5  Tools for heritage interpretation

The tools you will need to develop heritage interpretation plans and projects are outlined below, followed in the next section by the order in which you should use them for planning, employing people with skills or applying for grant funding. Like any good worker you make sure you have all your tools ready to use before you begin.

5.1 Management structure and planning

Interpretation should not be seen in isolation from other important aspects of managing a heritage organisation. It is one link in a chain of policies and plans that guide your work. Because it encompasses all aspects of communication between heritage organisations and their audiences it is a vital part of any business or management plan. In preparing a business plan you will need to address the way in which interpretation fits into the long-term objectives and strategies of your organisation. Before undertaking an interpretation plan you will need to be guided by federal, state and local government legislation and have the following management structures in place:

• a legal framework for your organization eg. Incorporated association, sub-committee of Council
• organisational aims ands objectives
• management or business plan
• conservation strategies and plans
• collection policy
• education policy
• marketing plan.

Setting objectives

It’s easier to get where you want to go if you know where it is that you want to go.

Setting objectives is SMARTER if the outcomes are:

 Specific                       outline precisely what you want to accomplish

 Measurable                 describe it in ways that will enable you to measure results

 Action oriented           outline the steps you need to take to meet objectives and the people responsible for each

 Realistic                      know your limitations and don’t stretch them too far

 Timed                          set completion dates

 Evaluate                     review your objectives and see them as outcomes

 Review                        start all over again and ask how you could do it better.

5.2       Steering Committees and working parties

To ensure the best possible planning and develop­ment it is important to form a steering committee of diverse members, with different skills and ideas.

While the group does not have to be large it is needed to guide and direct all aspects of the inter­pretation process by:

• brainstorming ideas
• providing a sounding board
• hiring and supervising consultants and /or contractors
• organising and co­ordinating work
• ensuring that a project is well managed and able to acquit any grant funding.

You will need people who have good ideas, background knowledge and the ability to work as part of a team. The steering committee should, ideally, include people with management and accounting experience.

A steering committee should be formed before you start any interpretive work.

Members of the steering committee may also do some of the work. However it will almost certainly be necessary to form working parties for different stages of a project, for example: if you are mounting an exhibition with volunteer labour you may need to find pro-bono help with research, text writing, carpentry and electrical work. Some of these helpers may not want or need to be on the steering committee. You will need to form a working party. This may be a simple working bee or a group that stays together until the work is completed.

5.3       Accurate information

Accurate information is essential for meaningful interpretation which encompasses:

• making connections between the natural environment and people, their places, things and stories
• significance assessment of heritage assets
• compiling inventories of significant places, buildings and collections
• selecting and developing themes and stories.

It is important to get the facts straight by careful research and to be honest about presenting unsubstantiated stories. Wherever possible you should record your sources of information so that they can be checked later if necessary.

A range of different sources can be used to verify stories.

How to do research

Proceed from the general to the specific – start with general reading to provide a context for stories and a general indication of the connections between people, places and things. It is these connections, rather than simple lists of facts that will ensure interpretation engages audiences.

Primary research sources

To assess community values and meaning and to get the stores that connect people to places, consult the people who make up a community. Ask them what they think about their places and things. Find out how they were used and why they were kept. Collect their stories.

Other primary research sources that may be useful include letters, diaries, oral histories, photographs, illustrations, maps etc.

Oral history provides first hand eye­witness accounts told from the viewpoint of people involved. It is a primary source for writing history and records personal experiences, including how people felt about things, rather than straight facts.

You will need to follow primary research up by checking secondary research sources.

Secondary research sources

Include official reports, books, newspapers and journals, publications and reports.

Where can you find information?

