A heritage interpreter's view

It’s about time.

An interpreters view — Sat, 24 Sep 2011 22:53:19 +0000

Visitors to heritage sites and museums are governed by time.
Beverley Serrell in her brilliant book, “Exhibit labels, an interpretive approach” talks at some length about time and the visitor. One quote is pretty sobering. “The average time spent in exhibitions ranging from 2,000 – 5,000 sq. feet, regardless of topic, type of museum or modes of presentation is 10 minutes….most visitors will spend under 20 minutes in non ‘big topic’ exhibitions”.

So we interpreters have to achieve maximum transmission of information in a limited amount of time. Serrell discusses time budget planning, where we think about every interpretive element as units of time, such as 4 minutes for these panels, 2 minutes for this film, etc. This is a wise way to proceed when developing elements in exhibits, interactives, labels and text. We want the visitor to look, read and digest. Other techniques assist in achieving this but time is the big one.

Visitors also employ the ‘Fraction of selection’. This is a is the subjective assessment made by the visitor when looking at an interpretive panel or exhibit.

If the effort looks significant for little expected reward then the visitor might well decide to give that panel or text a miss. However, if effort is low and the expected reward is high then the visitor will probably read the text.

The psychologist Schramm was largely responsible for this theory. It seems we human beings have a natural dislike for doing a lot of work for little reward. The same principle applies in interpretative exhibits and text.

These linked apects illustrate that we have to be mindful of the motivations and time restrictions that visitors have, when designing and writing interpretive messages.

This brilliant stuff about how visitors behave is out there in books, articles and on the web. (Heads up for brand new book just hot off the press, which is Stephen Bitgood’s “Social design in museums.” It contains some blistering essays about his work in visitor research. Available from Museums. Etc. http://museumsetc.com/products/social-design
I just don’t know why so many people who design and write interpretation are seemingly unaware of the practical and insightful advice available. It makes the visitors job easier and our own. There you see, I’m just using the fraction of selection!

With time in mind, would you want to read these panels? Sorry for poor image resolution.

A chanced upon castle

An interpreters view — Tue, 20 Sep 2011 09:40:26 +0000

I visited Nevern today, a small village in Pembrokeshire. Walking up hill from the village church led to the remains of an early Norman castle.
This Motte and Bailey castle was a surprise and a joy, mainly because of the quite unexpected range of interpretation available to the visitor. It had a refreshing ‘unkempt’ look, different to the well groomed and tiresome corporate appearance of many heritage sites. But this is an important part of the charm and individual personality of the place.
The first panel found was written in a light, thoughtful and attractive way.

I really like the active language. “With Blacksmiths clanging, children playing, soldiers practicing, craftsman toiling….” It immediately gets the imagination going.

Dotted around the site are beautifully carved waypoints/markers for the trail that you can follow with either the downloadable audio trail or laminated sheets available from a box at the trail head. The wooden posts are carved with animals and types of leaves found at the site.

The same artist has also created a great wooden throne to emphasise baronial power, complete with intricately carved site plan on panels at either side of the chair. I like the quirky and playful aspect of this feature. (This sort of hidden away site, means to some large degree it will, I hope, be free of the attention of vandals).

Other panels included lively and well written text. Attention was paid to keeping copy to an economic and digestible amount. This is especially important when media contains two languages.

Various areas of archaeology were exposed due to an ongoing investigation by Durham University.

Trail head.
A gate leads to an introductory panel and a box containing laminated sheets to use and return. Unfortunately, only the Welsh sheets remained, (unfortunate for the non welsh speaker, that is) The first panel included the web address for audio trail download and other information.

The website contains all sorts of good stuff, computer fly thru’s, galleries, interactive maps and a very well produced audio trail. Find it here www.neverncastle.com

There is a real feel of community involvement with this site. A sense of pride, history and place are very tangible. As such it was refreshing and welcome.

Tingle factor interpretation

An interpreters view — Sun, 12 Jun 2011 18:56:11 +0000

I visited the National Trust property of Greys Court in Berkshire a few months ago and came across some inspired interpretation. In the dining room of the house, I found the table laid with plates and cutlery. It was then that I noticed that the dinner plates had information about the previous owners written into the glaze. The interpretation wasn’t in panels or labels positioned around the room but written across the beautifully made plates, right in front of your face, just brilliant. This was lovely interpretation, unfortunately the room steward didn’t quite understand my excited reaction!
In one room upstairs, a number of cushions scattered on the chairs and settee were embroidered with interpretive messages, revealing little tidbits of information about the family who once occupied the house. To me this was interpretive heaven. Beautifully designed interpretation that was also in keeping with the personality of the former owner of the Court, Lady Elizabeth Brunner. She was, amongst many things, chairman of the Federation of Women’s Institutes who also had a great interest in crafts and arts.

