Track(s): Cultural
Historical Trekking: an
Alternative to Rendezvous
Don R. Simons
Historical trekking is a relatively obscure hobby that has evolved
from the much larger hobby of “mountainman
rendezvous.” Also called period trekking, its participants tend to do much more
research into their clothing, equipment, and personas. They spend more time enduring conditions that
instill them with experiences to better understand periods they personify. This program will include a show-and-tell of
clothing and equipment and describe a living history event being developed.
Track(s): Natural
& Administrative
The Ins and Outs of
Camping Programs at Your Site
Jamaica Duane
Columbia Bottom Conservation Area has held two vastly different
camping events. The first was the
Confluence Campout, where first time and seasoned campers alike slept outside
next to the Mississippi and Missouri River confluence. Campers learned skills that they could use
later, such as night hiking, storytelling, night fishing, and bird hiking. The second was the Columbia Bottom Camp-In
for girls ages 9-12. This January event
focused on wildlife in winter and also Junior Girl Scout requirements. Coordinating logistics for an overnight event
such as a campout or camping can be a big task.
Breaking it down makes it manageable, even with a small staff. These events brought first time visitors and
a new audience to our site. They are realistic
and achievable for any site, no matter what facilities or budget you have.
Track(s): All
Using Service Learning
Projects to Partner With Higher Education
Philip Smartt
According to the National Commission on Service-Learning,
service-learning is a teaching and learning strategy that integrates meaningful
community service with instruction and reflection to enrich the learning
experience, teach civic responsibility, and strengthen communities (2009). What types of projects work? How do you identify partners? What are students like? Discussion and examples from successful
projects will be used to answer these critical questions.
Track(s):
Administrative
The Interpreter’s Field
Guide to the Recruiting and Hiring the Seasonal Species
Shea Lewis and Kelly Farrell
Target the seasonal species while in the Mississippi Flyway. Pick up some field tips and techniques that
will help you grow your seasonal interpreters.
Human management topics will be discussed. This session is ideal for managers who hire,
and for interpreters looking to be hired.
Interpretive managers and full-time interpreters often face challenges
with seasonal interpreters. How can you
get your seasonal interpreter to move to the next level with programming, event
planning, or handling visitors and school groups? How can one deal with turnover and
inconsistency in programs? Arkansas
State Parks has achieved success in bringing seasonal interpreters through the
ranks. Two former ASP seasonal
interpreters, now interpretive managers, will guide you through an effective
program that will help you increase the tribe.
We cover how to empower participants to motivate and encourage seasonal
interpreters to become the best interpreters possible, and select the best
possible seasonal interpreter for their site.
We will distribute a training outline and orientation program that has
led to successful seasonal interpreters.
Track(s):
Administrative
Interpretation By Design: Graphic Design Basics for Heritage Interpreters
Shea Lewis
Many interpreters are thrown into the world of design with little
or no formal training. Brochures,
flyers, websites, exhibits, and newsletters often serve as the first contact
potential visitors have with an interpretive site. Learning to make deliberate, meaningful
design decisions helps interpreters convey their sites’ important messages, and
avoid design traps set by the computer. Interpretation
and graphic design are thoroughly intertwined, and professionals from either
field can learn from the other.
Track(s): Natural
Taking Tilden to
Timbuktu: Merging cultural and natural history in the heartland of West Africa
Ted Cable
This session will illustrate that the principles and powers of
interpretation apply regardless of whether interpretation is being practiced in
the heartland of America or the heartland of Africa. This presentation explains a program that
trained tourism students to be tour guides in Mali, West Africa, and maximized
efforts to save the last herd of desert elephants. Both of these efforts involved an essential
mix of cultural and nature interpretation.
The tour guide training took place at the University of Bamako. The elephant conservation project took place
near Timbuktu, Mali. A PowerPoint
presentation, along with video footage, will be used to demonstrate the
potential that all interpreters have to change their worlds.
Track(s): Natural
Untitled
Anne Haley
What is art? Do you have to
be “good” at it to do it, or to teach others?
