 2015 Made in Derbyshire cultural celebrations, and beyond.

The app has been created by Higham-based company Audio Trails Ltd who have produced 20 location-aware apps for clients across England and Wales. Dan Boys Creative Director explained the reasons behind the app, "It is the result of over 10 years of research and writing, talking and listening, and collecting and taking photographs. The app celebrates a diverse range of hidden gems across Derbyshire and the Peak District and is intended to take you to places you may not have visited before, or make you say, 'well I never knew that' about a place you know well."

Ann Wright, Head of Arts for Derbyshire County Council and co-ordinator of the Made in Derbyshire campaign, said “This app fits in perfectly with the aims of our campaign, highlighting the best that Derbyshire has to offer and showcasing the county’s people, places, products and heritage.”

If you have stories or images related to Derbyshire and the Peak District that you would like to add to this app then please get in touch. We are especially keen to hear from oral history projects - the app is a great way to share recordings with a wider audience.

The app is currently available for iOS devices on the AppStore and an Android version is planned to follow later in the year. Visit www.discover-derbyshire.com for further information.

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Audio Trails Ltd, established in 2005, create exciting location-aware location aware digital visitor experiences for countryside and heritage sites across England and Wales. Website www.audiotrails.co.uk

Dan Boys www.audiotrails.co.uk 40 Strettea Lane, Higham, Derbyshire, DE55 6EJ 07800 799561

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MUSEO DE ARTE DE PUERTO RICO OFFERS NEW COMMUNITY PROGRAMS Centro de Investigaci贸n/ Research Center Wilbur Marvin Foundation Museo de Arte de Puerto Rico

Museo de Arte de Puerto Rico (MAPR) is immersed in social impact projects using art as the main vehicle for change. The MAPR, since its beginning, has provided trainings to teachers in the integration of art into the school curriculum; but in recent years, the focus of these projects have been expanded. Now, in addition to continue trainings for teachers, the museum also provides training in art integration techniques for teachers in the special education curriculum. For two consecutive years, the MAPR, through a contract with VSA The Kennedy Center, have Museum docent with VSA The Kennedy Center participants during a guided interpretative visit

offered free training opportunities to 60 special education teachers at the museum. Teachers are trained in teaching techniques for exceptional children, integration of visual arts for sensory development, special education and visual arts, technical assessment and evaluation for special education, assistive technology as a learning tool for children and adults with different capacities, among others. Teachers have the opportunity to participate in museum guided visits with a teacher-educator who facilitates the interpretation of works of art, which they can use to integrate into their classrooms. This unique experience sets the museum at the vanguard of specialized trainings for teachers.

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JVA InterpNews This year, funds from the Institute of Museum and Library Services have enabled digital art workshops for youth at-risk. The MAPR through collaborative partnerships with the General Court of Justice - Office of Court Administration, the YWCA, and “Padre Rufo” Bilingual School, a neighboring community schoolin Santurce, is offering digital art, digital photography, and digital narratives workshops to 30 youthat-risk. This project, first of its kind in the museum, has been providing, free of charge, workshops conducted by outstanding young teachers of art, using the lab computers and the museum's permanent collection as inspiration for young people.

Also, this collaborative partnership with the Office of Court Administration provides the opportunity for a team collaborating for the success of youth at-risk convinced that this partnership offers the tools and inspiration to excel using art as an essential tool. The program is also a mentoring platform for teaching social and cultural values, and conflict resolution.

The Museum has already submitted2016 proposals to further expand community outreach projects for professional development of teachers and children and youth with disabilities.

Youth at-risk participating in digital art workshops

The Museum’s Director of Education, Professor Doreen Colón Camacho stated that the museum has always developed innovative projects looking at the needs of the community. "Certainly," she said, "these new approaches will broaden our educational offerings."

The museums is opened to educational and cultural alliances with local and international community organizations and museums. For information regarding our programs you can contact us at 787-977-6277, visit our Web page www.mapr.org or look us up on Facebook.

Prof. Doreen Colón Camacho, head of the Education Department, Museo de Arte de Puerto Rico, Wilbur Marvin Foundation Museo de Arte de Puerto Rico Tel. 787-977-6277, Ext. 2260

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JVA InterpNews Revealing the "rest of the story" through Art Museum Interpretation...

Why "art" often needs an interpreters touch to be really understood.

John A. Veverka Certified Interpretive Planner/Trainer John Veverka & Associates

They say that art is found "in the eye of the beholder". And in many respects that's true. In 30+ years of providing interpretive training for staff, docents and volunteers in a variety of museums, including art museums, what we "see" when we look at an art piece can be very different from what the person standing next to us sees. But we often don't really "see" the story behind the art - we receive the curators version of facts who created the art, when, where, with what - but what is often left out is "the why?". That leads us to interpreting "the rest of the story" and the role of interpretation in art museums. Before we look at the planning process and delivery methods for art museum interpretation, let's look at a what interpretation can accomplish with this truly interpretive example (delivered by a live interpreter, but also available as an audio tour station or printed guide).

Let me tell you about Willem's Passion.

More than anything, Willem wanted to be an evangelist. He was only twenty-five, a century ago, but already he's been an art dealer, language teacher, bookseller... and unsuccessful in love.

But more than all the paintings and all the words and all the books and all the women, Willem wanted to devote himself to his fellow man, and the Word of God. It was this passion that brought young Willem, in the spring of 1879, to the coal fields of southern Belgium. It was there, in a little mining town, that Willem outlined "the rest of the story" on the back of a faded envelope.

Perhaps it was the young minister's total selflessness that first captured the respect of the miners in that tiny Borinage community. In a mine disaster sores of the villagers were injured and no one fought harder to save them than he.

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Every Sunday they overflowed Willem's services to hear this unassuming man preach the literal Word of God. And then lightning struck.

A visiting church official discovered Willem living in a simple hut, dressed in an old soldier's oat and trousers made of sacking. When he asked Willem what he had done with his salary, Willem answered simply that he'd given it to the miners.

The church official told Willem that he looked more miserable than the people he taught. Willem was dismissed from the service of the church that day. He was devastated. The career that had meant everything was suddenly gone. There followed weeks of despair.

Then one gray afternoon, Willem noticed an old miner. He strained beneath the enormous weight of a full sack of coal. In that instant, Willem again felt the desperation of these people - and recognized that it would always be his own.

Fumbling through his pockets, the Dutchman pulled out a tattered envelope... and then a pencil... and began to sketch crude ones, but he tried over and over again.

Beginning that day Willem was to capture for the world the torment, triumph, and dignity of the people he loved.

If Willem had failed as a minister, there was now a new passion...a new purpose.

And the people he was not allowed to teach, he was able to reach through his art. In the process he immortalized them...and they him.

For the end of Willem's career as a clergyman motivated a ministry more monumental than he had ever dreamed.

Because the preacher who wasn't to be, became the artist the world would know... as Vincent Willem van Gogh.

So now you know the "rest of the story" about this amazing artist and this story behind this wonderful and powerful work. (from example of artist interpretation from Paul Harvey's Rest of the Story).

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So there was/is a "rest of the story" to this art work. The goal of the interpretation was to inject a "person", a feeling, an emotion, an understanding of the time, and a meaning beyond what the viewer might see, into the presentation. To see more with the heart than eye.

So what makes the interpretation of art in art museums "interpretive" anyway? Let's look at what "interpretation" as a profession. You can receive a B.S., M.S. and Ph.D in interpretation, so it is just more that what you do, it is a science, profession and valuable communication process. Interpretation is defined as: A communication process designed to REVEAL meanings and relationships of our natural and cultural heritage, to the public, through first hand involvement and experiences with objects, artifacts, landscapes and sites.(Interpretation Canada).

It should be stressed that interpretive communications is not simply presenting information, but a specific communication strategy that is used to translate that information for people, from the technical language of the expert, to the everyday language of the visitor.

Where do the basic strategies, techniques and principles of Interpretive Communications come from?

It is important to remember that the communication process of interpretation did not spontaneously appear one day. Interpretation (the profession, and the techniques and approaches) are a wonderful mix from communication principles from many other professions including: * Journalism * Marketing * Psychology * Non-formal and adult education theory and presentations. * Business management and finances. * Recreation and tourism planning/principles * Media planning/design principles.

In reality, we see the use of interpretive techniques and principles every time we see an advertisement in a magazine or commercial on television.

The communication process used to "interpret" information is based on Tilden's Interpretive Principles (Tilden, 1954). Tilden's basic communication principles are also the ones you will find in every first year marketing or advertising text book on successful communication with your market (audience).

- First, the communication must Provoke curiosity, attention and interest in the audience. If you can't get their attention, they won't even stop at an exhibit, want to attend a program, or pay attention during programs.

In planning the strategy as to how to provoke attention, the interpreter has to consider the answer to the question: Why would a visitor want to know this information? The answer to that questions ends up being the graphic, photo, or statement that gets the audience's attention.

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- Continuing with the answer to the question why would a visitor want to know this? the interpretation communication must find a way to relate the message to the everyday life of the visitors. In advertising, it's the answer to the question "why do you need this product or service?". This part of the communication gives people reasons to continue with the exhibits, programs, or media - gives them a reason to pay attention and want to learn more.

- The final part of the process is Revelation. Tilden says that we should reveal the ending or answer of the communication through a unique or unusual perspective or viewpoint. Save the answer to last. The reveal tells the visitor why the message was important for them, or how they can benefit from the information that was interpreted to them - a wow factor.

- Strive for message unity is another principle for interpretation. It means that when we plan or design our program, service, or media, that we use the right colors, costumes, music, designs, etc. to support the presentation of the message. Think of message unity as the stage setting and props for a theatrical presentation.

- Address the whole. This final principles means that all interpretation should address some main point or theme - "the big picture" of what is important about the park, historic site, tourism site, etc. that the visitor is at.

The main theme is best illustrated by your answer to the question "if a visitor spends time going to programs, looking at exhibits, etc. while they are visiting my site, by the time they are ready to go back home if they only remember or learned one thing about why our site is so special, that one thing better be__________________________! The answer tothis question is "the whole." An example of such a theme might be "We are using state of the art wildlife restoration techniques to improve this site for people and for wildlife."