• direct observation. Visit sites and collections. Look, wonder, enquire and surmise
• read books and journals, conservation plans, management and business plans, reports and strategies
• ask local experts
• local museums, libraries and archives, including collection records in museums
• local publications
• State Records Office
• State Library
• corporations and cultural centres
• State and federal departments (such as the Department of Indigenous Affairs, Heritage Council). Some of these will have an office in your town or region and will be able to give you assistance in a number of ways. For example, they might provide information, get involved in your project or give you names and addresses for other businesses/departments that can help. It is not always apparent by the name of the Indigenous organisation that it can help. You can get information, in some instances, by researching annual reports and searching websites. Alternatively, approach the organisation directly

The importance of research

 Aboriginal Rock Art at Moochalabra Dam near Wyndham

The writer of these guidelines planned to use this image as an example of traditional Aboriginal Rock Art done thousands of years before white settlement. However, an expert in the field, Professor Paul Taçon of Griffith University, advised that it is “probably a post-contact painting, likely a depiction of a European or a Maccassan with baggy pants. It certainly is no more than a couple of hundred years of age maximum, given the clear white outline around the red body and the excellent state of preservation. The style is definitely reflective of the very recent art of the region”

(Personal Correspondence 2006) Image: Courtesy of Tourism WA

5.4       Significance assessment

A significance assessment is needed to:

• explain why a place , building, artefact or collection is valued as heritage
• provide further information for its management and interpretation.

The assessment process outlined is based on: Significance: a guide to assessing the significance of cultural heritage objects and collections, downloadable at (http://sector .amol.org.au/publications_archive/museum_management/significance). In under taking significance assessment two inter-related sets of criteria should be examined.

Primary Criteria	Comparative Criteria
Historic significance Does it demonstrate or is it associated with people events,    historical processes, places and themes?	Provenance                                 What is its history; is there a documented chain of ownership, a recorded context of origin and use?
Aesthetic significance Does it demonstrate craftsmansip,style, design or technical excellence, innovation, beauty, skill, workmanship and quality  of execution?	Representativeness If it's a cultural resource: is it typical of a particular class or category of material, style or design, way of life, activity or theme? If it's a natural resource; does it represent natural values - e.g. a species, or habitat?
Scientific/research significance  Does it demonstrate potential for examination, study or research? Is it an important type specimen or reference point for study?	Rarity Is it unique, unusual or fine example of a type?
Social/spiritual significance Is it held in community esteem or does it have social, cultural or other bonds that demonstrate community structures, beliefs and cohesion?	Condition, completeness, intactness Is it complete and in good or original condition?
	Interpretive potential Does it demonstrate aspects of particular themes, processes and people that can be used in interpretive programs?   Does it present opportunities for visitor activities, interests and services?

Steps in the Process

• compile a folder of available details
• analyse and record the fabric of the place, building, collection or object(s)
• research its history and provenance
• talk with donors, users and relevant community associations to see what importance they place on the place, building, collection or objects
• assess significance by asking the questions outlined in the two sets of criteria (see above ). The four primary criteria are used to identify specific types of significance and the five comparative criteria are used to evaluate the degree of significance
• use all the resulting information to write a succinct statement of significance and retain it in the information folder .

What’s so special about Mrs Efford’s Iron?

There are thousands of old irons in museum collections throughout Australia. This one is in the Claremont Museum Collection. Why is this one significant? The available details are as follows:

Fabric of the item
The iron is in excellent condition. It is described in the museum catalogue as a charcoal box iron with smoke spout & hinged top opening (of spout & handle). Wood handle with brass protective plate (forhand) curved under. Hinge closed by metal bar with wood knob which swings across under brass plate to open & close.

History and provenance
It is inscribed with the maker’s details LAESPERANZ A REGISTERED W LYNG C [Trademark].

It is dated to the 1900s.

The museum’s collection records indicate that it was used by Mrs Connie Efford (nee Fisher), the donor, in the 1930s and that she collected driftwood from Freshwater Bay to make charcoal to burn in it. The Efford family settled in Claremont after arriving in the colony in 1863. Mrs Connie Efford was married to Samuel Efford, grandson of the original settler Samuel who was a pensioner guard.

Suggestions for further research to establish significance:

Charcoal burning irons are comparatively rare (unlike flat irons) and more research will be needed to find out:

• where charcoal irons sit in the development of iron technology
• whether this iron is a rare or unique example of its type.

What sort of irons were used in the 1930s?

Did Mrs Efford do ironing for other people?

When did she stop using it and did she replace it with a different sort of iron?

When the research is completed there will be enough information to prepare a Statement of Significance, using the criteria outlined. Then we will know what’s special about Mrs Efford’s iron and the museum will be able to interpret it in a range of different ways.

Images: Courtesy Claremont Museum

5.5              Thinking and asking questions

When you have completed some detailed research and made a significance assessment you will know what’s special about your area and its heritage assets. This will give you a basis for interpretation.

