Creating an Interpretive Program - Part 3: The Message

In this third installment of Creating an Interpretive Program, the parts discussed previously are coming together to form the message, sometimes called the theme. However, while many agencies and organizations use "theme", they tend to confuse the issue of what "theme" means since there are many meanings of the word theme. The interpretation of theme that this post will use is a theme in the sense of a "message" or a thesis, rather than theme as a topic. This is crucial because the message of a program is very different than the topic of a program. It is an incredibly crucial step in the creative process, but it is very challenging to write about and provide pictures for, so try to bear up and endure.

The job of the interpreter is to connect visitors to the resources in a meaningful way, so the interpreters must provide the opportunity for the visiting public to explore the ideas and significant aspects of the resource in order to make sense of them in their own personal way. Not all visitors will come away with the exact same experience, and if they come away with the exact same experience, they did not really have an interpretive experience but a lesson. Remember, Tilden's sixth principle is not to instruct but to provoke and so by telling them what they should know, think, or feel, that it is not real interpretation. So it starts with the significance of the resources themselves.

Places set aside for the enjoyment, learning, or appreciation for visitors will inherently have some significance or value. The degree of significance is dependent on who or what administers it. Is it a national level significance? A national level entity probably administers it. Same applies to state or local locations. Private holdings really kind of depend. For example, George Washington's home, Mount Vernon, is a run by private association but has arguably a national level of significance. We attach meanings to places, people, and things and the significance comes from how powerful, profound, or wide reaching the meanings are for these things. The significance can be found in the intangible meanings and in their tangible meanings as well and generally have a wide appeal. The significance of the tangible resource can be put into statements that are part of the flow and process of making a message for your visitors. According to Richard Kohen and Kim Sikoryak's book on interpretation, "Meaningful Interpretation," the significance statements "are factual statements that include enough context to make them meaningful, summarizing the importance of these resources to our natural and cultural heritage" and is the first step in creating a interpretive message. Significance answers the question, "So what? Why does any of this matter?" In high school, we did ID/Sigs as homework and doing this following exercise may be helpful to creating and isolating significance statements. First we ID'd the resource and then described it. Then the significance of this resource was described. Here is one example using a real resource, Fort Scott in Kansas, where I worked for a season. One possibility of a significance statement might be "The first black soldiers to fight for the Union during the Civil War were first enlisted at Fort Scott".

The interpretive message has two levels: primary messages and sub-themes. The primary are the overarching stories about the resources. Sub-themes are the smaller-scale stories within and make up the primary. The narrower scope encourages the exploration of specific ideas in greater depth. Sub-themes are the specific themes used to develop individual interpretive services or techniques.

Characteristics common to all primary themes and sub-themes include:

• Each is based on the significance of resources (arrows in above image)
• Each is the essence of a story used to help visitors explore the multiple significant facets of resources.
• Each connects resources to larger ideas, meanings, beliefs, and values.
• Each is best stated as a single sentence that includes tangible and intangible elements. Single sentence structure forces theme writers to focus their ideas. An interpretive theme is never stated as a topic. While topics can be useful in organizing a body of work, topics alone do not provide sufficient interpretive focus. Since topics are written in one or several words such as geology, southwest history, etc, their meanings are too ambiguous to be useful as themes. Structuring themes as complete sentences ensures a more coherent development of related ideas.
• Each incorporates universal concepts: big ideas that mean something to everyone, though not the same thing to everyone. The use of universal concepts enables a wide and diverse range of people to find personal paths to connection to the stories of the place and its resources.
• Each provides opportunities for people to explore the meanings of the place and its resources, without telling people what resources should mean to them. 

An example of the Primary Interpretive Message might go like this (still using Fort Scott as an example): The black soldiers recruited at Fort Scott were the first of any state in the Union to fight for their freedom. The universal concept could be struggle for freedom. A subtheme might be the enthusiastic black communities in Kansas that filled not one regiment but two. An interpretive service or technique for illustrating this would be a map that described free black communities in Kansas or a newspaper from such a community advertising for recruits.

With all that in mind, a single statement sentence that summarizes and articulates the interpreter wants to develop will be the core around which the interpretive program will be built around. It is based upon the significance of the resource and guides the development and the ultimate presentation of the program. It should include both intangible and universal connections. Since there are a lot of things to consider in making a message statement, it will not be easy to do, nor will it come quickly. This is not a 5 minute exercise on a single draft. This is not a last minute job. Creating a message takes time, crafting, editing, revising, probably some collaboration, and re-doing if need be. There is a lot to consider when making a message so take the time to do it right and keep checking to see that it makes tangible, intangible, and universal connections as well as fit the Primary Message and Subtheme characteristics. The message must also be relevant as anything that is not will not be as powerful. Since some of the ideas can be quite complex, try keeping to one idea at a time when constructing a message as this will quickly complicate the overall message that will be delivered.

On Oct 29, 1862, 240 black troops from the 1st Kansas Colored Infantry were sent to rout out bushwhackers, Confederate guerrillas, in Bates County, Missouri at a place called Island Mound and according to reports fought valiantly. Up until then, black soldiers were used for menial labor, even though they enlisted as soldiers, but their courage and ferocity turned the opinions against using black troops in combat as news about the success of the skirmish spread.