In this session we explore ways to lead dynamic discussions about your
park resources, get ideas about integrating more art (not just “crafts”) into
your programming, learn about successful programs, and enjoy hands-on
activities that you can replicate in your park.
Apply your artistic expression as an interpretive tool to create an
emotional connection to your resources while fostering creativity.
Track(s): Cultural
The Virtual Hampson Archeological
Museum: Enhancing On-Site Interpretation Through a
Digital
Environment Tess Ann Pruett
Hampson Archeological Museum State Park
interprets the Mississippian Period Nodena Phase
Culture through the late Dr. James Kelly Hampson’s
ceramic and lithic artifact collection. The current 1960s museum has limited exhibit
space where 347 artifacts out of 9,000 are permanently exhibited. Interpreting the Nodena
Culture this way has been challenging. The
Hampson collection was chosen as beneficiary by the
University of Arkansas’ Center for Advanced Spatial Technologies. It received an Arkansas Natural and Cultural
Resources grant supporting the first digital scanning project in Arkansas. The purpose was to enhance on-site
interpretation and the public’s access to the collection with a website
containing information about Dr. Hampson, site
archeology, and a re-creation of the Nodena Village. Still, to appreciate the compelling story of
the collection, one must make an on-site visit.
Track(s): Natural and
Cultural
The Natural Aspects of
Culture
Sasha Bowles and Kerry Vogelpohl
It is difficult to talk about history without talking about nature
as well. For the Native Americans
especially, nature was a large part of daily life and therefore played a vital
role in their culture. Animals served
many different purposes in Native American culture. Historically they used parts of the animals
for everything from food to tools and weapons.
We will discuss the past uses of wild turkey and white-tailed deer in
Cherokee culture, as well as tips, and insight into getting the props you need
for the programs. We will talk about how
to convey the history and culture that are interconnected with these two great
symbols of nature.
Track(s): Natural and
Cultural
Saving an Ozark Treasure,
The Ozark Chinquapin
Stephen Bost and Jo Schaper
“The Ozark Chinquapin nuts were delicious
and we waited for them to fall like you would wait on a crop of corn to ripen……..they
were that important. Up on the hilltops
the nuts were so plentiful that we scooped them up with flat blade shovels and
loaded them into the wagons to be used as livestock food, to eat for ourselves,
and to sell. But, starting in the 1950’s
and 60’s, all of the trees started dying off.
Now the trees are all gone and no one has heard of them.”
So said Herald, a 90-year-old Missouri
outdoorsman, describing the Ozark chinquapin trees (Ozark chestnut) before the chestnut
blight reached the Ozark Mountains. For
decades his family and mine have camped near a remote spring that feeds into
the crystal clear waters of the Current River.
Every fall in these rugged wooded hills we would talk around the
campfire. By 1998 I was too comfortable
with my knowledge about our Ozark forest, until my friend enlightened me. Little did I know his recollection of this
once important keystone species of tree and its loss would inspire me to begin
my quest to save the Ozark chinquapin. What resulted is the
Ozark Chinquapin Foundation, www.ozarkchinquapin.com, and botanical efforts to
preserve this tree.
Track(s): Academic
Navigating the Confluence
of Interpretation
Sasha Bowles and Allison Smedley
Do you ever feel isolated like you are the only agency/person
providing interpretation? We have a
great way to merge the many interpretive styles and agencies creating a
confluence of interpretive power, a one stop shop for those seeking
interpretive services. Joining forces
with other agencies, state and federal, not only gives you helping hands and
extra publicity for events and groups, but also increases your ability to meet
interpretive needs in a region. We have
the key to unlocking the flood gate of knowledge and aid we all need from time
to time.
Track(s): Natural
I’m No Little Miss Muffet
Lori Spencer
Spiders are an amazing group of animals! Visitors both fear and
are fascinated by nearly every kind of spider.
They are often a large aspect of Halloween and fall programming. Sometimes interpreters spend the bulk of
their time addressing fears and giving information and the niche of our native
spiders is lost. Little Miss Muffet can take a hike (literally)! During this session,
learn some spider identification and the aspects of venom, debunk spider myths
and misunderstandings, enhance your existing spider programs with some
creative, fun material such as crafts, puzzles, puppets, characters, food, and
even caring for live tarantulas.
