MEANINGFUL INTERPRETATION
How To Connect Hearts And Minds To Places, Objects, And Other Resources
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"ANY INTERPRETATION THAT DOES NOT SOMEHOW RELATE WHAT IS BEING DISPLAYED
OR DESCRIBED TO SOMETHING WITHIN THE PERSONALITY OR EXPERIENCE OF THE
VISITOR WILL BE STERILE."
Freeman Tilden
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SOMETHING OF VALUE
Journal Questions:
Do audiences interact with your place willingly? List common instances
where they don't.
Do all audiences actually visit your site? In what other ways do they
encounter your resource?
Journal Questions:
Do many audiences visit your place with a primary motivation to learn?
Can they learn the same things without visiting?
"INTEREST IS THE HIGH ROAD TO EDUCATION. INTEREST THE MIND AND IT WILL
GROW LIKE A GARDEN."
Enos Mills
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Journal Questions:
What do audiences that willingly visit your site have in common?
"THE VISITOR'S CHIEF INTEREST IS IN WHATEVER TOUCHES HIS PERSONALITY,
HIS EXPERIENCES, HIS IDEALS."
Freeman Tilden
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What do audiences that willingly visit your site have in common?
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"They bring their own experiences, bias,
beliefs."
"Whether they're willing or not, they leave with an
impression good or bad."
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"They have a chance to make personal connections to
the resource."
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"They seek an experience."
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"They visit for their own reasons."
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"They're looking for a reason to like the place."
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"As I see it, life is about experiences; they make
life interesting. Satisfying experiences make the daily grind of
paperwork, e-mail, assembly lines and daily commutes boring. People seek
escape from such humdrum by pursuing satisfying experiences during their
leisure time. Think of a truly satisfying experience. How many people
have you told about it? Whatever it was, two things make it special:
the experience itself and your memory of it. Probably the experience
you remembered was active. While a symphony, a University of Kentucky
basketball game or watching the Olympics might be thoroughly enjoyable
at the time, it is the memories of sky-diving, sailing, carving, or
futures trading that really last. Once the experience is over, it's
over, but the memories last a lifetime." Ed Greene, National
Park Service
ASSIGNMENT |
Watch Part 2 of the video, Something of Value.
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TENET 2
AUDIENCES SEEK SOMETHING OF VALUE FOR THEMSELVES |
implications
Motivations run from the fun to the sublime.
Audiences believe there's something special in the resource.

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Journal Questions:
What does your site provide audiences who seek recreational
opportunities?
What do these audiences hope to find or experience?

What do audiences who seek recreation hope to find or experience?
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"Access."
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"Challenge and accomplishment."
"Self-confidence."
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"A chance to pursue activities without being bothered by anyone,
and to be safe while doing it."
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"They hope to be physically stimulated by the resource."
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"Solitude. Direction without intrusion. Insight?"
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"Freedom, quiet, peace, history."
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"They want to recreate past positive experiences."
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"Discovery."
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"They're typically not too involved with intellectual immersion."
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"An experience that will last longer than the day itself."
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"They value doing. They hope for a safe, enjoyable, meaningful
experience."
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"They hope for adventure to build memories, excitement."
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"Something they're searching for without knowing what it is."
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"Connections with traveling companions."
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"Nostalgia a warm feeling for the past."
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"Health."
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Journal Questions:
What does your site provide to audiences who seek specific species,
exhibits, locations, artifacts, or features?
What do these audiences hope to find or experience?

What do audiences who seek specific resources hope to find or experience?
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"They are often looking for facts and detailed information, but
because of tunnel vision, they may need help seeing the big picture."
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"They hope for a tangible icon they can remember and enjoy."
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"They may want more in-depth information, background, interactions,
comparisons."
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"They already value the resource. They may want to tag something,
add it to a collection or list."
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"Specific and in-depth connections."
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"A connection to why these species are here and how they make this
place special."
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"To have their knowledge of the resource validated or reinforced."
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"They seek background, the history behind an object, event, or
practice. They seek connections between interests and the bigger
picture and issues. They want a chance to build and expand on
what they know or their previous experience."
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"They hope the specific is still there, in good shape, and
doesn't offend."
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"They come for a particular reason and they expect to find
what they are looking for."
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"They want to experience wildness."
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"They want to know what it was like back then."
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"Surprise!"
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Journal Questions:
What does your site provide subject-matter experts?
What do those audiences hope to find or experience?

What do audiences who are subject-matter experts hope to find or experience?
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"Resonance."
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"They want a chance to find missing pieces or information about their
intellectual endeavor."
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"A sense of purpose, heritage, and pride."
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"They seek affirmation, heritage, and comfort."
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"They may not be seeking knowledge as much as to put their existing
knowledge in a physical context. Someone might know all about an ancestor
but want to see where the ancestor lived."
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"They want their personal story seen as important. They want to tell
others of their knowledge."
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"They want to feel a part of the place."
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"Often, they don't need much from interpreters. The meanings of
the place involve their personal values. Interpretation can help
them with enhancement, access, and elaboration."
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"Opportunities to explore the meanings of their knowledge."
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"Tangible experiences to add context to their knowledge the
real thing."
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"They need a library or to find an interpreter that is a subject-matter
expert. Good luck!"
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"Maybe they just want a lively discussion."
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"THE MIND TENDS TO GO WHERE IT FINDS THE MOST GRATIFYING INFORMATION."
Sam H. Ham
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EXERCISE |
Think about
1) audiences that seek recreational opportunities,
2) audiences who seek specific resources, and,
3) audiences who are already intensely connected to the resource. Create
and record a strategy for presenting interpretive opportunities and
enhancing each audiences' experience.
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People interact with your resource for many reasons.
Sometimes it's tempting to feel people who seek knowledge or a spiritual
connection are better than other visitors. But remember, for most
audiences, a flash of insight or a feeling of wonder can connect them to
the resource and provoke a deep sense of stewardship. Because visitors
seek something of value for themselves, they are ready to care more
about your resource.
"GOOD COMMUNICATION IS AS STIMULATING AS BLACK COFFEE, AND JUST AS HARD
TO SLEEP AFTER."
Anne Morrow Lindbergh
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WHEEL OF MOTIVATION

"HE MAY BE THERE FOR THE EXPLICIT HOPE THAT YOU WILL REVEAL TO HIM WHY
HE IS THERE."
Freeman Tilden
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EXERCISE |
Create a Wheel of Motivation that fits your site. If
you don't feel confident describing the motivations of your audiences,
try to generalize. Consider what visitors say and the questions they
ask. Look at your answers on pages 30, 32, and 34, and ask your
colleagues what they think motivates your visitors. When you have the
time and are in pleasant and informal conversation with visitors, ask
them "What brought you here today? What did you hope to find or
experience?" Once you've created a Wheel of Motivation, identify ways
to address each motivation with opportunities for deeper resource
connections.
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meaningful_interpretation/mi6d.htm
Last Updated: 29-May-2008
Meaningful Interpretation
©2003, Eastern National
All rights reserved by Eastern National. Material from this
electronic edition published by Eastern National may not be reproduced
in any manner without the written consent of Eastern
National.
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