You will also need to think about what approach you might take to using this information. For example: heritage interpretation is not simply about commemorating the successes of the past. One of Australia’s worst military disasters, the Gallipolli campaign, on the other side of the world, has become vitally important to our sense of national identity. So many Australians, young and old, make a pilgrimage to the battlefield each year that the Commonwealth government has been working with the Turkish government to ensure that the heritage values of the site are not destroyed by the crowds.

You should not be afraid to present provocative issues in interpretive programs but care should be taken to ensure these are based on facts and bias towards a particular direction should be avoided.

Ways of seeing

The opening of the Croquet Lawn at Subiaco by Mrs Edith Dagliesh, wife of the Mayor, in 1904.

The label for this photograph on display in the Subiaco Museum offers rich possibilities for interpretation by suggesting that interpreters communicate the questions they may ask of material rather than simply identifying it by a title and a date. These questions will include: Whose meanings? Whose memories? Whose past? Who is remembered? Why are some people not remembered?

The label teases meaning out of the image by pointing out that:

• the croquet club was opened on land that was once the home of the Noongar people
• the citizens enjoy the opening of their croquet club in 1904
• croquet is associated with wealth and leisure, transplanted from the UK, to a suburb that now prides itself on its working class roots
• women had little real power but were considered essential decoration
• water was a luxury at the time but had to be committed to keeping the lawn alive. Image: Courtesy of Subiaco Museum

5.6       Area, site, building, collection or object inventory

An examination of your existing services to assess whether they meet objectives will enable your to make plans that build on what has already been done. It should include an outline of:

Interpretation resources

• themes and messages
• interpretive media, including use of guides, print and electronic etc
• signage
• publications
• guides and personal contact
• products and merchandise
• links to other sites and/or community groups

Interpretation facilities

• buildings – size and layout of rooms
• outdoor spaces

Visitor Management

• physical access – parking, entry and exit, orientation space, disabled access
• visitor comfort – rest stops, seating, toilets, refreshment, cloaking, sales outlets

Risk management

• condition of heritage resources – some may be too fragile or too dangerous to permit open access
• security of heritage items – visitor supervision
• visitor security and safety, including identification of hazards, emergency procedures (eg fire and accident)
• public liability cover.

5.7 Interpretation Analysis

Your inventory will enable you to undertake an analysis of existing services to asses whether they meet objectives

• their strengths and weaknesses ­ what works well for audiences? What measures should be taken to fix those things that do not work?
• what further development is needed?

Is this good interpretation?

In giving reasons for your answer think about some of the following issues:

 

• What does this display interpret?
• Do you think any of the artefacts on display are significant? If so, state why
• What is the display about?
• What stories does it tell?
• Do you care?

Image: Courtesy Shar Jones

5.8  Presentation methods

Interpretation programs can come in many different forms, some of which do not cost very much, including guided tours or small exhibitions. Others, particularly electronic media, are expensive both to produce and to maintain. All are inter-related and none should be used exclusively. You should plan for a mix. The important thing to remember is that the method of presentation is not an end in itself but simply a vehicle for:

• communicating your stories and messages effectively to audiences
• enriching visitor experience
• meeting learning objectives.

There are two main categories. Each has strengths and limitations.

Guided experiences

Guided interpretation experiences include:

• walks
• talks
• demonstrations and observations
• performance – re-enactments, role playing, plays, poetry readings, dance and music
• any other activity programs
• special events.

Guided interpretation offers personal contact between interpreters and their audiences. Different activities can be tailored to specific audiences. If well planned and delivered, they will provide entertaining and memorable experiences and allow immediate feedback.

However, guided interpretations are labour intensive and need ongoing resources. While volunteer interpreters can be used, they will need training and co­ordination. It is said that some guides never let the truth get in the way of a good story. Proper training and careful research will ensure that all the good stories are accurate.

Many guided programs activities are dependent on good weather.