Track(s): Natural
Wildflowers Inside Your Tent
BT Jones
We will follow a step-by-step progression finding out how to use a
diffusion tent for wildflower photography.
Diffusion tents create a calm atmosphere in which there is no wind to
create wildflower motion – the # 1 problem faced by wildflower photographers. These tents also provide the opportunity to
carefully control light for creating “portraits.” With a tripod and camera, a
notebook computer, projector, screen, a potted flower and diffusion tent, we
follow the actual process of photographing wildflowers during this program. The end result will be a wildflower portrait
on-screen before the audience.
Track(s): Academic
Providing
Blended Experiences to Underserved Audiences in the Outdoor Setting.
Olena Zhadko and James H. Wilson
There are places in the city that bring people together, places
where experiences are shared, and new outlooks are discovered. Experiential education in the outdoor setting
allows us to bring various groups together and provide them with invaluable experiences. In Saint Louis, MO, these underserved
audiences are the future of the city. This
paper reviews six years of experiential programming each year for 200+ urban
youngsters aged 7 to 12 in Saint Louis, MO.
The pilot youth corps program and a professional development workshop
for teachers will also be discussed. Anecdotal
and formal evaluation results indicate positive effects of these programs which
blend cultural and natural resource interpretation.
Track(s): Academic and
Administrative
Fostering Opportunities
for Interpretation Near the Confluence of the Big
Rivers
James H. Wilson
Opportunities abound to tell the stories of the big rivers, for
these are the stories of our people. Native
American, immigrant, African-American, industrialist, resident and visitor—the
Missouri and Mississippi Rivers have often shaped our imagination, hope,
disappointment and destiny. Venues in
which to tell these stories are increasing in the Confluence area. This paper will remind us of our history,
review recent efforts by various agencies, organizations and municipalities,
and suggest opportunities for further individual and collaborative efforts.
Track(s): Academic
www.themaingate.org -- an
Education Portal into the World of Museums
Delecia B. Huitt
Tired of trying to figure out the how
education standards correlate to your interpretive programming for school
groups? The Main Gate serves as an
internet portal for students and teachers into the world of museums and its’
wealth of educational materials. The
website; www.themaingate.org, correlates a museums’ educational/interpretive
materials or programs to the education standards for all fifty states.
This session will show how the new website simplifies correlating
education standards and provides the information teachers need to justify trips
to your museum.
Track(s): Natural
ExplorOlogy: Adventures in Science Discovery
Holli Langlieb and Jes Cole
Creating communities with members that
understand, and appreciate the natural and cultural world through innovative
science experiences is essential to healthy societies. Cutting-edge science experiences are not
always available to communities whose teachers and students are working with
small budgets and few resources. Since
its inception in 2007, The ExplorOlogy Project at the
Sam Noble Museum in Oklahoma has worked to bring field-based science
experiences with research scientists to over 2,000 teachers, students, and
communities around the state.
The ExplorOlogy Project pairs students,
teachers and research scientists to study the world we share. Research scientists valuable help students to
understand that science takes time, dedication, and creativity. In this project participants discover that
they can be scientists and understand their world in a new way. As a result, participants have been motivated
to stay in touch with fellow participants, take additional science classes,
conduct science experiments at home, and share their experiences.
In this session we will discuss The ExplorOlogy
Project and how it works to create and sustain communities with science-minded
cultures by providing innovative science experiences that include community
partnerships.
Track(s): Natural
Leaving Footprints
Michelle Soenksen
Throughout history, people have left footprints from all walks of
life. Even in today’s society, the
footprints we leave behind still leave us disconnected from the outdoors. How much does the outside world fit into our
everyday life? What messages do we send
as we go about our day to day routine? This
informative session takes us back to the basics of nature by refocusing on how
we view the outdoors.