I was told that the curator of the house didn’t want labels dotted about. She wanted to create an environment that had a feeling of a home rather than a museum and so commissioned the plates and embroidered cushions.
This homely quality was supported by the approachable room stewards who encouraged visitors to sit on the chairs and even play the piano. The result was a welcoming and intimate experience.

Terrific panels

An interpreters view — Wed, 08 Jun 2011 17:40:48 +0000

At Ranworth Broad in Norfolk are a series of excellent panels. I have included a few photo’s of them here.
Many of them invite the reader to look, listen, smell, compare and contrast. These aspects, which encourage activity, is fantastic and depressingly absent from so many panels. Helping the visitor to actively engage with the senses in a place is what helps make information become interpretive.
The examples here, also include pithy little ‘stories’ which succinctly explain different processes or events including, Willow the Wisp, plant succession, and eutrophication. These elements quickly communicate fairly complex information.

Another great feature is the little section which indicates what wildlife can be spotted in a particular month. Although its brief, it can really help the visitor understand what they can potentially spot at the time of the visit. I would personally like to see something included for every month of the year, but the seasonal guidance is something so often neglected on wildlife/nature panels. If you visit a site in the middle of winter and look at a panel that just includes pictures of summer birds and flowers, (all to common in my experience) then it is a wasted opportunity to help that winter visitor.

I also like the quality of writing, which is to the point and nicely constructed. Some strap lines grab attention and provokes the visitor to read on.

If I do have a little gripe and its to do with the element that says “listen out for the woodpecker” or “Chiff Chaff”. Unfortunately it doesn’t tell you what exactly you’re listening for. It would be better to have an indication of the sounds, but without a real audible sample, it is a challenge to put the sounds into words.

The second example has a lovely phrase “You are standing on the factory floor” this helps grab attention but also reveals the intangible of a place. The intangibles are the hidden stories, concepts and ideas that are not all that immediately apparent to the visitor. In this example, the intangible is that reed cutting was once a huge industry.

The panels work very well in conveying a lot of science in an accessible way. A little tweaking, I would prefer the panels to be a little more thematic, would be good, but panels of this quality are sadly all to rare.

Hands on art – with an interpretive edge

An interpreters view — Sat, 04 Jun 2011 12:25:56 +0000

Walk into the National Trust owned Sheringham Park in Norfolk and you’ll find an area complete with small wildflower meadow, a willow shelter, pond and a fantastic interactive sculpture/building activity.

I really like this sculpture interactive because:

1. It utilises Rhododendron branches cut from the many different varieties of these plants that feature in the park. Not only can you visibly enjoy the rhododendrons, complete with their stunning spring colours, but you can also have a seriously enjoyable tactile experience with them by creating structures from the branches.
2. The branches have been well prepared. Cleaned and sanded, making them easy to handle and pleasant to hold. The bent shapes fit easily together, they are safe to use.
3. The hands on activity has appeal to children creating shelters with parents or adults letting their creative ideas loose and building sculptural structures.
4. The activity engages people with the qualities of the wood and encourages visitors to understand the plants from a different perspective. Local flint compliments the wooden materials and visitors have used these creatively as well. See the photo of the ‘fire pit’ made from cones and other things found in the woods.

All in all, a wonderful feature that has an interpretive element. .

Great art, but is it a help or a hindrance?

An interpreters view — Sat, 04 Jun 2011 07:53:09 +0000

On a recent ramble across Arreton Down on the Isle Of Wight, I came across this panel.

The design is colourful, bold, bright and attractive to the eye. Text is short and to the point but a bit dull.

The art work is undeniably lovely, created by a successful artist based in Bristol. But what I find tricky with this approach is the context. This panel’s role here, is surely to help and guide visitors to make discoveries and learn about some of the wildlife that inhabits this special place, but the illustrations are too vague to be helpful. The wildlife depicted are far too stylised to assist in identification, especially the images of Chalkhill Blue and Brown Argos butterflies.

