Heritage interpretation

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A typical roadside interpretive sign for events of the American Civil War. Note the use of a map, photographs, and text to explain the subject, sited at a relevant location. Point of rocks CWT sign may 1861.JPG
A typical roadside interpretive sign for events of the American Civil War. Note the use of a map, photographs, and text to explain the subject, sited at a relevant location.

Heritage interpretation refers to all the ways in which information is communicated to visitors to an educational, natural or recreational site, such as a museum, park or science centre. More specifically it is the communication of information about, or the explanation of, the nature, origin, and purpose of historical, natural, or cultural resources, objects, sites and phenomena using personal or non-personal methods. Some international authorities in museology prefer the term mediation for the same concept, following usage in other European languages.

Contents

Heritage interpretation may be performed at dedicated interpretation centres or at museums, historic sites, parks, art galleries, nature centres, zoos, aquaria, botanical gardens, nature reserves and a host of other heritage sites. Its modalities can be extremely varied and may include guided walks, talks, drama, staffed stations, displays, signs, labels, artwork, brochures, interactives, audio-guides and audio-visual media. The process of developing a structured approach to interpreting these stories, messages and information is called interpretive planning. The thematic approach to heritage interpretation advocated by University of Idaho professor Sam Ham, the National Association for Interpretation, the US National Park Service, and others, is considered best practice. [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9]

Those who practice this form of interpretation may include rangers, guides, naturalists, actors (who may wear period dress and do reenactments), museum curators, natural and cultural interpretive specialists, interpretation officers, heritage communicators, docents, educators, visitor services staff, interpreters or a host of other titles. The interpretive process is often assisted by new technologies such as visualizing techniques. [10]

Purpose

A park ranger at Biscayne National Park in Florida, USA, show a hermit crab to children. Biscayne National Park H-ranger kids hermit crab.jpg
A park ranger at Biscayne National Park in Florida, USA, show a hermit crab to children.

The goal of interpretation is to improve and enrich the visitor experience by helping site visitors understand the significance of the place they are visiting, and connecting those meanings to visitors' own personal lives. [11] By weaving compelling, thematic stories about environmental phenomena and historical events, interpreters aim to provoke visitors to learn and think about their experiences. Effective interpretation enables the visitors to make associations between the information given and their previous perceptions. [12] [13] According to Moscardo [12] interpretation can produce 'Mindful Visitors' who are carefully processing information and negotiating the meanings of the observed object or intangible element.

Interpretation is often used by landowning government agencies and NGOs to promote environmental stewardship of the lands they manage.

Definitions of heritage interpretation

Heritage interpretation is an educational activity which aims to reveal meanings and relationships through the use of original objects, by firsthand experience, and by illustrative media, rather than simply to communicate factual information.

Any communication process designed to reveal meanings and relationships of cultural and natural heritage to the public, through first-hand involvement with an object, artifact, landscape or site.

Interpretation is a mission-based communication process that forges emotional and intellectual connections between the interests of the audience and the meanings inherent in the resource.

The National Association for Interpretation [ citation needed ] (United States), and adopted by The Definitions Project (a consortium of over two dozen federal and non-profit organizations in the United States) [15]

Interpretation enriches our lives through engaging emotions, enhancing experiences and deepening understanding of people, places, events and objects from past and present.

Interpretation refers to the full range of potential activities intended to heighten public awareness and enhance understanding of [a] cultural heritage site[ sic ]. These can include print and electronic publications, public lectures, on-site and directly related off-site installations, educational programs, community activities, and ongoing research, training, and evaluation of the interpretation process itself.

International Council on Monuments and Sites' Ename Charter for the Interpretation and Presentation of Cultural Heritage Sites (2008) [16]

Mediation is the translation of the French médiation, which has the same general museum meaning as 'interpretation'. Mediation is defined as an action aimed at reconciling parties or bringing them to agreement. In the context of the museum, it is the mediation between the museum public and what the museum gives its public to see.