In short hand, we can summarize the basic principles of interpretation as: Provoke Relate Reveal Address the Whole Strive for Message Unity.

So using interpretive principles, interpretation of art can (it is an option remember), find "the rest of the story" that a particular art piece may have to "reveal" to the visitors to help they truly understand the meaning or person behind the art. Helping them to discover and perhaps "see" the art through the eyes and emotions of the creator of the art.

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Ready - Set - Interpret !

Planning for interpretation in art museums for gallery tours can take several different formats or media but the planning remains the same. This would include interpretation via: - Live docent or interpreter lead tour or program.

- Recorded interpretive device/cell phone interpretation.

- Interpretive labels - Printed interpretive gallery guides.

The Interpretive Planning Process for interpretive programs or guided tours.

- Develop one main interpretive theme your tour would illustrate.

- Determine the objectives (learn, feel, do) that you want your interpretation to accomplish.

- Determine which art pieces you would use to take visitors to illustrate your theme, and objectives for each individual stop on the tour.

- Remember that most visitor have a mental carrying capacity for tours of about one hour in length, so that translates into about 5-7 stops with interpretation of about 4 minutes per stop. This would include your introduction to the tour (about 4 minutes to tell them the theme and begin to "provoke" them for the first stop, and walking times between stops - and then about 4 minutes for your summary).

- Walk your planned tour by yourself to check out: - The best route (where you will start the tour and end it.

- Where you want your tour group to stand so they can all see.

- Think about how many visitors your tour can handle!

- Will you need any teaching aides, photographs, hands-on objects, etc. to present your interpretation?

- Plan your transitions between stops (reveal at one stop, provoke for the next one.

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- Do your research to find interesting or little know facts or stories about the art piece or the artist to create your "rest of the story".

- Find way to engage your audience - ask them questions about what they think about the art, artist, etc. What do they see, and what don't they see that you can reveal to them?

- Talk with your audience, not "at" your audience. And have fun.

Time to Get Nailed!

When doing a docent training program at the Detroit Institute of the Arts a few years ago, I was asked to go on several docent tours as a "secret visitor".

Critique the tour and provide some "coaching" for the docent after the program and later providing an interpretive training course to all 60+ docents.

One of the stops was to a art piece that was called "the nail man". Now this was a really interesting piece, with all kinds of nails and metal pieces put into it. So what was the story with this guy? The docent began...

This is a figure from Africa used by shaman to help a person with an ailment.

The person would pay the shaman something - like a chicken, and the shaman would pound a nail or metal shard into the part of the body on the figure that represented where the person was hurting. By doing this magic the pain or problem the person had would go away.

Well, that was interesting, and you could tell that this wasn't one of the favorite things in the art museum for her to chat about. And judging from all the nails in this guy the shaman must have had a lot of chickens!

But I was curious and wanted the "rest of the story". Here is what I learned (at least the docent provoked me to look this up).

Nkisi-The best known of Kongo art is the nkisi, a term which is untranslatable, but which refers to carved figures which are used for dealing with problems "ranging from public strife, theft and disease to the hope off seducing women and becoming wealthy." An nkisi generally contains relics from someone who has died, or clay from the cemetery. It also contains medicines. When there are nails or blades protruding, it is called an nkondi, which means "the hunter."

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The nkonde are the most powerful of the nkisi. They were used to identify and hunt down unknown wrongdoers such as thieves, and people who were believed to cause sickness or death by occult means. They were also used to punish people who swore false oaths and villages which broke treaties.

To inspire the nkondi to action, it was both invoked and provoked. Invocations, in bloodthirsty language, encouraged it to punish the guilty party. It would also be provoked by having gunpowder exploded in front of it, and having nails hammered into it.

So with a little research, the interpretation of this piece could really be enhanced, thinking of analogies of when we go to the doctor, or a lawyer, or advisor and create a more compelling and accurate story. Provoke, Relate, Reveal.

Of course the best way to interpret art is to have the visitors do it like in the photo below.

Art gallery visitors became the artists today as they were invited to draw on walls normally hung with priceless master pieces. York Art Gallery was transformed when it opened its doors and allowed members of the public to create their own works of art.

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We know that your visitors will remember about: 10% of what we hear; 30% of what we read; 50% of what we see; 90% of what we do.

So in art museums we work mostly on the "seeing" part of our senses, but what we see and what we "learn and remember" can be very different things.

It is through meaningful and "professional" interpretation that we can help the visitors understand what they see in art museums in new and magical ways. To better connect art with the artist or the historical context in which the art was created (artist portraits of famous historical figures as the "Polaroid camera" of the time).

To be made curious and hopefully "want to learn more". And understand what art means to them - their homes are surrounded by art on their walls and mantels. We all collect art - and the art we have in our own homes has stories to tell too. So just for a minute, imagine something your created finds its way into an art museum 100 years from now. What is your "rest of the story" that will be told then? And let's hope there is a professional interpreter on staff to tell it and not screw it up.

References: Aurandt, Paul (1977). Paul Harvey's The Rest of The Story, Doubleday, NY. Lewis, William J. (1988) Interpreting for Park Visitors. Eastern Acorn Press.

Tilden, Freeman (1957). Interpreting Our Heritage. The University of North Carolina Press, Chapel Hill.

Veverka, John A. (2014) Interpretive Master Planning, Volume 1. MuseumsEtc, Edinburgh.

Veverka, John A. (2014) Advanced Interpretive Planning. MuseumsEtc, Edinburgh.

John A. Veverka Certified Interpretive Planner/Trainer www.heritageinterp.com jvainterp@aol.com

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“Buried on Huguenot Hill, a Collection of Poetical Stories,”

by Dr. Martha Benn Macdonald @copyright March 2015 Completed Eve of St. David's Day, 2015

Authors note: Somewhat like Spoon River Anthology, this collection gives imaginary characters buried in the Oldest Huguenot Cemetery (1691) in Southern Appalachia in the fictional town of Cragmont, a Piedmont town bordering the Carolinas, an opportunity to tell their stories, albeit many Gothic in tone (the last person buried there died in 1870---characters wear costumes appropriate to their historical period).

1) “My name is Jenny AnneGibert Hall.

Where are my children? My little boy, Ezra Dean, not yet two years old…

And Mattie Lee? You were most three, such a sweet child, blonde curls and dark blue eyes…

And Julie Jane named for my mammy. You were my oldest and held Pierre for me…gave him a sugar doll when I couldn’t nurse him?

Why’d your pa leave us after the war, Julie? Think it was cause the Yankees had come and stolen all we had and I was sick? I know he was wounded at Manassasand with General Lee at the Surrender. But your pa lingered long enough to get me with child. I called him the baby Pierre. Why am I askin’ you this, honey?

And why’d you poison me, Dr. Gabeau? I was trying to nurse my newborn. You gave me anise tea to bring down the milk. My breasts were sore.

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Were you so old or maybe so tipsy you forgot pokeweed was poison? I saw stains on your hands. Did I ever hurt you? Before the war, my husband paid you in apples or eggs. Richard was a good man. One time, he took you a turkey all dressed for Christmas. Did you resent us because we weren’t French Huguenot? I was before I married Richard Hall. I was a Gibert.

I knew I was dying. What will become of my little ones? My mammy’s too crippled up with the rheumatism to help. Will they become orphans? Before I breathed my last, my mammy told me you’d drowned yourself in the river. How many did you poison?”

2 ) ”I’m Count Lars Von Berg. I moved here to Cragmontfrom Denmark around 1827. I was a carriage maker, but finally became crippled up with the rheumatism.

So I built a low wagon pulled by my two goats: Billy and Hassie Mae. I could sit in my wagon and paint wagon wheels, mend a broken lantern on a fancy coach.

Wealthy men as far away as Columbia ordered carriages from me. Even the governor!

My shop was below the bridge where I’m told three Indians sat years and years ago----a trading post it was called.

In the old days, the first French Huguenot settlers paid the Indians in gold to haul stone from the quarry up the dirt path. Later travelers traded with the Indians. By the time I got here, they were gone.

I’ll never forget that beautiful coach I built for a rich doctor who had a plantation just north of Cragmont. It accommodated four passengers, and the seats were upholstered in fine dark green velvet. I painted the rims of the wheels yellow, the spokes a deep blue; oh, I most forget to say the coach had two brass lanterns. That doctor was mighty proud of it! Doctor John Hartness was his name. He used to drive it to St. Peter’s Episcopal every Sunday. Hitched the horses to an iron post near the church lawn.

Folks say he was a finer doctor than old Doc Gabeau. I don’t know. I never went to either of them--just used pipsissewa I picked up somewhere along the way and drank black birch tea for my rheumatism. Guess both helped. Sometimes I rubbed my knees with vinegar and alcohol, and a nip or two at night never hurt me.

I was a widower. No children. I lived alone.

One afternoon before Christmas, drove my wagon down Canal Hill to fix a broken axel on an old cart a quarry worker needed to haul some stones up the mountain. It was about dark. A woman stuck a knife in my back. Oh, the pain! Knew I was most dead when my wagon rolled into the river.

The man I was working for said that the woman who stabbed me also stole my goats---said she wanted them to make soap and cheese she could sell. He said folks called her Stella, the gypsy.

He tried to pull me out of the cold water, but I was a bit portly. Two other men assisted him. They said a prayer before I died there on the bank of the river. I hope my servant, a white woman, honored my will. I hope the bailiff found that gypsy and hanged her. I died in 1868.

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3 )“My name is Patrice Boudinot. My father was always poor. Never seemed to make it.

I was an only child. My mother was a hat maker. She fashioned the prettiest chapeaux for the wealthy ladies who paid her a heap of money. One woman gave her a silver spoon.

My mother taught me my letters and French songs (sings one or two, perhaps “Frere Jacques,” or the French Huguenot tune to one of the psalms). I cleaned and cooked, kept the fire going. I was an only child.

My father fought against the British, but he never came home. Guess he died in the war. So the only money coming in was from the sale of my mother’s chapeaux.