Now don’t get me wrong, I’m a massive fan on using art to reveal the intangible stories of a place and think there are loads of opportunities for more. But it’s all about the thoughtful and correct placement of that art. Here, it’s surely the role of this panel to encourage exploration and guidance in identifying some of the great wildlife to be found, but for me this is where the panel fails, the artwork has become the focus and not the wildlife that actually inhabits the site.

A great memento

An interpreters view — Fri, 03 Jun 2011 17:07:39 +0000

It’s important that visitors to a heritage site can buy and take home a souvenir to remember their experience, Indeed the very word souvenir is a french word meaning to remember. Making available good quality and reasonably priced items is a bit of a must. From the management perspective, mementos can reinforce the story or theme of a site. For the visitor it is a meaningful and tangible reminder of the place.

I recently visited Blists Hill Victorian town in the Ironbridge Gorge. During this visit, I saw a demonstration of iron casting. A large number of items, made on site, using traditional methods, were available to buy.

I paid just £1 for an iron bottle opener. This was wrapped in some scraps of Victorian newspaper, or rather a copy of a period newspaper. In my book, this is bargain souvenir. Not only is it a lovely hand-made, functional item, it reinforces my experience. If only all souvenirs were this good!

The worst label…but it has charm.

An interpreters view — Wed, 16 Mar 2011 23:50:05 +0000

I came across this little label in the church within the grounds of Dover Castle.

It would be a little futile to list it’s bad points as there are many! But for all its faults, it does have some ’vintage’ charm and made me chuckle. It draws attention to a glorious Anglo-Saxon Chancel arch. These primitives knew how to build though!

Just glory in its innocence.

Robin Hood’s own ticket machine

An interpreters view — Mon, 14 Mar 2011 22:54:50 +0000

Heritage interpreters think beyond the panel, guided walk, guide and techy GPS trail, but also look at how the theme or story of a site can be reflected and reinforced in the fixtures and fittings in a place.

One favourite example of mine, is a car park ticket machine at the wonderful Sherwood Forest National Nature Reserve. Home to some of the most majestic ancient Oaks and the best bunch of Rangers anywhere in the UK!

Sherwood Forest NNR car park machine.

So why do I like this old machine? Well I know it could look better , it’s old and it would be great if it was solar powered, but I love the way it draws on the story of Robin Hood. It fits in with the character and theme of the site, but with a modern comical twist. But it’s best feature is a pure master stroke. The tickets have a sticky back and each sticker has a “Merry man picture”

How brilliant is that! You buy your cheap day ticket ( £3.00 at the time I took the photo) and get an outlaw sticker as a nifty little memento of your visit and it gets better, you can collect the set! I have a mental image of someone throwing in pound coins, whilst muttering ‘I’m gonna get Robin hood if it bankrupts me!” The small text on the above image does stress that money helps to pay for conservation management, but you get the added bonus that you could end up with Friar Tuck stuck on your windscreen. How cool is that!

So even the humble ticket machine has great interpretive potential, take note site managers.

Barton Broad brilliance

An interpreters view — Fri, 11 Mar 2011 17:52:04 +0000

Top Barton Broad panel, click to enlarge

I’m kicking this blog off with a wonderful example of a well written and neatly designed panel. This is one of a small series of panels located on the board walk at Heron Carr on the banks of Barton Broad in Norfolk.

Why I like.

The title grabs attention by proclaiming an unusual statement. The spotty snail image also draws the eye. The text is lively and active including words like jumping, creeping, flying etc. Above all, the text gets to the nub very quickly. It encourages action ( I started to count the little dots that make up the snail) and in a flash it makes the rather empty, reedy view become something else. Immediately a link between the intangible ( all those invisible bugs ) and tangible (reeds, alders and water ) is made. Perceptions are changed and it drives home its message with ease, ‘Herons Carr is a real wildlife treasure house’.

Oh, and it explains what the term bio diversity means in a light hearted and lucid way.

This is what the best interpretation is about – Essence. Interpretation communicates the essence of a place and the interpretive communication captures the essence of the all the facts and figures. It’s the process of getting to the heart of complex pieces of information and explaining these in the fewest words. Interpretation is a little like poetry, because one is seeking to find the best and fewest words that have the greatest impact. This takes time, a lot of time.