Key Concepts of Museology (2010), International Committee of Museums' International Committee of ICOM for Museology (ICOFOM) [17]

"Tilden's principles" of interpretation

In his 1957 book, "Interpreting Our Heritage", Freeman Tilden defined six principles of interpretation:

  1. 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.
  2. Information, as such, is not Interpretation. Interpretation is revelation based upon information. But they are entirely different things. However all interpretation includes information.
  3. Interpretation is an art, which combines many arts, whether the materials presented are scientific, historical or architectural. Any art is in some degree teachable.
  4. The chief aim of Interpretation is not instruction, but provocation.
  5. Interpretation should aim to present a whole rather than a part, and must address itself to the whole man rather than any phase.
  6. Interpretation addressed to children (say up to the age of twelve) should not be a dilution of the presentation to adults, but should follow a fundamentally different approach. To be at its best it will require a separate program.

For the past 50 years, Tilden's principles have remained highly relevant to interpreters across the world. In 2002 Larry Beck and Ted Cable published "Interpretation for the 21st Century - Fifteen Guiding Principles for Interpreting Nature and Culture", which elaborated upon Tilden's original principles. In 2011, Beck and Cable released a new version of their principles in "The Gift of Interpretation". [18]

Interpretation organizations

Part of the music education for children in primary school is to assemble a do-organ from Orgelkids 2013 Orgelkids Doe-orgel toetsen verbinden aan de windlade.jpg
Part of the music education for children in primary school is to assemble a do-organ from Orgelkids

See also

Related Research Articles

International Council on Monuments and Sites Organization

The International Council on Monuments and Sites is a professional association that works for the conservation and protection of cultural heritage places around the world. Now headquartered in Charenton-le-Pont, France, ICOMOS was founded in 1965 in Warsaw as a result of the Venice Charter of 1964, and offers advice to UNESCO on World Heritage Sites.

Living museum Type of museum

A living museum, also known as a living history museum, is a type of museum which recreates historical settings to simulate a past time period, providing visitors with an experiential interpretation of history. It is a type of museum that recreates to the fullest extent conditions of a culture, natural environment or historical period, in an example of living history.

Historic site Official location where pieces of political, military or social history have been preserved

A historic site or heritage site is an official location where pieces of political, military, cultural, or social history have been preserved due to their cultural heritage value. Historic sites are usually protected by law, and many have been recognized with the official national historic site status. A historic site may be any building, landscape, site or structure that is of local, regional, or national significance. Usually this also means the site must be at least 50 years or older.

Tour guide Person who provides information and heritage interpretation to tourists

A tour guide (U.S.) or a tourist guide (European) is a person who provides assistance, information on cultural, historical and contemporary heritage to people on organized sightseeing and individual clients at educational establishments, religious and historical sites such as; museums, and at various venues of tourist attraction resorts. Tour guides also take clients on outdoor guided trips. These trips include hiking, whitewater rafting, mountaineering, alpine climbing, rock climbing, ski and snowboarding in the backcountry, fishing, and biking.

Cultural heritage Physical artifact or intangible attribute of a society inherited from past generations

Cultural heritage is the heritage of tangible and intangible heritage assets of a group or society that is inherited from past generations. Not all heritages of past generations are "heritage"; rather, heritage is a product of selection by society.

An ecomuseum is a museum focused on the identity of a place, largely based on local participation and aiming to enhance the welfare and development of local communities. Ecomuseums originated in France, the concept being developed by Georges Henri Rivière and Hugues de Varine, who coined the term ‘ecomusée’ in 1971. The term "éco" is a shortened form for "écologie", but it refers especially to a new idea of holistic interpretation of cultural heritage, in opposition to the focus on specific items and objects, performed by traditional museums.

Neil Asher Silberman is an American archaeologist and historian with a special interest in biblical archaeology. He is the author of several books, including The Hidden Scrolls, The Message and the Kingdom: How Jesus and Paul Ignited a Revolution and Transformed the Ancient World, The Bible Unearthed : Archaeology's New Vision of Ancient Israel and the Origin of Its Sacred Texts, and Digging for God and Country. A graduate of Wesleyan University, he studied Near Eastern archaeology at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. Awarded a 1991 Guggenheim Fellowship, he is a contributing editor to Archaeology and a member of the editorial board of the International Journal of Cultural Property. He served as the president of the ICOMOS International Scientific Committee on Interpretation and Presentation (ICIP) and was a member of the ICOMOS International Advisory Committee and Scientific Council from 2005-2015. In 2015 he was named a Fellow of US/ICOMOS.