Previously, the success or failure of an interpretive program used to be measured by how well visitors could remember and state the theme of the program. This lead to programs that were designed to be easily remembered with a recurring theme statement that made it easy for visitors to recall when evaluated. By doing this, the message became a take home lesson that failed to create a personal meaning for the visitors since they were told what and why the resource was significant.

I'm not so brilliant to come up with all of this on my own, I had some help sorting this topic from this website and will go into greater detail than I can spend time doing on this blog:
 https://www.nps.gov/parkhistory/online_books/eastern/meaningful_interpretation/mi2c.htm

Creating an Interpretive Program - Part 2: Knowing the Audience

In this second installment of the Creating an Interpretive Program using the Interpretive Process Model as the guide, the focus is on the importance of considering the audience. After all, no program is created with the intention of not being used; it is made to deliver to real people. The audience is listening and it wants to hear from you.

Your audience is going to be different every time, so be
flexible with your material and take into account 
different interests without over-planning.

When creating an interpretive program, an easy mistake to make is to assume the audience is just like you and is interested in everything that you are. Believe it or not, the people in the audience are different than you and have different perspectives, opinions, and interests. One thing in your favor is that they are all here, right in front of you, and so that means that some of them must be interested in hearing what you have to say or seeing what you have to do. On one hand, give them what they want. If you are at a historical house, give them the tour. If it is a big fossil bed, talk to them about the fossils. On the other hand, they may be a captive audience or do not know exactly why they are there, so your interest and excitement in what you are doing or saying can be infectious. The method that works for both types of audience is to be both informative and a little persuasive.

The elusive

"Average Visitor"?

Another easy mistake is to write a program aimed at a mythical creature called "The Average Visitor". This creature does not exist. It happens when the program is written to anyone, and by doing so, is directed at no one. Anywhere you go, whether to an interpretive site, the grocery store, or the bank, everyone there is going to be a little bit different. Over time, some noticeable characters and features of the visitors begin to stand out. Does your location get a lot of international tourists? From what countries? Children on field trips? Snowbirds? Families on vacations? Mostly men, women, boys, or girls? These are only some of the characteristics that should be taken into consideration. Giving an interpretive program to a group of international tourists is greatly different than families on vacation, but sometimes they are in the same group! Flexibility is key, but knowing your audience gives range to that flexibility.

As a result, it can also be taken in the extreme opposite end. Creating the same program with so many variations for every single demographic represented at the site is too much. Your time is too precious to write out all these specific programs. It is more akin to making appropriate emphasis where most effective while sticking to the script and some variations on a theme. For example, if an international tourist group has a translator, the same program can be given in simplified terms and broken into manageable chunks so the translator has time to quickly understand and then translate the material. Another example would be using simpler language for children and less complicated concepts.

"C'mon man, not even Sasquatch believes in the 'Average

Visitor' "

If you are new to a site, ask around and get a feel for what kinds of people visit the site. Talk to the visitors and get to know them before you create a program and see what interests them. Some general questions to ask visitors during this phase of program creation are aimed at gathering information and include, "What brought you here today?" and "What does this resource mean to you?". These questions are seeking something of value for themselves and a personal sense of what the place means.

December's edition of this blog will be the next step in the Interpretive Process model, the theme statement.

Creating an Interpretive Program - Part 1: Tangibles, Intangibles, and Universals

For two years this blog has existed with a fair deal of success, however, it as yet has not had a post on how to create an interpretive program. Perhaps it is myopic or trying too hard or another lesson in making assumptions. Aspects of programs have been identified, the methods discussed, the concepts criticized, and the results analyzed, but no step by step explanation has been given of how to actually create a program, from either a talk, activity, pamphlet, or multimedia presentation, excepting creating a written interpretive piece. So, this post begins a series on creating of a program and the essential elements needed to create a effective interpretive program.

Tangible: Fur trapper. Using a beaver pelt (a tangible) to

support a talk about the fur trapper.

One method for creating an interpretive program is following the Interpretive Process Model which is like a flow chart of decisions that help define what the program is about and how it is organized. It begins basically with the concept of tangibles, intangibles, and universals. Tangibles, intangibles, and universals and such were brought up in the interpretive writing post, but I did not go into detail as to what they are about.

The first step is to select a tangible that you, the interpreter, want the visitor to care about. A tangible is anything concrete: animal (dead or alive), vegetable (dead or alive), mineral, made object, place, or sometimes an event. It is something that the visitor can relate to in a sensory fashion - touching, seeing, hearing, sometimes smelling, rarely tasting. This is generally something that can be experienced on or with the intended program. There can also be multiple tangibles but there will usually be at least one that is most symbolic of the choices. More than one can get tricky and difficult, but basic programs will have at least one that acts as the center of what the program is about.

It's hard to take a picture of

intangibles and universals, so here

is a photo of the universe.

Intangibles are little more tricky since they are harder to grasp, figuratively and literally. They are more symbolic or idea based. Examples of intangibles are migration, slavery, freedom, education, and rejection. You cannot hold migration, but you can touch a wagon. You cannot hold slavery, but you can walk through slave quarters. Intangible things spring from the tangible. A single tangible can have many intangible meanings. Stringing multiple tangibles to their collective intangible to focus meanings is the basis of the craft of interpretation and from that collection should point to a universal.