She died from pneumonia. After the war, some of the wealthy gentlemen along the coast taxed us folks who lived in the hills.

I couldn’t pay the taxes, so I was hauled off to a filthy, dark prison where I starved to death.

I was wearing the mob cap my mother had trimmed with Belgian lace she’d hidden away.

Only reason I’m buried on this hill is cause my father was a French Huguenot. So was my mother.

I’m buried next to her. Sometimes I hear Maman singing. Now that’s a haunting sound.”

4) “I am Jacques Lanier Mason.

My cousins and I were orphaned after Stoneman’s men came galloping up the lane to our farm south of Cragmont in the spring of 1865.

I saw a Yankee shoot my father who’d been wounded somewhere in Georgia and rape my mother. I cringed when I heard her cries. Then he slit her throat. She bled to death.

Guess we were too scared to do anything. I’ve felt guilty ever since.

That’s when we took to the woods with the mule and prayed those men wouldn’t find the silver service Old Issac had hidden under the laurel trees on the hill back behind our house.

I remember Mamma used to make gingerbread for us and lemonade, and she sang ballads. Daddy loved her.

The man dragged my Mamma and Papa from the house.

He dug a shallow hole and kicked their bodies in there.

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His men burned the house. It was cold. One cousin, Adam, made a run for town.

That’s when he got caught, and he told the man we were all hiding in the laurel trees. The big man in a Union uniform tied us to a rope and marched us to his wagon. He was an Irishman with bloodshot eyes and a scraggly beard. He paid his men and ordered them to leave.

He and his wife, a mean woman with crossed eyes, hauled us to an old house on a dead end street to the right of the bridge you have to cross to get into Cragmont. The man tied our mule behind the wagon. The man whipped a lame horse pulling the wagon to get going.

I remember the wheels creaking over the bridge and down the stone-covered road to a shabby twostory wooden house with two chimneys. A sign was nailed to the gate post, ‘O’Riley’s Orphanage for Boys.’

All the windows were barred on the outside, and the paint peeling. One of the chimneys was crumbling.

He padlocked the door to each bedroom from the outside. I had five cousins, and he put two of us in a room, rotating us every night. ‘None of you reflectin’ on goin’ no where,’he sneered, rolling his r’s.

There were two cots and a torn blanket on each bed. He’d probably stolen these blankets during the war. There was a chamber pot in each room. The floor had holes, and I was always afraid one might cave in, and I’d fall to the first floor.

The windows were locked. No escape!

Mr. O’Riley drank, and his wife spooned up thin bread pudding for us and occasionally gave us a green apple. Our job was to plant cotton in the small field to the sideof the house and pick that cotton at harvest time. That was hard work.

One day his wife saw me eating a persimmon. She stripped me and wupped my back with a riding crop.

When the man heard what had happened, he wupped all of us with a hickory stick.

One day Mr. and Mrs. O’Riley barred the windows from the inside as well and locked us in our rooms, they rode off on the mule, the cross-eyed woman following on foot. The man had already set fire to his lame horse.

They never came returned. We beat and beat on the windows and yelled at each other across the hall.

A neighbor finally heard us. He bashed in the front door and managed to unlock the upstairs doors.

His name was Lamar Capps. He and his wife gave us jobs and paid us a little bit. They were kind.

Times was hard. He told us to tear down that house next door. We always heard it was haunted.

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I knowed it was creepy.

We growed up. My cousins left. I stayed on and helped Mr. Capps.

I broke my neck one afternoon when I fell from the walnut tree. Mr. and Mrs. Capps took care of me ‘til I died a day later and saw to it I was buried here at this old cemetery.”

5) Bonjour, Je suisHenri Moze, one of the original French Huguenot settlers.

Several families, along with mine, sailed from France. We’d lived in Rouen.

Some went to North Africa, others to Holland, and we came to the coast of South Carolina.

A lone pirate with a patch over one eye had chased us. He jumped on to our boat and threatened to burn us alive if I didn’t turn over my wife to him.

Now, Marie was great with child. Even if she’d not been, I would never have given her to any man.

When the pirate who called himself Curly Charles cast his roving eye about the ship to see what other booty he could make off with, I pulled out my sword and plunged him in the back, stole his bags of gold, and threw him overboard.

Not long after, Marie gave birth to a baby boy. We called him Rouen. As soon as she could travel, we left the coast----couldn’t take the heat or the mosquitoes. Some had already perished from yellow fever.

The few men who were left and I built carts and found some horses. Mon Dieu. That was a miracle.

We trudged up through the hills toward the Piedmont.

We feared Indians. Thirsty and hungry after days of traveling and making camp along the way under trees, fishing, of course, we came to a trading post where three Indian men were smoking long white clay pipes.

They seemed friendly as I approached them, their eyes gleaming at one gold coin I showed them.

They seemed to understand Spanish, least that’s what one of my friends thought. He’d traveled to Spain, so he spoke a little Spanish and somehow persuaded the Indians we’d pay them in gold if they take us across the river on their wooden ferry which later became a bridge and if they haul stones for us up what looked like a path. They agreed.

Singing one of our Huguenot psalms, we gave thanks to God. We built a small stone church on a green hill to the left of the path and two cottages, in time, a school and a stable.

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We were content. I was elected the preacher because I’d read theology. We planted a garden, fished, bought some chickens and a rooster from the Indians.

Two years or so later, an Indian, whom I’d never seen, jumped on my back and threatened to scalp me if I didn’t give him my oldest daughter. Before I knew it, my beloved wife, again great with child, kicked the hostile man in the groin.

Stunned, he stood there in shock, then eyed my daughter gathering herbs. He pushed her down to the ground and…that’s when I stabbed him in the back and we rolled his body down the back of the hill toward the river.

I prayed God to forgive me. I’d stabbed two men now. Would there be a third?

A few hours later, my beloved Marie and her baby died in childbirth. Her maiden sister took care of my children and me.

I finally died of a fever. I think it was grief. Somebody carved a beautiful Huguenot cross on the slab atop my grave that looks like a bed. Read, I beg you, what’s written here: ‘Here lies the body of. . .‘ Mine is one of the earliest stones in this cemetery.”

6) I am Maggie Bell Trouillard, least that beez how I thinks you pronounces the name. I beez one of two slaves buried here in the cemetery.

That’s cauf I tooked care of Missus Cathy what married a Doctor Trouillard, an apothecary. He beed of French Huguenot descent. Huh was the only child of Mr. Charles Wheeler, a cabinet maker in Cragmont.

Missus Cathy was sickly. Huh couldn’t neva seem to get with chile, and the doctor wanted a son to carry on his name. Miss Cathy had long dark curly hair and gentle brown eyes. I giv huh herbs and roots what my mammy gived us when we took sick or couldn’t get with chile.

Missus Cathy got olda. We growed old togetha. I node de docta be seeinanotha woman what was carryin his chile. The town folks talked about it when Missus Cathy sent me to the stoh. The apothecary node it, too.

One day, he pushed Missus Cathy down the steps. When he seed me, he run foh his life, hopped on his mare, and galloped away.

I done nurse Missus Cathy what was in shock, manage to get word to huh paw. He found the bailiff.

Think dat be what the law was called. Anyways, he tooked off afta de docta and his lady friend. He brung ‘em back to Cragmont where they was hanged above the riva.

Missus Cathy died a few days lata. Her paw seed to it that huh was buried in this heah cemetery, and he paid foh me to be put along side of huh. I took care of Massa Wheeler ‘til I died of old age in 1824.”

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7) “My name is Martha Jane Allston Graves. I was born near Georgetown, South Carolina.

I was married to Fennell Graves at Prince George Winyah Episcopal Church just before South Carolina seceded from the Union, and we moved to his farm above Cragmont.

We lived in a pretty two-story wooden house with stone chimneys. He went off to join the Confederate Army, just as all of our young men and boys did.

He kissed me good-bye, promised to return home, said he’d miss me.

I missed Fennie, as I came to call him. He was a stout man with dark eyes and black hair. I was pale with light sea-blue eyes and blonde hair.

We had a few slaves. I didn’t know how to manage ‘em. Fennie used to accuse me of being too kind to them. I’d grown up in the gentlest of households.

Anyway, when he left, the overseer began to thrash the slaves. I cried and begged him not to do that. One slave. I’ll never forget ‘Lige,’ as he was called. Anyway, with my pa’s sword, Lige stabbed the overseer and buried him in the woods. Nobody ever knew.

I didn’t tell, but when the Yankees came the first time, they promised the slaves freedom, and they all left, except one. That was Ellen. I buried what I could that seemed valuable in the house under one of the yew trees. Ellen knew and promised never to say anything. She took care of me whenever I took sick with a cold or fever. But she died of a fever not long after the Yankees left.I buried her and hid out in one of the slave cabins. I took my journal and prayer book.

The Yankees came again, made off with the chickens, horses, my china teacups dangling across the horses’ necks, and burned the house. Only two chimneys remained. I watched from the slave cabin.

Fennie finally came home. He was on furlough…….one summer. He was furious when he found me in a slave cabin and saw everything burned and destroyed. He blamed me, but sweet talked me with a gold locket he later admitted he’d stolen from a Confederate soldier who was dying in the woods.

I wouldn’t wear that locket. I couldn’t.

Well, he got me with child and left. A few months later, he came home again. That was in 1865.

He’d been in a Yankee prison, where he nearly starved to death. He was thin. Told me he was wounded and said a leg had to be amputated. He’d hobbled all the way from Virginia, gotten an occasional ride, so he said. He was wearing a Union soldier’s uniform……said he’d stolen it. I knew he was hurting. Said a doctor just hacked off his leg in a make-shift hospital.

Fennie was hungry. So was I. I offered him some collards and cornpone I’d somehow managed to put together.

He scoffed at it, but gulped it down. He’d also stolen somebody’s

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whiskey that he drank straight from the bottle. I couldn’t blame him. I knew it might ease the pain.

I’d built a low fire to keep warm. The wind was howling. It was bitter cold outside.

Anyway, when he saw I was with child, his tone changed. He kissed me and drew me down on the slave’s cot. I sang a lullaby my mammy had sung to me long time ago on the coast. I think it was a Scottish tune my mamma had learned Mammy.