Guided interpretation at Darngku, near Fitzroy Crossing

Darngku (Geikie Gorge) features steep rock walls where the river has cut through 14 kilometres. The cliffs are rich in fossil remains and there is an abundance of wildlife, including freshwater stingrays and crocodiles. The traditional owners of this area are the Bunaba people who call the gorge Darngku. They interpret its heritage through guided tours, explaining how the gorge was created in the 'Dreaming,' and offer Indigenous perspectives on the landforms and wild­life. Image: Courtesy Tourism WA

Self-Guided Programs

Many visitors to heritage sites and collections prefer self guided interpretation programs. These include:

• publications – books, brochures, flyers, illustrations and worksheets
• exhibitions
• information panels and site specific interpretation boards
• signage – banners, flags and special signs
• graphic illustrations - artworks, photographs, maps, and other visual material
• computer interactives and video games.

Self guided interpretations are diverse and many can be highly stimulating.

Publications do not need to be site specific and may be used to market the attraction.

.

However, self guided interpretations:

• may not allow for an immediate audience response. For example: questions cannot be asked on the spot.
• may be expensive to develop and not easily modified once they have been produced.

The Southern Forest Sculpture Trail

This piece, by Katie Thamo, is one of a series of contemporary artworks used to interpret the natural and cultural heritage of the Northcliffe forests.

Image: Courtesy Country Arts WA

Visitors driving through Dryandra Woodland can tune their car radios into an advertised frequency for an audio guide of the attraction.

5.9  Signs, symbols and text panels

Interpretive communication does not have to be verbal to be effective.

In an exhibition, careful selection and juxtaposition of objects, for example: a collection of laundry, kitchen and lighting appliances from the beginning of the 20th. century alongside a similar collection from the present time, can communicate changes in lifestyle through time far more effectively than pages of written information. It can also provoke sensual or emotional understanding in audiences that maybe more effective than simple written information.

However the importance of text should not be under estimated because:

• most interpretive programs rely, to a significant extent, on written text
• signs and labels are needed to direct and inform visitors even when directional signs are visual symbols rather than text.

Care is needed to ensure that interpretive and directional texts and symbols communicate effectively. To do so signs and labels must:

• attract audiences through good design and use of graphic images
• be legible. This is affected by typeface, colour, size and placement
• be written in language suitable for diverse audiences. Communication is most effective when text is aimed at a reading age of 12 years. Most visitors will turn away from jargon or technical language
• be written simply and directly. Each should contain a limited number of ideas and words.

Communication and learning through signs

This sign aims to inform and educate through direct, simple language and an easily recognisable visual symbol based on Rodin’s famous sculpture The Thinker. Humour has been used to good effect. Image: Courtesy Department of Environment and Conservation

Clear messages

There are two entirely unrelated messages in this defaced sign. The original safety sign has two words and a symbol which are clearly recognisable to drivers. A strong political message has been superimposed over it by the addition of only one letter to the existing words and minor modifications to the symbol. Image: Courtesy Shar Jones

Adding layers of meaning through exhibition text

These extended labels have structured information into headings, sub-headings and text that is punctuated by images. Such a structure allows viewers to go to the level of detail they need. It is clear, focused and easily readable. Image: Courtesy Department of Environment and Conservation

5.10 Themes and stories

Stories provide the basis for the development of themes (or more general subjects). Many stories can be told about each and every heritage site, building or object. The different people who have been involved at different times will have a range of different perspectives.

The task of the interpreter is to make sense of all these possibilities. and create a enjoy-able learning experience for visitors. This can be done by selecting one or more appropriate themes before selecting specific stories.

Themes and stories can be identified and selected, based on:

• research and heritage significance
• the messages the interpreter wants to transmit, for example, preserving an endangered species
• working with partners
• potential visitor interest, identified by visitor study.

While it is clear that the interpreter’s point of view is likely to prevail, the presentation of more than one perspective may encourage audiences to think, thus promoting active engagement and better learning outcomes. It is the responsibility of interpreters to confront rather than to avoid difficult issues.

Multi-layered approach to interpretation

The display in No 1 Pumping Station at Mundaring Weir on the Golden Pipeline skillfully presents a number of interlinked themes in a display that relates to the building and uses its spaces.

