Clik here to view.
Do you need a heritage interpreter?
What could a heritage interpreter do for you? Do you need one? What good do they do? You probably need a heritage interpreter if you have some aspect of natural or human heritage that you want to tell...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Interpreting geology creatively – with a cuddly coelocanth
Interpreting geology in a way that really engages people’s imagination can be difficult. It may call for a crochet hook and felting needle. Getting people excited about rocks is not that easy. The...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Why does everyone like John? Five things that make face to face...
We’ve been spending a lot of time recently looking closely at face to face interpretation and how it works for visitors and conservation organisations (particularly the Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust)....
View ArticleClik here to view.
Why Now is so good for Heritage Interpretation
Now is a good time to be in this interpretation business. It’s an exciting time to be a heritage interpreter. It often feels like the best time in my 30 plus years in the business. There is a lot of...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Points of balance – interpreting current conflict at the National Army Museum
A month or so I wrote a blog about why interpreters need to tackle difficult and contentious subjects which, rather flatteringly, attracted discussion (see here and here). A lot of people made...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Having a laugh at heritage sites
Someone told me last week that their organisation had researched what people wanted from a day out at a heritage site and that ‘having a laugh’ was one of the top five answers. I wasn’t (and am not)...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Another interpretation panel I like
It’s hard to be a perfect blogger. Or a perfect interpretation panel writer. I had imagined writing a ‘panel of the month’ post, every month this year. There was
View ArticleClik here to view.
Getting touchy-feely with art
A sensual guest blog from Cathy Lewis MAHI, interpretive writer extraordinaire: A recent visit to a sculpture gallery had me bursting into song. Sadly, the lyrics were from Grease, ‘Keep your filthy...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Touching sculpture two examples: a postscript from Cathy Lewis
There has been a great response to Cathy Lewis’s piece about the sensuous, tactile nature of sculpture so I felt I should share her postscript. ‘Susan, I’d just finished writing this blog when I came...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Being there: 61 reasons why places matter to people
People go to wild and old places for loads of reasons ( and that’s excluding work reasons). Those of us who work to make their visits more enjoyable, satisfying and meaningful need to understand as...
View ArticleClik here to view.
A great start to a visit experience
We talk a lot about the first five minutes in our visitor experience training. Our arrival in Stockholm yesterday reminded me of just how important it is. Travelling is fun but it is tricky too. />...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Heritage interpretation notes from Stockholm Days One and Two
I know it’s easy to mix my work up with what other people do on holiday. Sometimes it’s even easy to mix my work up with what I do on holiday. But there is a difference – when I am … Continue reading →
View ArticleClik here to view.
Heritage interpretation in Stockholm Day Three: the lesson I needed to learn
Sometimes we should just stop and let joy and wonder take over. Those of us who work so hard and think( and write) so much about how the relationship between people and their natural/human heritage...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Wild Sweden – an exceptional wildlife viewing experience
What makes a guided interpretive experience exceptional? I suspect that Marcus from Wild Sweden has spent much of the the last ten years thinking about that. He has certainly found some answers. We...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Interpreting conflicts in carnivore conservation
I like and admire a country that sets a minimum population size for its large carnivores. Sweden does this for bear, wolf, wolverine and lynx. This of course is contentious, especially among people...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Making your workplace into a visitor attraction
During the last six months we have helped several commercial businesses to use interpretation to make more of their company heritage. We were therefore particularly interested in how Nils Olsson,...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Abbey Farm Open Day – three cheers for volunteers
Opening places to the public and creating interesting days out is hard work – and now I have the blisters to prove it! This year’s Farm Open Day at my brother’s award-winning Norfolk farm begins in 35...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Panels I Like (3): Mount Field, Tasmania
Interpretive panels are hard to do well. In fact I think they are possibly the hardest interpretive medium to master. Panels need to be very carefully planned in order to get the best value from the...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Interpretation to change behaviour – some tactics from Futerra
Many of our regular clients, including the RSPB, The Wildfowl and Wetland Trust and The Wildlife Trusts are in the environmental / wildlife conservation sector. Their mission involves changing people’s...
View ArticleClik here to view.
North and south; urban green spaces matter
Tunbridge Wells and Middlesborough are as different as different can be. They have almost nothing in common; but last week they had me. In both places I was working with enthusiastic residents who...
View Article