Something happened. All at once he took out a pocket knife and killed me.

Somebody whispered that to me when I was buried under this earth and related the story: said that he’d quartered my body, eaten one arm he roasted on the fire. He salted other parts down and limped on his crutch toward the creek or river to fish. When he came back hours later, he began gnawing on one of my legs he cooked over an open pit.

That’s when his cousins galloped up and saw him. They took the law into their own hands. They gouged out his eyes and hanged him to a tree where he dangled above the railroad track ‘til he died.

His cousins knew he was run over by the freight train when a dog brought his gnawed head up to our land.

Until I married Fennell, I was happy. His cousins saw to it that I was buried on this hill. I died in the spring of 1865.”

Thank you for coming.

Martha

Written and told by Martha Benn Macdonald, Ph.D., college professor, musician, storyteller, nationally certified historical interpreter, dancer. doctorbenn@gmail.com

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Adding Interpretive Preview Slides to Illustrated Programs Austin Barrett The Pennsylvania State University

One way that an interpreter can make his/her illustrated program come to life even before the presentation begins is to include a series of introductory previews slides. These preview slides can be programmed to automatically play on the screen during the time before the program officially begins. These slides can include a variety of different types of content. Some suggested content include:        

Information on other interpretive activities that visitors can be involved with during their visit Interpretive educational content Clever jokes/humor that relate to the park’s resources Trivia questions (with answers revealed after a few seconds) Park rules/regulations Visitor center hours Announcements of special events/initiatives And many more…it’s up to you!

Nearly all illustrated programs utilize slide show presentation software such as Microsoft's PowerPoint or Apple’s Keynote. Both of these programs enable a person to automate a slideshow by allowing a slide to advance after a certain amount of time has passed. Additionally, these software programs allow a user to insert audio and video clips in to the slides. These audio and video clips can also be automated to play on cue. I recommend synching these preview slides with music to add another layer of effectiveness.

These introductory slides are an easy way to raise the quality and professionalism of your illustrated programs.

They provide entertainment and information to visitors as they are arriving to attend your program. They also establish an informal atmosphere where you can freely move throughout the audience getting to know a little bit more about the attendees. Finally, these preview slides can ensure that your program begins on time. You would need to be aware of how long it takes for the preview slides to finish playing (for example 10 minutes).

Then you would need to make sure that you start the preview slides 10 minutes before your program should officially begin. Once the preview slides have finished, you will know that it is time to start your program.

Below are four images of what some my preview slides looked like when I worked as an interpretive ranger at Glacier National Park. Additionally, feel free to click on the YouTube link below to see a video of the preview slides in action (about 6 minutes long).

YouTube Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9_0KfoJ8elE

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JVA InterpNews

In closing, I believe that these preview slides are an enjoyable and informative way to preface your illustrated program. They establish an air of excitement among the attendees and can encourage positive informal interaction between the interpreter and the audience. Finally, these preview slides can help ensure that your illustrated program starts on time. If you have any questions about this technique feel free to contact me.

Author’s information: Austin Barrett Doctoral Student Department of Recreation, Park, and Tourism Management The Pennsylvania State University Email: Austin@psu.edu

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JVA InterpNews Press Release

Exhibit Labels An Interpretive Approach - Second Edition “Serrell has published her finest work in this second edition of Exhibit Labels. Even the most casual reader will be impressed with: the comprehensive treatment of exhibit labels, the expansive inclusion of literature, and the excellent description of best practices in museum exhibition development. The first edition of Exhibit Labels is still considered the authority on designing labels; this new edition goes well beyond this accomplishment and will no doubt be considered far-and-away the best standard for exhibit label design.”

—Stephen Bitgood, Professor Emeritus of Psychology, Jacksonville State University and author of Social Design in Museums: The Psychology of Visitor Studies, Volumes I and II

Beverly Serrell presents the reader with excellent guidelines on the process of exhibit label planning, writing, design, and production. One of the museum field’s leading consultants and label writers, Serrell’s 1996 edition of Exhibit Labels has been a standard in the field since its initial publication. This new edition not only provides expert guidance on the art of label writing for diverse audiences and explores the theoretical and interpretive considerations of placing labels within an exhibition, it also features all new case studies and new information about virtual exhibit labels and labels in the use of digital and social media. Exhibit Labels: An Interpretive Approach is a vital reference tool for all museum professionals.

Features:  Features all new photographs and case studies  Includes updated and expanded text on digital interpretives, multi-lingual labels, and presents findings of recent exhibit evaluation and research efforts . ________________________________________________________________________________________________ Beverly Serrell has been an exhibit and evaluation consultant with art, history, natural history, and science museums, as well as zoos and aquariums. Before then, she was head of a museum education department for eight years, and had shorter stints as a high school science teacher and a research lab technician. Serrell holds an MA in science teaching in informal settings and a BS in biology. In 1995, she was a guest scholar at The J. Paul Getty Museum and has received two National Science Foundation grants to conduct research on visitor behavior in museum exhibitions. She has been a frequent museum visitor all her life. www.rowman.com April 2015 300 pages 978-1-4422-4902-8 $80.00 Cloth April 2015 300 pages 978-1-4422-4903-5 $39.95 Paper April 2015 300 pages 978-1-4422-4903-5 $38.99 eBook

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Interpretive Writing Course - 8 Units - 2 CEU (Continuing Education Unit) Credits.

Want a real college level interpretive training course you can do at home? Then you're ready for e-LIVE interpretive training. Prof. John Veverka is pleased to announce the development of the first of several e-Live interpretive training courses under development. "My goal - any interpretive training experience should be taught by Certified Interpretive Trainers with college degrees specifically in heritage interpretation (ideally at the MS or Ph.D. levels), and/or with many years of real interpretive experience in actually doing what you teach - to be able to offer state-of-the-art college level interpretive training courses."

Who is the course for? Any interpretive planning, education or design staff charged with developing interpretive text/copy for interpretive media projects (Exhibits, Outdoor Panels, AV scripts, interpretive guides) or any other writing project that requires interpretive text (provoke, relate and reveal) to inspire and powerfully connect your message with the imagination and lives of your visitors.

Interpretive writing for Museums, Parks, Zoos, Botanical Gardens, Historic Sites, Nature Centers, Commercial Design Firms, Commercial Attractions, and related heritage sites and facilities.

How does e-LIVE work? Our first e-LIVE course is limited to 10 participants at one time, to allow for maximum interaction with the course instructor.

- You'll be sent a course package with course content to read and interact with for each of the 8 units of the course.

- John will provide you with reading materials, e-books and articles as part of the course resource materials.

- You'll be given a writing assignment for each unit which you will send directly to John for review, comments and writing coaching as needed. You will be able to talk/communicate with John about each assignment via SKYPE, e-mail or phone. Thus the e-LIVE design of the course. John will be your personal instructor and writing coach who you can talk with about your work and writing goals or your specific writing projects.

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- When you've completed each unit you'll be sent the next unit materials for the course to work on. Again, you'll be given writing assignments for each unit to submit to John for review, comments and writing coaching as needed.

- When you've completed the 8 Units you will be awarded a Certificate of Completion and 2 CEU (Continuing Education Unit) credits.

The estimated total completion time of the course is about 20 hours - and you can work at your own pace, take as long as you need. You can use/work on actual writing projects you have going on or will be working on in the future to make the coaching more focused for you to create actual project interpretive copy.

What are the 8 interpretive writing units?

1. Unit One - What makes the writing "interpretive" anyway? ( Tilden +) 2. Unit Two - Planning for Interpretive Writing Projects (theme, objectives +) 3. Unit Three - Tangibles, Intangibles and Universal Concepts for interpretive writing.

4. Unit Four - Writing with feeling and imagination - painting with words.

5. Unit Five - Writing for Museum Exhibit Lables - 50 words - really?

6. Unit Six - Writing for interpretive panels and wayside exhibits.

7. Unit Seven - Writing for self-guiding trail or tour leaflets/media.

8. Unit Eight - Writing for media to accomplish management objectives.

When will the course start? The course is now available. The cost of the 20 hours of training will be $200.00 USD, which can be paid for by credit card or PayPal at the JVA web site e-Live web site page http://www.heritageinterp.com/interpretive_writing_course.html.

To learn and hear even more, let me tell you about the course: https://www.youtube.com/edit?video_id=JbaSn_ZCgOs The training course will be presented in English, and we welcome participants from any country interested in improving their interpretive writing skills.

As the course is limited to10 participants at one time, to see if there are course openings, or like to know more about the course content and each unit, send John an e-mail and he'll send you additional course registration information.

If you have any questions at all please feel free to ask: jvainterp@aol.com Cheers, Prof. John Veverka jvainterp@aol.com Certified Interpretive Planner/Trainer Certified Professional Heritage Interpreter

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Seven new Interpretive e-LIVE training courses now available from John Veverka & Associates Interpretive Training Division.

Introduction to Heritage Interpretation Course.

14 Units - 2 CEU credits.

http://www.heritageinterp.com/introduction_to_heritage_interpretation_course.html Interpretive Planning & Design of Marketing Brochures Course. 15 Units, 2.5 CEU credits.

http://www.heritageinterp.com/interpretive_planning__design_of__marketing_broch.html

Planning/Designing Interpretive Panels e-LIVE Course - 10 Units awarding 1.5 CEU Credits http://www.heritageinterp.com/interpretive_panels_course.html Planning Interpretive Trails e-LIVE Course - 13 Units - 2.5 CEU Credits http://www.heritageinterp.com/interpretive_trails_course.html Interpretive Writing e-LIVE Course - 8 Units and 2 CEU Credits http://www.heritageinterp.com/interpretive_writing_course.html Training for Interpretive Trainers e-LIVE Course - 11 Units and 2 CEU Credits. http://www.heritageinterp.com/training_for_interp_trainers.html The Interpretive Exhibit Planners Tool Box e-LIVE course - 11 Units and 2 CEU Credits. http://www.heritageinterp.com/interpretive_exhibits_course.html jvainterp@aol.com for additional details.