Interpretation centre

An interpretation centre, interpretive centre, or visitor interpretive centre is an institution for dissemination of knowledge of natural or cultural heritage. Interpretation centres are a kind of new-style museum, often associated with visitor centres or ecomuseums, and located in connection to cultural, historic or natural sites.

The International Committee for the Conservation of the Industrial Heritage

The International Committee for the Conservation of the Industrial Heritage, usually known by its acronym TICCIH, is the international society dedicated to the study of industrial archaeology and the protection, promotion and interpretation of the industrial heritage. TICCIH's Nizhny Tagil Charter (archived), signed in 2003, is the international guidance document for the industrial heritage. In 2011, the Joint ICOMOS – TICCIH Principles for the Conservation of Industrial Heritage Sites, Structures, Areas and Landscapes, also called "The Dublin Principles", were adopted in Paris.

Thematic interpretation is an approach to heritage interpretation originally advocated by Professor William J. Lewis and subsequently developed by Professor Sam H. Ham. In the thematic approach, an interpreter relies on a central theme to guide development of a communication activity or device. In presenting the activity or device, the thematic interpreter develops the theme in such a way that it will be highly relevant to an audience. According to studies, presenting a strongly relevant theme greatly increases the likelihood an interpreter will succeed in provoking an audience to think about theme-related issues.

Interpretation may refer to:

Freeman Tilden

Freeman Tilden was one of the first people to set down the principles and theories of heritage interpretation in his 1957 book, Interpreting Our Heritage.

United States Committee of the International Council on Monuments and Sites (US/ICOMOS) is one of numerous national subsidiary committees of ICOMOS, forming a worldwide alliance for the study and conservation of historic buildings, districts, and sites. It is the focus of international cultural resources exchange in the United States, working to share preservation information and expertise worldwide. It also highlights and interprets the unique American preservation system: the partnership between private organizations and federal, state, and local governments, and the cooperation between the academic community, professionals and civic volunteers.

Interpretive planning is an initial step in the planning and design process for informal learning-based institutions like museums, zoos, science centers, nature centers, botanical gardens, heritage sites, parks and other cultural facilities where interpretation is used to communicate messages, stories, information and experiences. It is a decision-making process that blends management needs and resource considerations with visitor needs and desires to determine the most effective way to communicate a message to a targeted audience.

The Principles for the Conservation of Heritage Sites in China is a conservation charter promulgated in 2000 by China ICOMOS with the approval of National Cultural Heritage Administration. It provides a methodological approach to the conservation of cultural heritage sites in China.

National Museum Institute of the History of Art, Conservation and Museology

The National Museum Institute of the History of Art, Conservation and Museology (NMIHACM) is an autonomous institute, a seat of higher education in the fields of History, Conservation and Museology under the Ministry of culture, Government of India. The institute is a deemed university and is located at Janpath, New Delhi, within the premises of National Museum, New Delhi.

Ethnomuseology is the study of museums and museum curation in the context of the culture and cultural traditions of its collections. It is an interdisciplinary field combining museum studies, anthropology, ethnography, and often various fine arts.

Interpret Europe

Interpret Europe – European Association for Heritage Interpretation is an international membership-based association with charitable status that serves all who use first-hand experiences to give natural and cultural heritage a deeper meaning. Interpret Europe encourages dialogue and partnerships between associations and universities, providers and professionals from more than 56 countries.

Phoenix Central Park is a private performing arts venue and art gallery located at 37-49 O'Connor Street, Chippendale, New South Wales, Australia. The building is due for completion in early 2020. The location is within the Chippendale Heritage Conservation Area (HCA), item ‘C9’ on Schedule 5 of the Sydney Environmental Plan (LEP) 2012. The site is also within the Chippendale Locality as described in Section 2.3.1 of the Sydney Development Control Plan (DCP) 2012.