A universal is just that; it is something that we all experience and find some meaning from, regardless of who we are, but each view a little differently. These are also intangible by nature and are very broad in category such as life, death, hunger, struggle, survival, and love. A universal should then reconnect to the visitor on that level for they should also experience these as they are universal to all. They connect to both the tangible and intangible to the visitor so that they can examine their own intellectual and emotional understandings and find meaning in their visit.

A collection with hardly any meaning, from this blog post 

Ignoring one of these three elements makes the interpretive program weak. A program talking about ideas and ideals without anything solid is a philosophy lecture. A program with no intangibles is a collection of things without meaning. A program with tangibles and intangibles but no universals is mildly amusing but left wanting in meaning as well; it fails to answer the question, "So why should I care?"
So for the first step of the Interpretive Process Model is to select a tangible that you want the visitor to care about. You want them to care. You want them to make not only an intellectual connection but an emotional one, because people will value and protect that which they care about. If making people realize that a hypothetical endangered flower only blooms here and how crucial it is to the vista and the food web and how that ultimately affects them, they will help to protect it, for example. It is the job of the interpreter to interpret the selected tangible's intangible message to make a universal connection that reveals the value in the tangible so that all people can agree it needs to be valued and protected from this point on. Because of this, the tangible must be something that has an intangible meaning.

Tangible: Wagons, Cars, Intangible: Migration,

 problem solving, comparison

Universal: Problem solving, improvement

Since tangibles can have all sorts of meanings, the interpreter must select an intangible meaning to

follow up on it as the direction of the program. Once the direction of the intangible message is
determined, other tangibles can be used to help reinforce that message. Are there other tangibles at your disposal that support your program? The more tangibles there are that support the intangible message, the more complicated the program. Throughout the program, the universal connection is subtly reinforced, so take some time to make sure that the message is something everyone gets.

Every great program starts with excellent planning. Using the Interpretive Process Model to plan the program helps identify all the essential elements of great interpretation. This first installment on program creation will be followed up by developing themes based on your selections made from this session, so stay tuned next month for Part 2 of Creating a Program series.

A New Course Charted for the English Speaking World Sept 27, 1066

William as depicted in the Bayeux Tapestry 

On this day in history, Sept 27th 1066, William of Normandy set sail for England. Change had already been in the wind for England since the death of Edward the Confessor, the previous king of England, without an heir. Several claimants had made raids into England but nothing had been settled. Harold Godwinson the English lord had been crowned King earlier in the year but his challenges to the throne came from William, who had a claim to the throne, and Harald Hadrada, King of Norway.

In what may seem only somewhat understandable today, given the popularity of the television show Game of Thrones, even then office did not mean legitimacy, power, and clear ascension. Sometimes breaking the rules and making the rules made the rules. It was certainly the case with William who survived in a lord-eat-lord world of the 11th century Europe. But much has changed since then in the world. These days peaceful changes of power happen at a fairly even rate and frequency now, but they are still not without pitfalls, such as the first televised debate of the 2016 election. It would also seem a bit naive to also ignore the amount of violence in the world in matters of control and power. The world is still a dangerous place to be, and will probably always be so.

Whether Old English or Middle English, Anglo-Norman, French, Latin or whatever, men on horse with spears and swords send a pretty clear message.

The Norman Invasion also changed England's lexicon; ushering in Middle English from Old English. Up until this time, "English" was still very German as a result of the Saxon invasions. The earliest known English classic, "Beowulf", was written in this language. The Norman Conquest happened not only in force but in language. English was relegated to common people while Anglo-Norman was the language of the court. This meant the importation of the French language as well as more Latin into business and legal vocabulary. It also changed pronunciation and grammar into a form that we can recognize today.

Still, the decision of William to assemble his armies and ships and press his claim for good or ill fundamentally changed the English speaking world, even the US. The lesson I choose to learn from this is that bold endeavors have the chance to change everything, and they can affect the outcome of so many people's lives. Be bold and press on.

National Park Centennial Celebration Part II

Limited Edition' Junior Ranger Badge for the Centennial

Earlier last month on this blog I described the goals and interpretive offerings of the National Parks. This second part was supposed to be done quickly for August but it did not work out as planned, so this blog post will look at what a local park did for last month's event. Since the actual date of the signing of the Organic Act took place on August 25th, it fell on a Thursday this year. I was at Abraham Lincoln Birthplace National Historical Park on that day, but being a weekday it was not very busy. In fact, many of the visitors were not very aware that it was the 100th anniversary of the creation of the Park Service until Park personnel told them so. Perhaps wisely, the Park did not have any special events that day and were going to have a special events on the weekend. Still, it was a good time to get a few of those free cancellation stamps for the Passport book I own with the 100th date on there. They even had a 'limited edition' Centennial Junior Ranger Badge.

Actual Woodrow Wilson

Abraham Lincoln NHP's weekend program included a historical presenter of President Woodrow Wilson, Judd Bankert. The program included a meet-n'-greet, formal presentation program by "Mr. Wilson", and an afternoon program with the staff. Mr Wilson turned out nattily dressed in sport coat, slacks, and straw boater hat, each of which was meticulously researched. His interpretive program covered his presidency, the Great War, and his stroke, and he took questions and answers. The afternoon program included a brief speech by the Park's Chief of Interpretation and the speech that Mr. Wilson made on his arrival at the park in Sept. 1916 to accept the deed of the park on behalf of the American people. Following this speech "Mr. Wilson" reenacted the signing of both the Park's enabling legislation (the law that created the park) and the Organic Act which created the Park Service. From then on the formal special event was over for the day.

