Interpreters Toolbox: High Level Activities

It's 2018 and a great way to start the year off right is to finish off the on-going series on the Interpreter's Toolbox and finding techniques and methods for making the interpreter's program more than a lecture.

So a review before jumping into the main focus. This series used a concentric center using four zones from which Interpretation comes from: Planning, Subtle Skill, Verbal, and Active. Simply characterized as: this is about what you think, how you act, what you say, and what you do. The beginning of this series started with the innermost of the rings and was based upon the interpreter demonstrating a shift in perception on how interpretive techniques should be used, growing from things within the interpreter to complicated things that the interpreter and the visitors will do. At last we come to the techniques that offer the most bang for the buck experience for the interpreter and the visitor. The are considered high level because of the coordination and complexity needed to master some of the skills involved, but any conducted activity can be made more intense or engaging with some adjustment.

Arts and crafts engage the creative side of visitors 

The first activities that are high level are arts and crafts. Making stuff is highly engaging. It is a high level engagement because the visitors, among them children, will need to pay attention to the instructions or rules, and follow them. Arts and crafts also need clear instructions and organized materials to use and likely oversight to help troubleshoot mistakes, spills, and other problems. The kind of arts and crafts will determine what kind of materials will be used. As for ideas, the internet is full of them; it is a matter of finding what you want or adapting what you find into what you want. Use key words like "DIY", or "make your own"; Pinterest is great for finding results but the links often do not have instructions on how. Maker websites abound with how-to steps and Youtube is great for more visual learners to learn and plan. It may sounds like kiddie things but some arts and crafts projects may be fun for adults too. It may be just popsicle sticks, glitter, and glue, but coordinating those materials into a something requires a lot more planning, guidance, instruction, and fine motor manipulation in order to create than one might think.

Dancing can be fun, right?

Dance is another high level activity because in many cases, the more sophisticated the dance, the more fine motor movement is needed. This does not mean that if a person cannot uses the arms or legs that they cannot participate; instead the dance must be altered in order to include everyone. A dance is coordinated set of movements, usually to music so there are two parts, the music and the motions. Music can be live or a recording, but make sure to do a sound check before because no one likes waiting on the music while someone goes and fiddles with the machines. It would be even more engaging to allow some people to play the music live if the instruments are easy and the music very simple because not everyone wants to dance. The motions can be adjusted to whatever the situation dictates and whatever the reason is for the dance. Many cultures have group dances where all the members of the community join in. Children are reluctant to dance in pairs of the opposite sex. Adults often are not taught the classic social dances as often as they used to, so instruction and sharing and being open to mistakes are some of the things the interpreter may need to emphasize when explaining what to do.

Exploration and discover activities are among the best ways to get people engaged with a resource. The Junior Ranger Program that the National Park Service does is one example of exploring the National Parks and discovering things that the average visitor does not always notice using a book that guides their attention. Maps, handouts, scavenger hunts, hands-on interpretive waysides, and Points of Interest are all things that help promote a higher level of engagement with the resource. For example, a descriptive map will help the visitor find things that would interest them. Hands-on interpretive waysides could also help keep interest along the way from destination to destination. Here the visitors curiosity drives their interest.

Playing Rounders at Harpers Ferry NHP 

Children learn by playing and a game is among the best ways to engage them but also adults. Games can be made up, secretly hiding as a quiz, or established schoolyard favorites. They also could be adaptations of popular board or television games, adapted for the purposes of the interpreter. Prizes may be given, which helps create a little bit of a incentive, but be careful that they are awarded fairly. As usual, think safety with some of the games. Dodge-ball may not be a great idea with the classic big red rubber ball, but maybe something else that will not knock the wind out of someone could be used instead. Fun is the motivation for engagement and while children are automatically drawn to games, adults want to have fun too and many love reliving their childhood games and showing their children how it was really done back then!

Poetry as an activity is probably the toughest to do. One cannot necessarily teach poetry unless they have a highly developed sense language mastery. Having a sense of rhythm and rhyme helps too. Having a pattern that will be used is also important, the names are not as important as the pattern in which they operate. But if the interpreter chooses to make it an open option to the visitors to create any kind of poetry they would like, it will dispel a lot of the extra stuff and allow the visitors to respond in their own way. Having a wall dedicated to some fine examples would be a plus for some people, sharing with the group might be too, although some will be hesitant to share so be prepared to deal with reluctant people.