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JVA InterpNews The Benefits of Distance Learning and the Museum Classes Program from Northern States Conservation Center

By Peggy Schaller

General Benefits of Distance Learning The benefits of distance learning are many. No travel time away from the office or home is required. Since courses are presented and taken online the past barriers of travel time and costs that prevented accessing more professional development for the individual or organization are eliminated. Your staff has more access to training opportunities. Distance learning provides access to training that a student might not be able to get otherwise; access to courses that provide resources and training that can immediately be implemented in real world situations—the student’s institution. Distance learning provides training that allows individuals to continue their ‘day job’ while learning a new field; bolstering their existing knowledge base; and moving their institution toward best practices. Distance learning lowers overall training costs while providing access to worldwide resources.

Distance learning provides networking opportunities that create lasting relationships with other students around the country or around the world and with course instructors. These contacts can be sources of information for future questions and issues that might arise in the course of your job. Students can meet National and International colleagues. Distance learning provides a broader view of how things are different and yet the same with cultural institutions all over the globe.

Northern States Conservation Center's Online Museum Studies Program at museumclasses.org The Museum Studies Program includes a large variety of courses covering all aspects of museum work and addresses worldwide Museum Standards and Best Practices. The program currently has nearly 60 courses and is working to identify the Museum Standards and Best Practices that our courses address and specifically is working to provide resources for institutions participating in the STePs program from AASLH. The courses are taught by more than 20 instructors who are experts in their fields. In all courses there are opportunities for communication between participating students and between students and instructors in the form of written forum posts and scheduled live chats.

Four major areas of Museum work are covered by the courses:  Collections Management & Care  Museum Administration & Management  Exhibit Practices and Public Programs  Museum Facilities Management The program offers full length courses and short courses. Full length courses run 4 to 8 weeks depending on the subject and the instructor. All courses are self-paced with assignments and activities spaced throughout.

Short courses are usually one week in length and cover a single topic in depth. Interaction within these courses is also done through forum postings and scheduled chats. With the short courses the time is compressed for students to complete the course in the time allotted.

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Program Benefits Benefits of this program incorporate the overall benefits of distance learning plus the opportunity to receive a Certificate in Museum Studies and more.

NSCC has recruited some of the best and the brightest in the field to be our instructors.

The program fosters international connections among participants. This program has trained over 2000 museum professionals in at least 37 countries and 50 US states. Some of the countries we have reached include Australia, the United Kingdom, Singapore, New Zealand, Greece, Malta, Brazil, Germany, the Netherlands, and more. It benefits students from around the world to see what others are doing in the museum profession and to know that while we may do some things differently we have similar issues and challenges—the more things change the more they stay the same.

Our monthly e-Newsletter, The Collections Caretaker, contains information not only about our courses, but articles with information you can use and learn from. Signing up to receive the e-Newsletter is free.

Certificate Program Museumclasses.org offers Certificates in Museum Studies in five areas of study.  General Certificate in Museum Studies  Collections Management & Care  Museum Administration & Management  Exhibit Practices and Public Programs  Museum Facilities Management The Certificate Program is divided into two levels of study: Level I: General Certificate in Museum Studies which provides a basic understanding of many different facets of museums.

Level II: Specific Expertise Certificates which provide in-depth knowledge of one of four areas of museums:  IIA: Certificate in Collections Management and Care  IIB: Certificate in Exhibit Practices  IIC: Certificate in Museum Administration and Management  IID: Certificate in Museum Facilities Management Requirements for the Certificate in Museum Studies at all levels include: Completion of 10 full courses and two short courses for each certificate; attendance at one statewide, regional or national multi-day museum or cultural association conference; completion of a final project which can be in the form of an exhibition, a paper, a conference presentation, or other format approved by NSCC. Each Certificate has a list of expectations that have been set forth for the final project. The student will also attend a final chat session with their instructors online to answer specific questions that test knowledge of the museum topics studied.

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The variety of courses that the program offers means that there is a course for every interest and need. Those of us who work in cultural institutions can benefit in our own work by continuing to learn new things.

Distance learning and museumclasses.org can provide those opportunities.

Please visit our website for more information about the courses we offer and to learn more about Northern States Conservation Center at http://www.collectioncare.org/ and out class site at http://museumclasses.org/ Peggy Schaller is the Publications Manager and Certificate Program Coordinator for Northern States Conservation Center's Online Courses Program. She became Publications Manager at Northern States Conservation Center in 2012; Certificate Program Coordinator in early 2013; and Newsletter Editor for the Collection Caretaker e-newsletter in the fall of 2013. In 2014 she was asked to become the course monitor for all the online courses offered by Museum Classes Online and has been known to lurk in the background of various class chats. She has been an instructor for Museums Classes Online since 2004 teaching collection management courses.

Ms. Schaller founded Collections Research for Museums in 1991 to provide cataloging, collectionmanagement training and services. She has worked with a large variety of museums and collections for more than 22 years. Peggy, who lives in Denver, Colorado, has a bachelor's degree in anthropology with minors in art history and geology from the University of Arizona in Tucson. She has a master's degree in anthropology with a minor in museum studies from the University of Colorado in Boulder and is a Certified Institutional Protection Manager II. She serves on the Board of the International Foundation for Cultural Property Protection. She provides workshops and project services to museums and historical societies all across the country. The mission of Collections Research for Museums is to inspire museums to improve their professional standards, collections stewardship and service to their constituency through training in, and assistance with, documenting, preserving, protecting and managing their collections.

For more information visit her web site Collections Research for Museums.

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EMPOWER VISITORS TO MAXIMIZE THE VALUE OF THEIR VISIT STEPHEN BITOOD Jacksonville State University steveb@jsu.edu

This text label at the Desert Botanical Gardens in Phoenix prompted visitors to compare the two buttes and think about the difference.

The majority of visitors at interpretive facilities are usually dependent upon effective exhibit design in order to deeply engage with exhibit content (e.g., Bitgood, 2014). Effective design facilitates meaningful engagement and involves multiple factors such as layout of exhibit elements and displays, characteristics of interpretive text, and navigation systems. However, frequent visitors and interpretation professionals are less dependent upon those design factors and more likely to have ve knowledge, skills, and strategies for engaging more effectively with exhibit content. Perhaps it is worthwhile to ask: Can we teach visitors the empowering skills and strategies used by frequent visitors and professionals?

Empowering visitors would seem to be a high priority for any visitor advocate. Yet, over the years, primary efforts have focused on the more costly option of changing the physical characteristics of interpretive exhibits and hoping the visitor experience is improved. Less often, interpretative interpretative efforts have attempted toteach visitors the basic tools of empowerment. This article describes one of many possible approaches to empowering visitors.

What is visitor empowerment?

I define visitor empowerment as: the ability of visitors to apply knowledge, skills, and strategies in order to engage more deeply with interpretive experiences and thus receive higher value from their visit. visit Empowered visitors are able to engage in a more meaningful way by using these skills and strategies and by understanding erstanding the “code� of what to look for and where to look. Empowering tools encompass all stages of a visit: (1) pre-visit activities (e.g., exploring the museum’s web site), (2) arrival (finding information to plan the visit -- what areas to visit, how to navigate, etc.), and (3) engagement with exhibits and programs (how to get more value from experiencing subject-matter subject matter content). The tools used by empowered visitors make them less dependent upon the quality of exhibit design. An empowered visitor ha hass the resources to extract a meaningful experience from a walk in the woods, or a science interactive exhibit device, or a work of art -- even when clear interpretative guidance is lacking.

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Dimensions of empowerment Inclusiveness of goals. Visitors should have the option of selecting their own personal goals, whether the goal is to learn something new, engage in a restorative experience, immerse themselves in a particular time and place, bond with family members, or have any other type of meaningful experience.

Transfer or generality. Ideally, the empowering tool or skill should generalize across experiences with exhibits and museums. An effective museum guide should improve visitor engagement across the entire museum experience. The ability to transfer/apply the empowering tool to a variety of other exhibition centers is even more desirable.

Observational outcomes. An empowered visitor is likely to: (1) stop more often and spend a longer time viewing exhibit content.; (2) read interpretive text; (3) discuss exhibit content with other group members.

However, not every exhibit will receive deeper engagement since more time and effort are required when one is meaningfully engaged. It makes sense to be selective in choosing which exhibits to engage (especially if there is a large number of alternatives available), but we might expect the quality of engagement to be higher when empowered than when not.

Self-report outcomes. Empowered visitors will report greater satisfaction/benefit from the experience.

Interviews are more likely to reveal rich descriptions of the exhibit experiences. Both emotional and intellectual outcome benefits are more common when deeply engaged with exhibits.

Learning. Empowered visitors are more likely to learn something meaningful, not just simple facts. The experience may give visitors a different attitude toward the subject matter; it may explain a phenomenon that had previously seemed mysterious; or it may reveal a connection between two ideas or things that was not obvious before. In addition, a greater appreciation of and a more positive attitude toward the subject matter is generally part of a meaningful learning experience.

Examples of Visitor Empowerment Pre-visit. Web sites for interpretive centers usually provide information for planning a visit. When the information is relevant to the needs of visitors and is easy to navigate on the web site, visitors can be empowered by treating the information as an advanced organizer of what the interpretive center is all about, how to find the center, and other information that may assist in planning a visit. Unfortunately, to date, there are few (if any) studies of the overall impact of pre-visit experiences (e.g., Hertzum, 1998). When evaluation has been conducted, it is often focused on usability and/or accessibility rather than on the overall impact on the visit experience. At the moment we are unable to conclude that this information empowers visitors to have a more satisfying, meaningful experience.

Arrival. A critical aspect of any visit is conceptual orientation to an interpretive center. Conceptual orientation may include hand-held visitor guides with a map, a You-Are-Here map of the interpretive center, an introductory area with a kiosk or panels (see Figure 1), and other information that helps visitors plan their visit.

Conceptual orientation can have a large impact on overall visit satisfaction (Bitgood &Tisdal, 1996). Too few studies have addressed the issue of how conceptual orientation empowers visitors.