Track(s): Cultural
Creating Cultural
Connections
Kurt Senn and Cyndi A. Cogbill
If your attendance is down at your cultural/historical site - we
will demonstrate methods to inspire your visitors! Natural resource
interpreters have been using hands-on, immersive techniques to engage their
visitors for a long time, but cultural interpreters have been slower to use
these methods. Many times cultural
interpreters still use a lecture format to tell visitors everything they know
about a subject. This style is not the
most effective way to engage younger visitors or those with only a causal
interest in the subject matter. We would
like to show you activities to immerse visitors into the natural and cultural resources
of your site. Cyndi Cogbill,
former Missouri State Park employee, and I will explore techniques that provide
educational and engaging cultural interpretive programs. You will see and participate in the Missouri
State Museum’s “Nerf Cannon” program, Prairie State Park’s “Border Disorder,”
and “Osage Day Camp.” We will share techniques used in a variety of cultural
programs, the rewarding outcomes, and positive responses from our visitors.
Track(s): Cultural
Corps of Discovery: The
School of Natural Resources, Frederick Douglass High School, and the Big Muddy
National Wildlife Refuge
Mark Morgan, Bryan Danford, and Charlie Nilon
The School of Natural Resources at the University of Missouri
conducted an environmental education program to help secondary students at
Frederick Douglass High School learn about Missouri River history using the Big
Muddy National Wildlife Refuge as a local resource. This goal was achieved through a combination
of formal (classroom activities) and informal learning strategies (field trips)
to meet the needs of underserved students - a “new” audience at the refuge. A qualitative evaluation showed that the
program was effective.
Track(s): Academic
The Future of Natural
History at American Universities and The Nature Study Movement or, The Forgotten
Popularizer of America’s Conservation Ethic i.e.,
“What It Means To Be A Naturalist”.
George A. Kastler
This presentation reviews a paper by David J. Schmidly, presented
at the 85th Annual Meeting of the American Society of Mammalogists,
in June 2004, entitled “What It Means To Be A Naturalist And
The Future Of Natural History At American Universities” and Kevin C. Armitage’s new book, The Nature Study
Movement – The Forgotten Popularizer of America’s Conservation
Ethic. The paper and the book discuss the important role that the
teaching of natural history in the past has played out, especially as it
relates to environmental issues and the trend away from teaching natural
history and short/long range effects on the general population and
understanding of environmental issues facing us today. We will discuss this issue with those who are
concerned about the lack of the teaching of natural history or “Nature-Study,”
and the greater importance of it -- perhaps even more so than 100 years ago.
Track(s): Academic
How to Write Tight
Workshop
Amy Dee Stephens
Yeah, yeah, you know all about writing educational materials and
signage. It should be interpretive and
short, right? That is exactly where
interpreters struggle—we have a lot to say! In this workshop, learn to slash
the word count without losing the point.
You’ll be murdering words and abusing sentence structure—so bring a red
pen and we’ll make the paper bleed!
Track(s): Natural and
Academic
A Taste of
Growing Up Wild, "Exploring Nature with Young Children."
Shelley Flanary
This is an exciting new nature-based early childhood program from
the Council for Environmental Education and Project WILD. With this new cornerstone program, we hope to
build on young children’s sense of wonder about nature and invite them to explore
wildlife and the world around them at a very early age. This guide covers 14 different areas:
Connecting Children to Nature, Developmentally Appropriate Practice, Nature
Play, Math Connections, Language and Literacy Connections, Healthy Kids, Sparking
Creativity, Scientific Inquiry, Assessing Children’s Learning, Connections to
Head Start Domains, Connections to NAEYC Standards, Respect for Living Things,
Responsible Collecting, and Wild About Safety.
Track(s): Natural and
Cultural
Beyond the Hokey Pokey:
Using Dance as an interpretive Tool
Molly Postlewait
Dance is so many things: entertainment, storytelling,
communication of emotions, work of art, religious ritual and social experience. People have always danced to communicate and
connect with other people, cycles in nature and as an active way of prayer and
worship. Dance is a highly participatory
activity that can be used to introduce and complement many concepts and subjects. Dance can open our hearts and thoughts to
other places, times and events. Movement
can be used to enhance interpretive programs and involve the audience with
concepts of cultural and natural history.