Historical Presenter of Woodrow Wilson

Having a historical presenter channel President Wilson and give first and third person interpretation is a great way to make a connection to a historical person, especially a presenter that really researches his subject. The classic presentation followed by Q&A is a great way to introduce a subject, explain it, go into detail, and check for questions afterward. Having a flexible first and third person format allows the presenter to answer the question more fully in a way that allows the research to speak but also reveals the opinion of the researcher. Giving the same speech that was given 100 years ago on a similar occasion has the power to use Power of Place, time in context, and quotation to move people to think about what these places mean to us. On the other hand, it can be difficult for a visiting crowd to long endure heat, humidity, and long speeches followed by signing two pieces or paper.

Signing legislation: cutting edge interpretation?

The 100th anniversary of the National Park Service will continue to go throughout the rest of the year. There is still plenty of time to go enjoy the 412 Parks and celebrate with them and see the rugged beauty or experience our American past, or go on a Ranger tour, or go do something you have never done before. The Parks are a great resource and something special that we get to enjoy, so please go out and visit, support, and promote the National Park Service.

National Park Centennial Celebration

NPS Logo

This month of August is the 100th anniversary of the creation of the National Park Service. I briefly talked about the creation of the National Park Service in this blog post, but in the context of the dual mission of protection and enjoyment as a balance. The National Park Service is one of the most prestigious interpretive institutions in the United States that daily interacts with the public regarding its environment and history. This month will feature a two part blog post. Part one will talk about the Parks' programming in general and their interpretive goals. The second will talk about the local National Park Centennial celebration close to the actual date of Aug 25.

The National Park Service is a wide government agency within the Department of the Interior. It oversees national parks, monuments, sites, trails, recreation sites, and seashores. The Parks in the system chooses to actively engage visitors coming to their respective unit sites through interpretive programming and campaigns. A few branding campaigns had been launched in the last few years to draw the ever decreasing visiting public to the parks: the "Find Your Park" campaign, as well as the Centennial campaign. Find Your Park is aimed at connecting people to the parks by emphasizing 'ownership'.

I've found my Park, have you?

As national public lands, the Parks belong to the people of the United States. Since they belong to each and every one of us, it is up to us to take care of them, whether that is visiting our favorite park or the local one. By 'finding your park', you identify with it like a favorite color or food or movie; it becomes part of a definition of your personality. We take care of and prioritize things that are personal and meaningful to us and that logic is extended to the park of choice. It also emphasizes 'finding', as in to 'seek out' and compare and contrast other parks, and thereby encourages visits.

The Centennial campaign is more of an awareness program to draw attention to the fact that the Parks will be 100 years young.  It means new branding for NPS gear and limited edition collectibles that highlight and popularize the National Parks.  The intention is to increase dwindling visitor numbers and connect visitors, especially young visitors, so that future generations will continue to visit and appreciate.

Another unexpected way that people are connecting with the Parks is through a game released this summer called Pokemon Go. It is an augmented reality game played on smart phones where the players capture these digital creatures (Pokemon) wandering around in physical settings but can only be seen through the lens of the mobile phone screen. These settings include public locations like the Parks. The game's reception has mixed emotions and reactions from all quarters since being released. The Parks generally welcome and encourage the visitors searching for the Pokemon, and a few of them are apparently going to lead tours exclusively to sate players.

If you need this new-fangled game explained to you,

 ask a kid or teen. 

They want the visitors to look around and enjoy the Park rather than simply visiting to collect digital creatures as well.

The Parks also stress using tact when searching in places of solemn reflection such as memorials, cemeteries, and battlefields. Collecting things in the Parks is not totally unusual, (although collecting things like rocks, fossils, and leaves are illegal!); the Parks have their own version of this called National Parks Passports. Each National Park has cancellation stamps that collectors can place into a purchased passport book, so that they can "catch 'em all", including limited edition stamps especially for the centennial. They also have sticker stamps that can be collected. In the last few years the Parks had a Civil War to Civil Rights trading card series that were location specific. Of course, there are also the Junior Ranger badges that children and adults can collect which I mentioned last month.

But far and wide the daily Interpretation talks, walks, and programs are the real highlight of the Park system. While nature and wilderness often speak for themselves, many people do not or cannot hear what they are saying. It is the job of the interpretive staff to speak in understandable terms what is both obvious or hidden from mere observation to visitors, whether it is a 'natural' park or a historical one. These people help make meaningful connections between the visitors and the protected resource the Park offers and make the visit worthwhile. The Park System protects the resource designated at the site and tries to make full use of the enjoyment of the visitor. It is not a perfect system and it does have a lot of problems, but the National Park system works for the visitor to help them learn to appreciate, protect, and enjoy the parks and sites. Here's to another 100 years, National Parks!