It interprets the building as the primary artefact in the exhibition. The black exhibition structure reflects the shape, colour and size of the machinery that was formerly in the building and the unrestored wall of the building can be seen behind. It is used as a setting to examine a variety of themes related to the construction of the Golden Pipeline. These include information about C.Y. O’Connor, who designed the pipeline, its engineering and construction and the lives of the workers and their families who built it. It places local issues in a broader regional, state and national issues context by examining the political situation that resulted in a pioneering engineering achievement, provision of water to the goldfields. Image: Courtesy National Trust of Australia (WA)

5.11 Learning objectives

In an interpretation program visitors can be excited and entertained through a range of learning activities. Interpretation is a learning activity and it is important to work out ahead of time what key messages you want audiences to take away with them.

Interpretation works by provocation rather than simple instruction. How can a program engage audiences and provoke them to think and to learn?

To set learning objectives you need to know who your audiences are and to be aware that they will respond and behave in particular ways. Although they provide learning opportunities, museums, heritage trails and national parks are not schools. They are places for life long, informal learning. Visitors may come in family, friends or school groups. This means that programs need to connect with people of different ages and interests. For example: when children visit in school groups, they are with others of the same age and level of knowledge in a context of formal curriculum-based learning. When they are in family groups, where the focus is on entertainment, they are with parents and siblings with different levels of knowledge and interest. If you want to attract school visits you will need specific programs.

You should also consider which interpre­tive media will be most effective for different learning styles. People learn effectively in different ways, including:

• looking and/or reading
• listening and/or discussing
• touching
• doing.
• asking questions (why, what, how, what if)

By setting learning objectives you will be able to evaluate your success in meeting them.

Buttermaking for a class of boys at Claremont Museum

Image: Courtesy Claremont Museum

A hands-on approach to understanding history

Claremont Museum offers a range of school programs that bring the past to life by offering students direct experi­ences through classroom sessions in the original Freshwater Bay schoolroom and involvement with domestic work as it was done in the past. The program is student centred and linked to the key learning outcomes for Technology and Enterprise and Society and Environment in the Curriculum Framework.

Wash day for a class of girls at Claremont Museum Image: Courtesy Claremont Museum

5.12 Audience Profile

Meaningful interpretation is based on the experiences, knowledge and interests of audiences.

In order to design specific programs to meet visitor needs, you need to know:

• who your visitors are
• who you’d like to attract in the future.

It may be helpful to break the market down into identifiable categories. This is called market segmentation. What percentage of your visitors are:

• families
• school groups
• tourist groups
• pensioner groups.

Visitor studies will establish current patterns of use and tell you:

• how many visitors and research enquiries you have each year
• what percentage of your visitors are tourists, families, school or other special interest groups
• what is the age range
• whether the interests and learning needs of the groups identified
• whether there seasonal changes in visitation. Do your visitor numbers rise in holiday periods? Is the market segmentation consistent through the year?

You can do this by:

• counting the number of full and concession tickets sold
• taking details when tickets are sold, for example: home area code of each individual or group
• listening to visitor comments and observing responses to programs
• outreach services by staff, including talks to schools and other special interest groups, travelling exhibitions etc
• talking to agencies who are already familiar with audiences eg. coach companies, Tourism WA, the local tourist office and tourist attractions
• visitor surveys and interviews.

5.13 Evaluation

Evaluation is needed to ensure that your projects connect with target audiences. It is worth doing this consistently during all stages of program development.

Before working on any detailed plans you can use the knowledge, interests and attitudes of potential visitors to help shape the scope and content of the proposed program by asking small invited groups what they think of your ideas. Suitable questions are:

• what do you know about …?
• would you like to learn more about it?
• would you be interested in an interpretive program about…?
• rate the following themes/stories in order of interest
• do you prefer exhibitons/displays, guided or self guided tours, computer interactives, films/audio-visuals etc ?

During planning you can save costly mistakes by asking small groups whether they think your proposals will work. Suitable questions are:

• does this interest you?
• are the main themes and messages appropriate?
• can you read and understand the signs and labels?
• does it all make sense?
• what did you learn from it?
• what do you like or dislike about it?

When a program is running, you can see how visitors respond by simply watching them and by reading comments in your visitors’ book. You can get more specific information by interviewing visitors or asking them to fill out a questionnaire. Suitable questions are:

• what are the main themes and messages of this program?
• what elements of it did you particularly like or dislike and why?
• how long did it take you to complete it? Is this too short/too long/just right?
• how does it compare with similar experiences?
• is it original? If so, how?
• are there any changes that would increase your enjoyment and understanding?
• will you recommend this program to your family and friends?