Dragana Lucija Ratković Aydemir Cultural manager, curator, art historian from Croatia

Dragana Lucija Ratković Aydemir, is a Croatian art historian, museum professional, scholar, and entrepreneur in culture and tourism. She lives and works in Zagreb, Croatia; Istanbul and Çeşme, Turkey.

References

  1. Brochu, Lisa (2003). Interpretive planning. Fort Collins, CO: InterpPress. ISBN   1-879931-12-5.
  2. Brochu, Lisa; Merriman, Tim (2002). Personal Interpretation: Connecting Your Audience to Heritage Resources. Fort Collins, CO: InterpPress. ISBN   1-879931-06-0.
  3. Caputo, Paul; Lewis, Shea; Brochu, Lisa (2008). Interpretation by Design: Graphic Design Basics for Heritage Interpreters. Fort Collins, CO: InterpPress. ISBN   978-1-879931-25-1.
  4. Ham, Sam (1992). Environmental Interpretation: A Practical Guide for People with Big Ideas and Small Budgets. Golden, CO: Fulcrum Publishing. ISBN   1-55591-902-2.
  5. Levy, Barbara; Lloyd, Sandra; Schreiber, Susan (2001). Great Tours! Thematic Tours and Guide Training for Historic Sites. Walnut Creek, CA: AltaMira Press. ISBN   0-7591-0099-3.
  6. Moscardo, Gianna; Ballantyne, Roy; Hughes, Karen (2007). Designing Interpretive Signs: Principles in Practice. Golden, CO: Fulcrum Publishing. ISBN   978-1-55591-550-6.
  7. Pastorelli, John (2003). Enriching the Experience: An Interpretive Approach to Guiding. French's Forest, Australia: Hospitality Press. ISBN   1-86250-522-5.
  8. Regnier, Kathleen; Gross, Michael; Zimmerman, Ron (1994). The Interpreter's Guidebook: Techniques for Programs and Presentations (3rd ed.). Stevens Point, WI: UW-SP Foundation Press. ISBN   0-932310-17-6.
  9. Ward, Carolyn; Wilkinson, Alan (2006). Conducting Meaningful Interpretation: A Field Guide for Success. Golden, CO: Fulcrum Publishing. ISBN   978-1-55591-530-8.
  10. Sideris A., 2008. "Re-contextualized Antiquity: Interpretative VR Visualisation of Ancient Art and Architecture" Archived 2018-04-24 at the Wayback Machine in Mikropoulos T. A. and Papachristos N. M. (eds.), Proceedings: International Symposium on “Information and Communication Technologies in Cultural Heritage” October 16–18, 2008, University of Ioannina 2008, ISBN   978-960-98691-0-2, pp. 159-176.
  11. Joeckel, Jeff (1 February 2002). "Telling the Stories, Part 4: National Register of Historic Places Bulletin". nps.gov. Archived from the original on 26 January 2018. Retrieved 24 April 2018.
  12. 1 2 Moscardo, G.(1996) Mindful Visitors: Heritage and Tourism Archived 2015-11-17 at the Wayback Machine , Elsevier
  13. Staiff, Russel (2014). Re-imagining Heritage Interpretation: Enchanting the Past-future. Ashgate Publishing, Ltd.
  14. "Our Work Defined | InterpScan.ca". Archived from the original on 2016-01-17. Retrieved 2015-08-04.
  15. http://www.definitionsproject.com/definitions/def_full_term.cfm%5B%5D
  16. "The ICOMOS Ename Charter". Archived from the original on 2009-02-01. Retrieved 2009-01-28.
  17. "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2015-06-16. Retrieved 2015-03-18.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  18. Beck, L, Cable,T. (2011) The Gifts of Interpretation: Fifteen guiding principles for interpreting nature and culture. Sagamore Publishing, ISBN   978-1-57167-636-8 "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 2014-11-11. Retrieved 2014-11-11.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)

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