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Figure 1.. This introductory panel at the St. Louis Science Center provided visitors with information to plan their visit and increase their overall visit satisfaction

Experiences with exhibit content. content. The core of a visit is experiencing exhibit objects and programs. A few examples from the literature suggest the endless possibilities for design of empowering tools.

Denver Art Museum:: The “Blue Book� edited by McDermott (1990) illustrates an effective approach to empowerment; it has become a common model for other art museums. A series of studies examined the impact of supplementary tools for viewing art. The tools attempted to prompt visitors to look more closely at art or compare two art works. Content of these supplementary devices also attempted to make a human connection to people.

Exploratorium:: Josh Gutwill and his colleagues (e.g., Gutwill& Allen, 2012; Humphrey &Gutwill, 2005) report successful attempts at teaching scientific enquiry skills (including generating questions about the phenomenon in question) that generalize beyond one exhibit. Interactive, scientific exhibits were the focus of these studies.

Visual Thinking Strategies:: Housen (e.g., Housen, 1983; DeSantes & Housen, 1996) developed techniques for deeper engagement of art works based on her five-stage five stage theory of aesthetic development.

Teaching methods are designed to advance individ individuals uals to more advanced aesthetic stages. This includes: looking at many aspects of the artwork, describing what they see as accurately as possible, drawing conclusions based on their observations, making distinctions between what they see and what they thi think, expand and develop their own point of view.

Prompting engaged attention:: Chapter 9 of my 2013 book (Attention (Attention and Value: Keys to Understanding Museum Visitors)) reviews a number of studies using handouts/visitor guides that prompted visitors to engage with exhibit content. These guides were effective in empowering visitors by prompting them to read more interpretive text, view more exhibit objects, and engage longer with exhibits.

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School and family guides are commonly used, but less frequently evaluated. Several books and articles give advice on how to visit museums and other exhibition centers, but do not report on the effectiveness of the advice. Other tools might include a tour guide taking a group to a series of exhibits and modeling a strategy for engaging, or an introductory area where volunteers help visitors practice some of the strategies.

Selected Recommendations to Empower Visitors      

Start by reviewing the literature on what attempts have been made to empower visitors. Carefully examine which attempts seem most successful and what made them work.

Design a combination of tools and strategies that encompass the entire visit, from pre-visit, to arrival, as well as interaction with exhibits.

Incorporate evaluation methods. Front-end evaluation can help target content and methods of high interest; formative evaluation of inexpensive mock-ups can help develop more effective intervention techniques, and remedial evaluation can help fine-tune the final tools (e.g., Bitgood &Shettel, 1994).

When possible, design for transfer or generality across exhibits and museums rather than on only a single exhibit interaction.

Assume that most visitors welcome assistance in understanding the “code.” Many studies demonstrate that visitors will use prompts that encourage deeper engagement with exhibits.

Consider a wide range of empowering tools and strategies: information for planning a visit on the web site, handouts/guides in the lobby or exhibit halls, video demonstrations, tour guide instructing visitors how to view exhibits and providing strategies (e.g., games, questions to formulate).

Bibliography Bitgood, S. (2014).Engaging the visitor: Designing exhibits that work. MuseumsEtc, Edinburgh, UK. Bitgood, S. (2013). Prompting engaged attention with visitor self guides (Chapter 9). In Bitgood, Attention and Value: Keys to Understanding Museum Visitors. Walnut Creek, CA: Left Coast Press. Pp. 111-121.

Bitgood, S., McKerchar, T., & Dukes, S. (2013). Looking back at Melton: Gallery density and visitor attention. Visitor Studies, 16(2), 217-225.

Bitgood, S., &Shettel, H. (1994). The classification of exhibit evaluation: A rationale for remedial evaluation. Visitor Behavior, 9(1), 4-8.

Bitgood, S., &Tisdal, C. (1996). Does lobby orientation influence visitor satisfaction? Visitor Behavior, 11(3), 13-16. [also in Bitgood, 2011, Volume 1, Pp. 408-417 DeSantis, K., &Housen, A. (1996). A brief guide to developmental theory and aesthetic development. New York, NY: Visual Understanding in Education.

Gutwill, J., & Allen, S. (2012). Deepening students’ scientific inquiry skills during a science museum field trip. The Journal of the Learning Sciences, 21, 130-181.

Hertzum, M. (1998). A review of museum web sites: In search of user-centered desgn. Archives and Informatics: Cultural Heritage Informatics Quarterly, 12(2), 127-138.

Humphrey, T., &Gutwill, J. (2005).Fostering active prolonged engagement. The art of creating APE exhibits. Walnut Creek, CA: Left Coast Press.

Housen, A. (1983). The eye of the beholder: Measuring aesthetic development. Ph.D. Dissertation: Harvard University.

McDermott, M. (1990). The Denver Art Museum Interpretive Project. Denver Art Museum, Denver, CO. Yenawine, P. (1997). Thoughts on visual literacy.Handbook of research on teaching literacy through the communicative and visual arts. J. Flood, S. Heath, & D. Lapp (eds.), Macmillan Library Reference.

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Interpretation for Young Children: Making Museums Relevant Sharon E. Shaffer, PhD

You can order Sharon's book at: www.lcoastpress.com.

Young children represent a growing audience in museums today, interpreting cultural artifacts and works of art as they engage in gallery experiences. Their curiosity and natural instinct to decipher meaning and understand the world and how it works is typical of the early years and reflects a young child’s capacity in cognitive functioning. Whether in a museum gallery, a nature center, or in everyday activities at preschool or home, children interpret their world in sophisticated and at times unexpected ways. This unique audience, which includes preschoolers - typically thought of as three to five-year-olds and even toddlers and babies, is now more than ever before engaging with art and objects in museums and constructing meaning through formal and informal experiences.

While this may come as a surprise to some in the museum, there is research to support what early childhood educators have known intuitively for a long time – children are capable and often sophisticated in their ability to learn, especially in those early years. Brain research confirms that “in the first five years of life, babies and young children’s brains are more active” as they create “vast numbers of brain connections” which serve as the foundation for future cognitive activity (Gopnick 2003, p. 9). The architecture of the brain is actually taking shape, influenced by experiences of life. It is well-documented that the early years are a significant time of learning and that exploration and play are the basis for gaining insight into the world. “Childhood literally is designed for learning” (Gopnick, 2003, p.10).

Welcoming young children into museums is commonplace for some institutions and a novel experience for others. Thoughts about this audience range from enthusiasts excited about the potential for serving young children to skeptics who believe that little ones lack the sophistication and cognitive capacity to benefit from interactions with artifacts or works of art. In truth, children engage in meaning making naturally, and without regard to setting, but benefit from experiences that allow children to pursue learning based upon their natural inclinations to explore and discover meaning in the world.

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But what does interpretation look like for children of this age visiting museums, natural environments, and heritage sites? Interpretation can be viewed as “a communication process designed to reveal meanings and relationships of our cultural and natural heritage to the visitors, through first-hand experiences with an object, artifact, landscape or site” (Interpretation Canada, 1976), but can also be viewed more simply as “the way something is explained or understood” (Merrian-Webster 2015).

Interpretation places responsibility on the museum to create space and design experiences that communicate and reveal meaning about the collection, but should also be understood in the context of the visitor and the way in which the individual constructs meaning about what he sees or experiences. In most situations, meaning results from the involvement of both parties, which requires that museum educators carefully consider the visitor when planning interpretive experiences.

There are two key areas for consideration when approaching interpretative programming for young children – 1)focusing on relevance and 2) understanding the unique or defining features of preschoolers and their younger counterparts.

Relevance can be defined as a place of intersection between the child’s world and the world of the museum’s collection. This place is really the sweet spot for learning where children are able to draw on prior knowledge as a way of connecting with the new experience related to the collection. And while young children have limited experience, and therefore limited background knowledge, there are many familiar yet provocative areas of interest to build upon.

Prior knowledge comes from a child’s direct experience with his environment. For example, from a very early age, children observe parents cooking in the kitchen, stirring a pot of soup, mixing ingredients for a cake, or simply popping readymade meals into a microwave. Through experience children become familiar with the process of cooking as well as everyday kitchen tools – wooden spoons, pots and pans, spatulas, and potato mashers. This background knowledge is part of a young child’s world and serves as an excellent starting point for introducing kitchen tools and cooking practices from the past. Historic homes as well as exhibitions in history museums convey stories about life from previous eras and are likely to include old-fashioned household items– mashers, wooden spoons, whisks, butter churns, and brooms. Historic exhibitions offer a perfect opportunity for storytelling where children learn about handcrafted tools purchased from traveling peddlers or discover the role of community artisans in making tools for local families. They learn about how things have changed.

The historical concept of change over time is demonstrated with a simple comparison of artifacts from the past with objects from the present. A basket of everyday kitchen tools from a teaching collection gives children the opportunity to touch and examine authentic objects – the real thing – and focuses attention on the less than familiar artifacts of the past, a strategy that makes the experience more meaningful. No matter what the content of the exhibition, there are typically entry points for making connections to a child’s prior knowledge or areas of interest. The goal for any interpreter is to reveal meaning by creating those bridges from the child’s world to the museum collection.

Creative interpreters find that special place of intersection to make gallery experiences relevant, but they go beyond relevance by recognizing the defining features of young children and consider these in planning museum experiences. Programs that are designed to leverage the unique learning style of little ones are ultimately the most effective.

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Defining features or characteristics of young children can be gleaned from research and study of educational theorists.

This serves as a framework for understanding the way that children interact with and construct meaning about their world. Best practice aligns strategies with cognitive developmental theory.

For the dedicated interpreter, the theories of John Dewey, Lev Vygotsky, Jean Piaget, Maria Montessori, Jerome Bruner, Howard Gardner, and others, ground their understanding of young children and the characteristics that define them as learners. The importance of experience and the concept of learning as an active process become clear through the writings of Dewey and Bruner. Piaget and Montessori emphasize the sensory nature of learning while Vygotsky posits that all learning is socially-mediated. Gardner suggests that there are multiple ways of knowing. Study of cognitive theory contributes to a greater understanding of the nature of young children and their approach to learning which in turn leads to more effective interpretive programming.