End Part One

Part two Local National Park celebration Aug 25-27

Interpretive tool: Junior Ranger Program

Add caption

Tilden Freeman, in his handbook on the basics of interpretation, stated with regards to children,"Interpretation addressed to children should not be a dilution of the presentation to adults but should follow a fundamentally different approach. To be at its best it will require a separate program". The struggle to interpret to children as well as adults is tough, the challenge being knowing how to connect with children and not bore the adults, or vice versa, to engage adults and not lose the children. One of the ways to do this is with play. All children inherently know to play and learn as they go, so long as it is perceived as fun and not educational. Adults need to play too, for many have forgotten how to play with all the cares of the world as it is today. Going further, having a program that engages adults and children in play while cleverly disguising it as learning is a rewarding challenge. One example of this in action is the National Park Service's Junior Ranger Program which is available in most National Parks.

The Junior Ranger Program is a book or booklet that can be obtained from a location in a Park. By Park, it should be understood that this means every location under the jurisdiction of the National Park Service, so there should not be a difference between, for example, a National Battlefield, National Monument, or a National Seashore. Several states also offer similar Junior Ranger Programs for their state parks as well. It's a best bet to ask at the Visitor Center for the book or check online here to download it and print it beforehand. They are designed to be filled out by children generally aged from about 5 - 13, the general age range before un-coolness becomes a consideration. They can be done as a group or as individuals; some parks offer programs for different ages to make it easier or more challenging based on age and ability. From then on, the visiting children roam the park looking for the answers or completing the tasks. Once completed, they return to where they received the books and the books are evaluated. If the responses to the questions and activities are found satisfactory, the youths usually have the option to take the Junior Ranger Pledge and receive souvenir badges for their hard work. The pledge has been a point of some consternation with some parents; it isn't a covenant or a binding oath of fealty. It is usually a show of decorum and responsibility in the students to help protect the places they visit so others can enjoy it later. It's just more solemn than handing a badge with a "There you go". Sometimes younger children can get the badge too so they do not feel left out by older brother or sister getting one.

Vague Children listening to Vague Ranger vaguely talk about

something vague

This program offers a lot of great opportunities. Rather than be stuck reading signs and looking at things, younger visitors are searching for clues and answers in the waysides and looking closely at the details of things on display. It allows for more personal engagement with the resources of not only the children but also adults. Some of it is also just for fun like word puzzles, crosswords, matching, and mazes. It makes for great busy work for children even in the car ride. It can also put a new twist on a favorite Park. Plus, they get a token for their work, most of which may be a plastic or embroidered patch, but some are wood or metal and some are limited edition, especially for the Centennial year. The book and token serve as reminders of their time going to a Park as well as increase the desire to go to other Parks and appreciate those too. One of the greatest things about the program is that it's free!

It is not without its challenges either. A poorly written question, task, or activity can lead to a lot of frustration for all parties involved.  Some kids can be so focused on simply collecting the badge that they really did not connect to the resource or be so focused on completing the activities and tasks that they "miss" the park or lose out on the learning what the park was about. As a self guiding interpretive tool, the interpreter has a passive role in this program since it connects the visitor directly with the resource without a human interpreter being present. It also is not very feasible to be able to collect them all as the Parks in the NPS system are not just in the lower 48 states, but in Alaska, Hawai'i, and in the territories. Because of this, one can really only have 'most' of the badges, but would require tremendous effort to visit each park and obtain one (badges can still be obtained by downloading, completing, and mailing in the book if the park allows, so check with the park first). One consideration is how complete a booklet needs to be onsite. Some places may be very strict on making sure that all questions and activities are filled out completely before getting a badge, where others will be accommodating with reasonable effort.

So despite some flaws that can be part of any interpretive program, the National Park's Junior Ranger Program is a great way to connect children and parents with a Park. After all, getting children interested in going to natural, or historical Parks will lead to greater love and desire to protect these areas for future generations. Next month is the National Park Service 100th anniversary and will be the focus of the next blog post!

Site Visit: Lincoln's Boyhood National Memorial

Abraham Lincoln looms large in American culture as one of our most iconic presidents. His struggles, trials, and achievements are topics of national interest and local, state, and national commemoration usually has high visitation. Based on my limited knowledge of other sites, the National Park Service has 8 park sites and units associated with him: Abraham Lincoln Birthplace (and Boyhood Home at Knob Creek), Lincoln Boyhood, Lincoln Home, The White House, Ford's Theater, the Petersen House [The house where Lincoln died], the Lincoln Memorial, and Mt. Rushmore. Living near the Lincoln Boyhood afforded the opportunity on a day-off to go and visit on a day off with some co-workers and family.

Lincoln Boyhood National Memorial visitor center

Field crops are looking good, just need to move

 that disc out of the way and it would be perfect.

The first impression received upon arrival to the visitor center was the sculpted exterior that seemed to harken to Egyptian reliefs and carvings. The tall panels depicted symbolic times in Abraham's life. Inside the semi-circular museum, we paid the entrance fee and browsed both the museum and a small souvenir shop. The far ends of the building were impressive halls. One seemed very much like a church setting, the other like a conference room and seemed to be dedicated to special events rather than daily visitor use or programming. The walls and displays were Lincoln images and lithographs in frames. A 15 minute video summarized the Lincolns' 14 years at the site very well. The museum further on did not have many artifacts, but did have a lot of flat panel reading and images. Beyond were tools and a vignette of what the interior of the cabin might have looked like at the time.