Reenacting something or playing a role help put visitors in the
place of the historical figures they came to learn about
and let them see the decisions they had to make. 

If the interpreter works at a historical place, why not do a reenactment? Not all reenactments are battles! Most historical things that people can reenact involve no weaponry. Hold a trial, argue legislation and pass it, write significant letters with the visitors in the same setting in which they actually happened. Being a part of a historical conducted activity like a reenactment of something significant greatly increases the likelihood of creating a positive experience on behalf of the visitors. For this, the interpreter needs to give clear direction and should provide a script for the reenacting visitors to use. Using reproduction clothing and using props or artifacts (be careful with artifacts) can heighten the experience.

Like reenactment, role playing is another play acting resource. These are short parts of a play where the visitor participate in certain roles. Roles could be whatever is needed and need not necessarily be people, for example one role is erosion another is time and another is the resource like a statue. The visitors play the roles and see what the interactions result.

Scavenger hunts, mentioned above with exploring and discovering, is a technique that is a popular game. Most scavenger hunts are lists of things to collect and return. Usually the one or the group with the most items or returns first win. Since many places cannot remove items from the grounds or have items that are too heavy and given the proliferation of the camera phone, many use a "camera scavenger hunt" where the list are clue of what to look for and take their photos. This facilitates familiarity with the ground and gives a sense of "permission" to find things. By doing this activity visitors must learn how to navigate the grounds and the names of things as well as their orientation to one another quickly, safely, and hopefully, in a fun way.

Acting in a skit is another method for participation and engagement with visitors. As with all acting activities, some will be shy and others are born for the limelight, so do not make anyone perform if they do not want to, nor give the one ambitious person three roles. Skits are short. Having the visitors make up their own is the best, especially if they are older students and adults. After years of working as a camp counselors, if the kids make the skit, it needs to be rehearsed by someone with a brain and a short attention span because children's skits become long pointless actions with no end. Skits can have a moral, but must should illustrate some point that supports the goal of the interpreter.

Singing used to be very popular in pre-recording life. Now that people make careers and win talent shows based on how well one sings, we as a culture are very content to let them sing for us while we pretend to sing in our rooms, cars, and showers. As a result, people are self conscious about their ability to sing, so making one person sing a song may not get a great results. However, if some of the barriers can be broken down the group may respond, such as singing along with them or leading the singing. Having a recording that plays along with the visitors may be helpful too. It may also be a rewarding experience to get a song of the times sung.

John Brown puppet and Ryan at Harpers Ferry NHP 

The category of theater is going to be a complex one. There is little time or ability to do a full five act play unless they are volunteers but visitors themselves do not have the time to commit to making something like that work. But there are other kinds of theater styles that may be better suited for visitors with limited time. A short play with actions based on a script can be a single act play. Skits were already mentioned and are great because they are short. Reenactments are also a form of theater since there is a degree of acting in recreating an actual event. A Reader's Theater is a another example of theater that could be appropriate. This entails having a play script with narrator and speaking parts but no action and it is read aloud in a group. Think of the old time radio shows of yesteryear; they are basically reader's theaters. The use of puppets in a theater is great for children since there is an imagination component that they can participate in, or simply watch and enjoy. Puppets being used by interpreters or volunteers will probably need some quick crash course in how to use the puppets. There is also the consideration of use of props in plays as well as set-up and take down so plan accordingly.

For most of last year, the descriptions of interpretive techniques and methods demonstrated that there are many ways to engage the public. Interpreters should take the time to examine the merits of each technique and method and ascertain the full potential and effective use of each before being used as some of the ones discussed here and in previous posts have problems, concerns, and drawbacks as well. Yet by the interpreter taking the time to craft a great program and using appropriate interpretive techniques, the visiting public will get a fuller and richer experience when visiting. In this series, making full use of planning, subtle techniques, verbal skills, and engaging activities moved from within the interpreter to active participation with increasing complexity. It is my hope that this series helps the interpreter with their craft and make visiting historical site and places a better experience so that future generations will continue to visit and appreciate these places and continue to fund and support their upkeep and expansion.