Track(s): Cultural
Trackin’ Them Pioneers!!
Steve Illum and Lauren Breedlove
Using the products of numerous undergraduate tourism class
projects over the past 20 years, MSU Office of Leisure Research is working with
our county library system's local history department, history museum and
archives to build a local tourism website revealing life sketches of pioneers
buried in two of the oldest cemeteries in Springfield. "Under Construction" site links currently
lead to Pioneer Trails and Profiles. Results
include digital photography, Polk’s directories, Sanborn Fire Insurance Maps and
GPS.
Track(s): Cultural
How Can I Interpret the
Civil War When I'm Not A Civil War Site?
Mike
Comer
The 150th anniversary of the Civil War from 2011-2015 has the
potential to be one of the largest commemorations the country has seen. Interest in the war is already spreading, and
there will be a renewed interest in the war during this period. Facilities that offer programs about the War
could see increased attendance. What if
you work at a natural history site? What
if you work at a cultural site that has nothing to do with the War? Can it still have relevance? The answer is yes. Every state in the NAI Region 6 area was
affected by the War one way or another. Many
War stories can be told by any type of public institution. This session addresses educating people about
our history and attracting an audience that may not attend other programs there. We will discuss resources where interpreters
can find stories, records and other items that can be interpreted. We’ll discuss how to put that research to
work effect through static displays, living histories, first person vignettes
and other means.
Track(s): Cultural
Getting into character …
What the ____ does that mean?
Grady Manus
First person interpretation is more than old timey
clothes and talking funny. This session
looks at the necessity of “becoming” or “full immersion” techniques for
effective first person interpretation.
Track(s):
Placeholder
Daniel Stoute
Track(s): Cultural and Academic
Spruced Up Storytelling
workshop
Chris Sutton
Interpretive techniques are crucial in
our parks, zoos, aquariums, and historic sites. Novices and seasoned
individuals will discuss, deliver, and learn from real-life scenarios during
this interactive seminar.
Costuming is a visual which places us directly
in the era WITH the interpreter. Reading your audience will help deliver the
age appropriate, time available, or focal interest of your audience.
Talking the talk will help deliver an accurate interpretation and allow
you to know all you say without saying all you know.
A Simple Visitor Survey for Just About Anywhere
Thomas Treiman, Michele Baumer,
Kathy Cavender, Julie Fleming, Joel Sartwell, and Colleen Scott
The Missouri Department of Conservation's (MDC) Interpretive Centers are designed to teach Missourians about the state's outdoors and to instill a conservation ethic. However, most areas have no current information on visitor numbers or attitudes. Such information would help Interpretive Center managers develop programs, budget for displays, assign staff and volunteer time, and market themselves to the next generation of Missourians. MDC has developed a simplified visitor survey Interpretive Centers can apply on their own schedule, minimizing costs using volunteers. We present results of visitor surveys at Runge Conservation Nature Center and Columbia Bottom Conservation Area, and a sample model template.
Survey sampling includes visitor demographics, activities and activity ratings, how they learned of the destination, and economic value. The "template" includes ways and means to implement and adapt it at other locations.
Track:
Natural
Black-footed Ferret Reintroduction in Kansas
Pat Silovsky
The Black-footed Ferret (BFF)
is one of the most endangered mammals in North America and the only ferret
native to this continent. Thought to be extinct, a small population was discovered
in Wyoming in 1981. After distemper and sylvatic plague nearly wiped out this
colony, the last 18 known wild BFF were taken into captivity between 1985-1987
to start a captive breeding program. Since 1991, over 2,100 BFF have been
reintroduced into the wild at sites across the Western US, Mexico and Canada.
Only one of those sites is in Kansas. This presentation presents up-to-date
information for interpreters involved in teaching about prairie ecosystems.
We will explore what it takes to reintroduce ferrets into the wild and be
a part of an incredible research effort to bring these creatures back from
the brink.