“All that I am or ever hope to be,
I owe to my angel mother.”
-Abraham Lincoln

Accessibility seemed limited with our stroller; I had to carry it up some steps (without the child in it!) at certain points. The park had a few hiking trails, one of which was the 12 Stone Trail with stones taken from areas of significant events of Lincoln's life like stones from the Petersen home, the White House, the store he owned, and from his birthplace, to name a few. Beyond was the Living History

Farm area near where the actual cabin was. Field crops and gardens looked well tended. Inside the cabin was the only other park staff we met that day besides the Student Conservation Association intern working the Visitor Center counter. He was pleasant to speak with and was willing to share more information (he mentioned another interpreter was on break so he was the only one there at the time). The site included a carpentry shop with tools for demonstrations, barns and pens, and the smokehouse had some recently finished hams in there hanging. The chickens were penned but still around. The other livestock were hard to find but we managed to find the sheep before we left to go
to the pioneer cemetery. There, the marker to Nancy Lincoln, Abraham's mother, had a small offering of pennies on the stone and the surrounding areas; the exact location of her body is unknown. Overall, it was about a two hour visit and well worth the time.

As usual, deciding what criteria to use to properly evaluate an interpretive site is a challenge. In this case, the significance of the site and how well the site tries to engage the visitor in delivering a message and meaning will be the criteria.

Big shoes to fill

My wife likes to do the Junior Ranger Programs at the National Parks and she said that the answers were pretty easy and could be filled out easily during the visit. The video area had a life-size cutout of Lincoln and supposedly shoes that were size 14 so students could try them on and see how they measure up to the 6'4" lanky Lincoln. The video, while dated, effectively described the Lincoln's lives at the farm as well as some of Abraham's adventures on the riverboats and concluded with statements to the effect that Abraham's time at this location helped shape the sort of person he would be in Illinois and ultimately in the presidency. There were a lot of flat panel text and images which made the displays difficult to handle after a while, especially since there were few artifacts that were representative of the ones that the Lincoln's may have used. If there were nuggets of connections to what Lincoln in Indiana means to visitors, it was buried somewhere on a wall of text. Besides the buttons one could push to light areas in the vignette, there were no interactive displays.

The 12 Stone Trail, which we walked on in reverse order, seemed like an odd attempt at engaging the visitor. It seemed like this technique would appeal to some and not to others, but was a creative use of a hiking trail. As Americans, we highly value Power of Place (being there where it really happened) and souvenirs. These 12 stones (souvenirs) come from significant places (Power of Place) in Lincoln's journey but because rocks can be a mundane souvenir especially out of context from their vague places that their power to interpret is dulled. Some of the rocks came from minor locations in his life, like the store he used to own, or vague, such as the rock from near where he gave the Gettysburg Address, because he spoke on a platform in a graveyard the stone must

The interactive portion of the museum

have been from the wall or field stones in the surrounding area outside of the town. So the general reception of the stones on the path is mixed and vague. The Living History Farm being in good enough shape was great to see. However, having one out or even two interpreters at the Living History site was tough on visitors wanting to ask questions since the one interpreter that was present was chatty and there were a good amount of people visiting on a Tuesday. Of course, because it was a Tuesday, it meant that there were going to be less visitors, and therefore less staff to interpret. During this visit, we met no uniformed National Park staff, nor were any tours offered or mentioned.

Caption reads "This rock from

where President Lincoln stood when

he delivered the Gettysburg Address

November 19, 1863"

So, while the video explicitly tackles the significance of the site, other means of engaging the visitor with meaning had vary degrees of success. The video was a great tool to clearly lay out significance and message, but was not very complete on pursuing meaning.The Junior Ranger program is great for kids to connect but seemed to struggle with how to reach adults. Not every adult can handle reading three and a half walls of text. The interpreter at the farm site talked about topics but did not delve into what pioneer life was like or what the Lincolns' experience in southern Indiana means to visitors. The 12 Stone hike was creative, but fell short of trying to grasp meaning. In short, a visit to Lincoln's Boyhood National Memorial is a worthwhile trip if you are in the area if you want to look at pioneer life and another segment of Lincoln's life, but it does not get very deep in meaning. It is there to fill the visitor in about the Indiana portion of Lincoln's life.

Me in a Maserati? Going places with story [Guest Post!]

The month of May has been a very busy month with traveling and relocating to a new destination that will be the part of a later blog post. In the chaos of trying to pack everything up and resettled, as well as relearning and training at an exciting new career, I have decided to ask David Connon to write a guest blog post to cover the May edition of the blog. After numerous edits and delay, the written piece should post on May 29th, 151 years after Albert H. Newell's death, detailed below. 

Me in a Maserati? Going places with story

Guest blog post by David Connon

I wear the hats of researcher, historical interpreter, and blogger but I lack formal training in history. My degrees are in English and Education. In addition, I have read about the Civil War all my life, but always from a Northern perspective. To compensate for my deficits, I have looked to authors that I admire, editors who have given encouraging feedback, and colleagues who have offered insights and hope. I am passionate about good stories. A good story is a Maserati with the top down, waiting to be taken for a drive. Many of the world’s greatest teachers, including Jesus Christ and the Buddha, have tapped into the power of story, and so can you. Good stories can make history relevant, illuminating, and powerful.

