Logan, Utah is a western town built like a western town. The cold water of the Logan River flows through town, mountains rise at the east edge of the small city and the Wellsville Mountains tower over the beautiful Cache River Valley to the west. The town design gives a feeling of wide-open spaces and … Continue reading The Great Elevator Talk
You may have a special place –a place you can return to and connect to good memories, or have peace and quiet, a place to think and restore surrounded by your favorite comforting things. For some this may be in your room surrounded by memories and books, for others this may be a library, and … Continue reading Use a funnel to find your special place
I saw it on Facebook – and I liked it. I had heard it before, and I’ve heard managers say the first line with heartfelt belief, and I can understand why. What if we spend the time and money to train our staff … and they leave? The statement is a logical outgrowth … Continue reading I saw it on Facebook: What if we spend time and money to train our staff …
It’s been said that after purchasing the land and building the facilities there’s only one thing left that can attract visitors and keep them coming back: interpretation. “Out of sight, out of mind,” is true. It’s easy and comfortable to do our research, present our programs, hear the good words from the visitors, and be … Continue reading Six ways to push the rope uphill: Interpreting UP the chain of command.
I was honored when Christen Miller, newly promoted to visitor experience manager for Virginia State Parks, and Geoff Hall, Chief Interpreter at Hungry Mother State Park, invited me to be the keynote speaker and lead several training sessions for their annual spring interpretation training. I enjoyed five days at beautiful Hungry Mother State Park in … Continue reading You might hear them gasp: ‘Ohhh – now I understand.’
Exhibit design is a fun thing. There is process, and there is no process, there are guidelines and there are no guidelines. Really, there is only what you want. What you want exists at several levels – what you want to say, what you want the reader to understand, what you … Continue reading Exhibit Design is a Fun Thing
Like music and art, love of nature is a common language that … Continue reading Do you mean the big W?
I’ve been reading “At Home” by Bill Bryson. I enjoy his wandering, circling style of storytelling and how he connects everything, even the simplest things, to something else. That reminds me of John Muir telling us that when we try to separate a single thing we find it attached to everything else in the universe. … Continue reading See this New Year with New Eyes
Some years ago I brought in Dan Murphy from the Santa Fe office of the National Parks Service. He did a week-long workshop for us on interpretation that changed how we train and teach interpretation. I maintained a friendship with Dan for many years, bringing him back several times to speak to other groups and … Continue reading Oral History, Family History…Living History?
Some of you don’t have a clue… but for some of us this phrase sends shivers of excitement down our spine. The line itself exudes adventure, excitement, exploration, and discovery. For some of us who saw Disney’s Peter Pan when it first hit the big screen, when the big screen really was BIG and the … Continue reading Second star to the right and straight on ‘till morning …
Interpretive Communications 