In addition to the study of theory, individuals glean knowledge through everyday observations that provide insight into the learning style of the young. In watching children in everyday scenarios it is possible to see that children are active learners, interacting with objects in their world; they use their senses – sight, sound, taste, touch, and smell – to gather information; they are curious and exert great effort in exploration and discovery as a means of understanding their environment; they are social creatures – observing, mimicking, and responding to people in their world; they recognize similarities and differences through their observations and use this information to sort, order, and classify objects and concepts; they learn through play where they recreate experiences to examine nuances and use imagination to explore possibilities of what if; they see the world through narrative and storytelling, explaining their own perceptions of their world through story. And while these characteristics create a framework that describes the young child as a learner, it is important to note that each child is unique and learns in her own way.

The museum experience most likely to engage little ones creates multisensory opportunities for fully engaging children in the process of learning, integrates play and story into programming, and builds on the interests and prior knowledge of children. A few brief examples illustrate strategies for engaging preschoolers meaningfully in museums.

I – Storytelling and Play in the Gallery At the Amricani Cultural Center in Kuwait, children can connect with the Markh or goat from The al-Sabah Collection through a simple children’s book, The Three Billy Goats Gruff. Children develop greater understanding of the museum artifact by comparing it with the goats in the story, identifying similarities and differences. A playful reenactment of the story adds an element of imagination as children pretend to trip-trap over the bridge, mimicking the actions of the characters from the book. Play is extended when children are asked to imagine the Markh or goat joining the narrative. What would his role be in the story and how would the narrative change?

II – Sensory Experience in the Museum Cultural artifacts in Hawaiian Hall at the Bishop Museum (Oahu) are made from a wide range of natural materials – fibers, feathers, gourds, stone, shark teeth and more. A basket of touchable objects provides rich sensory experiences which are perfect for introducing these historical artifacts to young visitors. The past is revealed by making connections to familiar objects of the present – feathers, fibers, and gourds. With the exploration of a simple feather, children look more closely and with greater precision at the beautifully feathered capes worn by royalty or ali-i. Fibers from plants offer young museum-goers a first-hand experience with materials used to create baskets and mats displayed in galleries. And garden gourds – fresh and dried – serve as a perfect introduction to musical instruments and containers made from these materials long ago and preserved as treasurers in the museum today. Tangible objects play a role in bringing the collections to life and making the artifacts more meaningful to children.

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III –Role Play and Imagination Children are fascinated by musical instruments from any era or culture. It’s so easy to capture a young child’s attention with musical instruments found in displays. Unusual instruments - from a Native American drum or an African gourd shaker to a singing bowl from Nepal – can inspire role play where a child pretends to be making music and moving to the sounds he imagines. Children will also extend ideas found in paintings and sculpture. When little ones look closely at The Drummer by Barry Flanagan [The Hirshhorn Museum & Sculpture Garden, Smithsonian Institution], they are eager to join in the parade and march behind the hare, clapping hands or beating an imaginary drum. This type of activity is at times spontaneous, but can also be encouraged by interpreters.

Museums offer endless possibilities for child-friendly experiences as interpreters develop greater understanding of our youngest museum visitors and design spaces and programs that build on children’s interests and prior knowledge, and at the same time reflect the learning style of this audience. Through active engagement, meaning is revealed and children develop a deeper understanding of ideas and objects from the environment.

Children deserve the opportunity to experience the awe and wonder of museums, inspired for a lifetime by these early encounters with artifacts, natural specimens, and works of art. *****

Dr. Sharon Shaffer, the founding Director for the Smithsonian’s model lab school for young children, is the author of Engaging Young Children in Museums [January 2015]. The growth of interest in young children learning in museums has joined the international conversation on early childhood education. This is one of the first books for museum professionals as well as students offering guidance on planning programming for young children. This groundbreaking book: explains the various ways in which children learn; shows how to use this knowledge to design effective programs using a variety of teaching models; includes examples of successful programs, tested activities, and a set of best practices.

Engaging Young Children in Museums is available through Left Coast Press or Amazon. www.lcoastpress.com.

You can contact the author at: sharonshaffer.consulting@gmail.com

References Gopnick, A. (2003). Keynote (In The 21st Century Learner: The Continuum Begins with Early Learning, Ed. M. Maher). Washington, DC: Association of Children’s Museums.

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Sharing Docents in a Heartland Town © Elizabeth Vallance and Jean Graves Indiana University Bloomington

INTRODUCTION: THE IDEA OF SHARING DOCENTS We are into the first year of a new “Museum Master Docents” program, a pilot program involving already-active volunteers from three community museums who were trained to give introductory tours at any of the participating museums. This is a report on the recruitment and training of these shared docents, and a critique of the process so far. We welcome comments, as we hope to continue the program with a more open applicant pool soon. We know that other communities have trained volunteers to work comfortably and knowledgeably at several different venues (such as Portland’s History Docents in Maine, see Getz 2015), but we started from scratch, and we learned a lot.

Bloomington, Indiana is a college town an hour south of the nearest serious city. Its economy and rich cultural scene are dominated by Indiana University, a lovely campus of limestone buildings and big trees; with sufficient rainfall, a river runs through it. The environment is further enriched by the more than a dozen museums, some of them on the campus, others not. These museums cover many disciplines – local and world history, art, geology (all that local limestone!), historic costume, sex (at the Kinsey Institute), rare books, science, and several historic houses. Representatives of these museums meet monthly in a loose federation called the Alliance of Bloomington Museums (ABM), working with the local Convention & Visitors Bureau for joint promotion. Some of these museums have docents; others use volunteers or interns in other arrangements that work well for each museum’s needs. But occasionally a museum will have an event needing additional help; conversely, a museum might have low visitation during some seasons, so its volunteers might want to be able to add other challenges.

The idea for a joint docent program was first suggested by the educator at the Monroe County History Center. It was then presented to ABM at a monthly meeting, and three museums quickly signed on for a pilot program: the MCHC (an independent community museum) and two IU museums – the Mathers Museum of World Cultures and Wylie House (home of IU’s first President).

Of course, a committee was formed: four senior staff members from the three museums, a recentlyretired IU faculty member (long museum education experience) and two doctoral students (one in Art Education with museum education experience, the other in the Department of Recreation, Park, and Tourism Studies, experienced in outdoor interpretation). Meetings were creative, fun, and so productive that we started training mere months after we started planning. The retired faculty member and the Art Education graduate student (co-authors of this paper) led the trainings, with support from staff from each venue. We agreed to emphasize a constructivist approach to learning in museums (Hein, 1998), eliciting and working with visitors’ own questions rather than following the always-tempting practice of delivering a series of small lectures. We sought to help the trainees see the first-time visitor’s point of view.

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TRAINING SHARED DOCENTS Overview We designed “Museum Master Docents” as a pilot program, seeking regular feedback from all participants. Accordingly, we invited applications only from people already affiliated with at least one of the participating museums: current interns, current volunteers, and board members. Ultimately, a dozen people started the program and eleven finished. The enthusiastic trainees included retired professionals in science and the humanities, graduate students in Education and Business, and undergraduate Anthropology and Art History majors. Five were docents at Wylie House, four were affiliated with the History Center, and three with the Mathers Museum and/or Glenn Black Laboratory.* All were women. We required four two-hour training sessions, with the option to attend on Saturday mornings or Wednesday afternoons; most trainees stayed with one schedule, with about equal numbers in each section.

The training sought to provide a basic grounding both in how to talk about objects and their meanings and in the highlights of each museum’s collection. We urged each trainee to visit all three museums before training started, to get a sense of the kinds of questions visitors might have, and to read background information on object study (Csikszentmihalyi, 1993; Hohn, 2005).

We started at what we believed to be a “neutral” venue not participating in the shared-docents program – the IU Art Museum – for two reasons. One was to put the trainees on an equal footing, in a museum not “their own.” We also wanted the trainees to consciously experience how it felt to walk into an unfamiliar gallery space and try to make sense of it: What might first-time visitors want to know? What were they likely to notice? We hoped that answers to these questions would be easier to discover in a new environment. The two hours’ orientation with ancient Greek vases at the IUAM allowed us to introduce and practice telling-andquestioning techniques that would be applicable to all museums, using objects that were in no docents’ usual touring repertoire. Subsequent weeks took us to the local history museum (its accessible storytelling potential made it a convenient starting point), then the house museum (local history through one family’s story), and finally the world cultures museum (interpreting artifacts in a broader perspective).

Each session was guided by a worksheet tailored to the venue, exploring objects and installations with questions designed to highlight the many questions visitors might have – about physical properties, narrative implications, connections – and suggesting various kinds of responses. The worksheets were enjoyable to write – both co-authors have used this approach in teaching their shared undergraduate course, “Artifacts, Museums and Everyday Life.” At every class, trainers and museum staff provided answers and background information as necessary. The last 15 minutes of each session were reserved for “debriefing and critique.”

The training sessions The worksheets developed for each venue were similar but, of course, had specific variations. We paraphrase the exercises here as a composite list, indicating the art-museum activity and sample variations for the other sites; each worksheet covered, in one page with space for writing responses, these ideas:

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1. Stand at the entrance and list all words that describe what you see here. This was an effort to simulate firsttime visitors’ impressions, questions, and degree of “over whelmth.” We repeated this “baseline first impressions” exercise at each museum, comparing the resulting lists’ tone and details. At the history museum, for example, we asked trainees to identify the various stories being told; at the house museum, we reacted as first-time guests of the house responding to its style and decor. (See Figures 1 and 2 for illustrations of this technique, which reveals clear differences in the impacts of different kinds of installations).

Figure 1:(left photo) IU Art Museum, gallery of ancient Mediterranean art. Some descriptive first-impression words were: Spacious, light, boxed-up, special, fragile, earth tones, distant, intimidating, static, valuable, elaborate, provocative, all same size.

Figure 2: (right photo) Monroe County History Center (one representative corner installation). Descriptive first-impression words were: Natural light, busy, full, hodgepodge, inviting, home life, diverse, overwhelming, familiar, wood, pioneer.