Fourteen years ago, I began walking a historical path, munching an energy bar of stories. My experience has fleshed out a principle from Freeman Tilden’s insightful work, Interpreting Our Heritage. Tilden wrote:

The purpose of interpretation is to stimulate the reader or hearer toward a desire to widen his horizon of interests and knowledge, and to gain an understanding of the greater truths that lie behind any statement of fact.

It started when I opened Dorothy Schwieder's book, Iowa Past and Present. She included the letter of an eyewitness to the first riot in Grinnell, Iowa, which was an abolitionist town. The riot occurred over the presence of fugitive slaves in the public school, about a year before Fort Sumter. I read the following excerpt:

Men maddened with hate and rage ran through the streets with insulting words ever on their lips. When I bade my husband good morning, I did not know but he would be the first victim of the fury. - Sarah Parker to her mother, March 1860

The riot was in stark contrast with present-day Grinnell, a peaceful town with a progressive college. The events leading up to the riot captured my imagination. Dramatic elements included the Underground Railroad, a religious revival, and a contentious school board meeting. I wanted to know who was responsible the riot and who he was as a person. Eventually, through patient research, it was clear: The chief instigator was Captain Nathaniel W. Clark, a former New England sea captain and father-in-law of a co-founder of Grinnell. I was convinced that I might find clues about him that others had missed. I also studied Leonard F. Parker, the school superintendent who stood up against Capt. Clark and the rioters. Months of research turned into years, and I ended up with a Frankenstein-like database, with hundreds of primary and secondary sources. 

During my Grinnell research, I learned about an unusual crime. In fall 1864, during Iowa's first draft, three men did not report for duty. Two deputy marshals went to round them up. Bushwhackers killed the deputy marshals. My imagination was again engaged. I asked," Did any Iowans actually leave the state and serve the Confederacy?" Answering that question has kept me busy for the better part of seven years.

So far, I have documented seventy-five Iowa residents who left the state and served the Confederacy. They are doppelgangers (shadow images) of their Union counterparts. The most powerful stories touch upon our common humanity, and they may be surprising. For example, 22-year old Albert H. Newell was a long time resident of Danville, Iowa. He was the son of an itinerant preacher and farmer.  Albert spent time with cousins and uncle in Tennessee. After the war came, Albert followed his cousins' lead and enlisted in the 2nd (Woodward's) Kentucky Cavalry [CSA]. Albert was returning from furlough when he was captured on the banks of the Tennessee River. He was taken to Fort Delaware Prison - the thing he feared most. Albert got sick and died May 29, 1865, and his body was buried on the New Jersey shore.

His sister, Fredonia, traveled to New Jersey to bring Albert's body back to Danville. According to family tradition, when Fredonia arrived with Albert's body at the train station, no one would load his casket onto the wagon. Then a gentleman helped (a lady should not have to man-handle a casket). Albert and Fredonia's parents were out of town, so she handled the burial arrangements. But the cemetery committee told her," No rebel in OUR hallowed ground." So she finally buried his body just outside the cemetery fence. 

Family tradition relates that the cemetery expanded to include Albert's grave. Years later, when feelings had begun to soften, the most decorated grave was that of Albert H. Newell.

Four principles have guided me as a researcher, interpreter, and blogger. 

"The past is indeed and foreign country; it is well worth a visit precisely because of that fact." - Carl R. Trueman.
I am naturally curious about life and Trueman's quote stimulates that curiosity. 

Historians engage in "evidence identification, verification, interpretation, and narrative construction." - Carl R. Trueman.
I need Trueman's "guard-rails" as I maneuver the Maserati [the story or narrative] around hair-pin turns and through dark tunnels. 

The best historian has "discovered and weighed all the important evidence available [and] has the largest grasp of intellect, the warmest human sympathy, the highest imaginative power." - G. M. Trevelyan.
Setting aside my books filled with notes in the margins, Trevelyan encourages me to think hard, feel deeply, and use my imagination in historical interpretation.

"You do not invent history, nor apologize for it. You recognize forces behind facts, and instincts and desires behind actions; and you record in the vignettes which you try to make alive and understandable." -Ariel Durant.
Following Durant's advice, I can trust that the Maserati's engine is well tuned.  

Three things I have learned

• It is very useful to focus on an individual and/ or his or her family
• Context is king
• It is best to appeal to all three learning strengths (visual, auditory, tactile/kinesthetic)

Author's background: David Connon in an independent historical researcher, writer, and speaker. His blog "Confederates from Iowa: Not to defend, but to understand" is found at Confederates From Iowa. He works as a historical interpreter at Living History Farms. He is listed on the Humanities Iowa Speakers Bureau and his topics are “Josiah Bushnell Grinnell and the Iowa Underground Railroad” and “Iowans who Fought Against the Union.”
  

  

Site Visit. Vesterheim. Cultural museums and what they mean.

Every time I visit a new historical site or museum, I struggle with how to evaluate it for this blog. What criteria should be used to measure what it does? If I am evaluating it for interpretive merit, is it trying to be an interpretive site or simply a place to learn or showcase? If it is a place to learn and showcase, is it fair to evaluate its interpretive merits? This month I visited Vesterheim; The National Norwegian-American Museum and Heritage center in Decorah, Iowa, with my little family. Norwegian blood does not flow through my veins, so far as I know, but they do through my wife and it was her suggestion to visit. It was important to her because it was about her heritage; I was the outsider. So I thought this would be an excellent opportunity not only for a blog post but also to evaluate a cultural museum as someone who is outside of that culture.

Decorah has a reputation as a "Norwegian" town in Iowa; the way the Pella is associated with the

Activity: prop and environmental interaction inside of the

"Old World" Norwegian exhibit

Dutch and the Amana colonies with the Germans. It included several building examples of old Norway as well as of Norwegian-Americans, including homes and businesses like mills. While interesting, we did not visit these sites. We came at the end of several exhibits that were just finishing up so this evaluation will be a dated one, but I think will still hold true for general observations of the static displays. The museum building was probably a warehouse of sorts before being put to its present use as there were several heavy doors that sat in tracks. We examined the gallery of textiles from an exhibit before going into the museum's static displays. Photos were welcome but needed to have the flash off (I used the low light feature on my camera to take some of the photos and it looks like the quality of the photo decreased with it).

Activity: making "Rømmegrøt Tvare" and "Lefse" with 

children. Zero calories, no mess.

First was a display on Norwegian food as it was in olden days to more modern times and into the modern contemporary age of today. Along with food were the materials used to prepare, use, and store food and how these things have changed. There was a nearby trunk that had costumes that resembled characters from Disney's "Frozen" animated film. The intention was to wear the costumes and take photos with the life sized cardboard cut-outs placed randomly through the museum. Vesterheim was one of the resources that apparently Disney Studios used to find and create props for the film. Soon came traditional dress and how it was different from region to region. There was also a house that could be explored that gave an example of what life was like in the times right before immigration to America. Viking presence here was expressed in the arts and motifs used to harken unto the olden days in terms of style and cultural identity but the museum seemed to have a very definite time period from where Norway began immigrating to the New World. Exploring the creaking house gave a sense of "Old World-ness" that the immigrants left. The next large room described the crossing. In it was the TradeWind, the actual 25 ft long ship that carried two amateur sailor brothers to America in 1933. Along the way, there were several things for children to do and interact with the museum. For example, there were bunks and mattresses in replica sizes that they could climb in to understand how much room each family had to sleep on such long oceanic voyages to America. 

The TradeWind is the smallest known sailboat to have crossed the Atlantic without assistance. It was sailed by two brothers, Harald and Hans Hamran.

Climbing up the stairs brought the visitor to what life was like in America. A cabin of a Norwegian

An example of a Mangletre board - a decretive
ironing tool often given as a wedding or
engagement gift. The handle is usually a horse
(upper portion of the board in the picture).

family that eventually settled in Decorah was on display and was supposed to give a contrast to the home downstairs. One of the highlights of the Norwegian culture is its craftiness in regards to woodworking, silver, and textiles. Beyond the Life in America segment were rooms showcasing wood crafts, particularly furniture, and a room on silver crafting beyond that. Descriptions do not truly do the workmanship involved in making these items and there are only so many photos that can be put on this blog. Therefore, it would be best to see it for yourself. Downstairs in the basement described Norwegian newspapers and cultural impact on American culture. This included church art from Norway and in America. A rather inventive idea for simultaneously displaying large items and items that are also in storage and are too big or odd to go in any one kind of exhibit is also in the downstairs and had examples of benches, desks, chairs, and a high-chair potty combo that my wife and I appreciated if only for the novelty. There was an exhibit on US military service during the American Civil War and the Second World War that described the efforts of Norwegian Americans. Overall, it was a great visit.

Gear used by the 99th Infantry Battalion

(Seperate) for use in field operations in Norway

in support of sabotage and liberation efforts

in WWII. 

Did the Vesterheim museum "explore the diversity of American immigration through the lens of the Norwegian-American  experience and highlight the best in Norwegian folk and fine arts"? I believe so. It had a simple immigration story (Life in the Old World, the Crossing, and Life in America) and meanwhile provided examples of Norwegian and Norwegian-American folk and fine arts. As an outsider (non-Norwegian American, but married to one) was this something that I could enjoy and appreciate? Yes, it was and worth my time. Would the kids like it? My son is too young to participate in the activities that were placed around the museum in the exhibits but my wife and I tried a few of them and I think that children would be interested in the provided activities. What were the interpretive opportunities? This is a museum that has a fairly involved schedule of folk classes and events and get a lot of support from the community. That means to me that Vesterheim has meaning to the community in that it helps give meaning to Norwegian American community. In the exhibits, especially for the activity centers for children, the question was generally asked,"What would YOU have done?" and "What if YOU were in this situation, what would you think/do/feel?" There was no guided tour but probably could have used one. However, some of the interactive exhibits like the houses were small and a large group would be difficult to maneuver around them.

I decided to not wear an Olaf costume.

Maybe next time.

The Vesterheim museum engages both the young and adults through activities related to the exhibitions and by tapping into the larger American culture (such as 'Frozen') to help make the connections between old and new and what they already know. The primary focus of the museum seems to be on adults through craftsmanship and the immigrant's narrative. Teens might have a hard time with this museum as a result. The Vesterheim museum nevertheless is an excellent visit and worthwhile for people, even if they are not Norwegian in their heritage, because it speaks to the visitor as an immigrant rather than exclusively a "Norwegian-only" cultural heritage museum that can be similar to other immigrant stories throughout the 19th and 20th centuries. If you are Norwegian in heritage, than this museum should be especially meaningful to you.