2. Select an interesting object, describe it, and ask at least 10 questions about it – again, role-playing a visitor’s attraction to, questions about, and possible meanings of a compelling object. At the house museum, trainees also identified thematic connections for individual objects (e.g., a wooden bowl might connect to cooking, woodworking, or commerce), then imagined the family’s reaction to a particular object when it was new, to help visitors envision the “imaginary history” of the object as it entered the family’s story (Vallance, 2004). At the world cultures museum, trainees selected a culturally-embedded object and explored how its questions and meanings might change in an art museum setting, enshrined alone under glass and minimally interpreted.

3. In small groups working with a Greek vase depicting a narrative scene (including costume, musical instruments, gender roles, geometric borders…), deduce what we know about Greek society based on this evidence alone, imagine settings it might have occupied in its long lifetime up to now, and imagine how its meaning would change if placed in any of the three participating museums. This activity encouraged trainees to think about the object as an artifact of its time and as a potential collection item in various settings (at the Wylie House, for example, it might become less an objet d’art than a personal memento of a historic Bloomington family). At MCHC, trainees worked in pairs to explore a few objects and their interpretive information in detail, one partner asking questions and the other deducing answers from objects’ physical properties, groupings, and interpretive information provided; the activity again simulated a first-time visitor’s questions and their possible answers according to the information available.

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4. Looking at a particular object, imagine responding to it at the various stages of aesthetic development outlined by Housen (1987) as summarized on the back of the worksheet. This activity encouraged understanding visitors’ likely very broad range of background and expectations in understanding museum objects. One variation: trainees were asked to note any installation that might be boring to a new visitor, and explain why.

At the end of the last session, the participants received “diplomas.” The 11 Museum Master Docent graduates now receive occasional updates, alerts to enrichment opportunities (such as a lecture series at the house museum the following fall), special requests, and an invitation to be trained as “Visitor Greeters” at another house museum, a historic farmstead with gardens and outbuildings, which two of the new Museum Master Docents accepted.

DISCUSSION AND CRITIQUE The training sessions were lively, and rewarding for the trainers, both of whom had worked in museum galleries before and were happy to be teaching there again. All trainees seem to have read the posted readings, which became useful references through the different contexts of the four weeks. Discussion among the new docents – both during the group activities and in the end-of-session critiques – was generally lively, and we felt that most of the worksheet activities “worked” in helping docents to adopt the point of view of new visitors.

Trainees reported that one useful exercise was making note of exhibits that could be boring to new visitors, and developing strategies to interpret them successfully.

Notable were the responses to two of the sites. The art museum worked well, we thought, as a “neutral” venue where we introduced the tour/question techniques and also as an example – as many art museums are – of a museum where related objects are displayed discretely, under glass, with minimal identifying information.

It became a baseline example of a collection displayed without substantial cultural context or storytelling cues, a minimal approach to object display that contrasted in interesting ways with the other three museums. Some docents, however, were uncomfortable there, either because the information was so minimal or because they knew the collection well and found it difficult to pretend to be novice visitors: it was not as “neutral” a site as we treated it.

The house museum presented a challenge that we had not fully expected. Its collections are embedded in a domestic setting rich with family history, and objects take on various meanings according to their previous uses and their placement in the rooms. We had toured this museum many times ourselves and knew how difficult it was to keep the family stories straight (there were 12 children, and a celebrated cousin). Keeping the first-time visitor in mind, we focused on the objects themselves, rather than who owned them or the family legends. For people very loyal to this famous local family, this approached seemed, we now suspect, a bit irreverent. We came to recognize that training in a historic house situation requires particular sensitivity.

What would we do in a second round of Museum Master Docents training, with a new group of docents who were not already affiliated? Trainee feedback and our debriefing with museum staff suggest that we should: 1. Retain the “neutral venue” concept of the orientation session, but consider doing it at Goodwill, an antique store, or Target, enhancing the “browsing” phenomenon of museum visiting (Vallance, 2007) and exploring everyday objects as objects with histories and/or potential for use.

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2. Have museum staff do sample tours (live or recorded) and trainees then critique them, with guiding questions provided.

3. Consider involving museum guards in the training, as staff who receive all kinds of questions from visitors and can report on a rich array of both “novice” and more-experienced museum visitors’ perspectives.

4. Introduce each training session with a half-hour overview of “facts” by a staff member, summarizing the collection, accession policies, and special highlights/difficulties that visitors typically experience.

5. Alternatively, do a single (longer, half-day or more) joint training on touring techniques with an overview of each museum, and short follow-up trainings later for those who want to be docents at any or all museums.

6. Generally, balance our constructivist approach (respecting and building on visitors’ questions) with the factual and procedural information that trainees tend to want; items 4 and 5 above would address this larger principle, but we should explore other ways to provide the necessary facts while also respecting visitors’ own starting points and interests.

Overall, we were pleased with our pilot program and join the museum educators in feeling confident that the trainees can be useful resources at all the participating museums. The real test of a shared-docents program would be to start afresh with volunteers from the community who are not yet experienced in talking about museum objects: can the skills of object interpretation, empathy with first-time visitors, comfort in thinking on their feet be taught in a compact and efficient format? Since we believe that first-time visitors themselves do effectively “construct” the meanings of objects with appropriate interpretive guidance, we believe that new volunteers, trained with a deliberate focus in recognizing this process, can do so and become guides in the process. But we will await a second round – or readers’ comments – to confirm this hunch.

Elizabeth Vallance is Associate Professor Emeritus of Art Education and former museum educator.

Jean Graves is a second year PhD student in Art Education and former museum educator. *The Mathers Museum of World Cultures shares its Museum Educator position with the adjoining Glenn Black Laboratory of Archaeology, which was in transition at the time and lacked a permanent exhibition to study but intended to be part of the MMD program. For purposes of this paper, we are focusing on and referring to only the three museums active in this pilot training.

References: Csikszentmihalyi, M. (1993). Why we need things. In S. Lubar & W.D. Kingery (Eds.), History from things: Essays on material culture. Washington, DC: Smithsonian Institution Press, 20-29.

Getz, M. (2015). Become a docent for greater Portland landmarks. Retrieved from http://portlandlandmarks.org/get-involved/volunteer-2/ Hein, G.E. (1998). Learning in the museum. New York: Routledge.

Hohn, D. (2005, January). The romance of rust. Harper’s Magazine, 45-63.

Housen, A. (1987, Spring-Summer). Three methods for understanding museum audiences. Museum Studies Journal.

Vallance, E. (2004). The adventures of Artemis and the llama: A case for imaginary histories in art education.

Art Education 57(4), 6-12.

Vallance, E. (2007). Main Street as art museum: Metaphors and teaching strategies. Journal of Aesthetic Education 41(2), 25-38.

You can contact the authors at: Elizabeth Vallance - evallanc@indiana.edu Jean Graves - gravesje@indiana.edu

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Interpretation concept is crossing the border of the former USSR Valeria Klitsounova, PhD

“The word ‘interpretation’… refers to a public service that has so recently come into our cultural world that a resort to the dictionary for a competent definition is fruitless.” This quote was written by Friman Tilden in his famous book “Interpreting Our Heritage” about 60 years ago. We are in the same situation right now in the countries of the former USSR. Interpretation concept is known only by very narrow range of professionals and the word “interpretation” is used very rarely. A Soviet style approach still dominates in most museums, national parks, guided tours and exhibitions in this part of the world. It usually consists of one-way hierarchic communications, which are reminiscent of academic lecturing, extracts from textbooks and commanded signs.

But the situation is changing. Experience economy and interpretation ideas are knocking at our doors. We already have some very good examples of heritage interpretation in Belarus, such as the private Museum of Rural Culture “Dudutki”, some ecomuseums of new generations, several very creative festivals and events and a range of guided tours with animation. It is time for innovations, creativity and a professional approach. Until now, there has not been a decent book about interpretation in Russian. But it’s going to happen very soon. The presentation of a new book, Heritage Interpretation in Tourism: New Approaches in Experience Economy Era, is expected very soon. The author – Valeria Klitsounova, PhD, is working as an associate professor at the Belarusian State University’s international tourism department and also leading National Association of Rural and Ecotourism (Belarusian Agro- and Ecotourism Association ‘Country Escape’). She spent four months as a Fulbright scholar in George Mason University in 2013-2014 with the aim to complete research, meet experts, and write a book about heritage interpretation.

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The book consists of three chapters, which describe the philosophy and ideology of interpretation, main principles, creative techniques and best international and local practices in this field. It is going to be presented to the public and the media at the end of May 2015 in an unusual manner – with animation and musicians’ and actors’ participation.

There are some changes in the education system as well. There is an innovative initiative in The Belarusian State University, where the new course Nature and Culture Heritage Interpretation has been launched on the International Tourism Department. This course combines theory, a lot of creative practical activity, presentation, and discussion, including some good case studies from and some teaching patterns from interpretation courses of Steven’s Point University of Wisconsin and Michigan State University. There will also be a presentation of students’ interpretation programs created in the frame of this new course with some visitors from other departments at the end of May. It is the hope that these few steps would help interpretation become an ideology, philosophy, profession, art, craft, and discipline in Belarus and other countries in the nearest future.

Valeria Klitsounova, PhD lera.greenbelarus@gmail.com

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I'm a pollinator.

Natures grocery stores may just look like a beautiful meadow of flowers, but it's breakfast, lunch and dinner for a huge number of shoppers every day called pollinators,, and you probably know most of them.

Ruby-throated Hummingbird This bird’s diet consists of nectar from bright tubular flowers, as well as insects.

They will help with keeping your flower garden pest free!

So feel free to take pictures but please don't pick the grocery store shelves leaving the flowers here so that the pollinators might have a store like us for their daily grocery shopping trips and help the flowers reproduce too.

Honey Bee Did you know that honey bees can pollinate clover which is commonly used to make honey from?

Monarch Butterfly The monarch larvae’s favorite plant to consume is milkweed. Did you know that the high dextrose content of milkweed was used by Native Americans as a sweetener?

All these fruits and vegetables started off as a flowering plant in need of pollination.