When I reviewed the visitor interviews I did last year for my PhD research, I was amazed at the wide associations visitors made. They talk about Edward Snowden, the attack on Lee Rigby, the experience of getting chased by a local gamekeeper for collecting nuts in a wood just after the Second World War. They … Continue reading From Snowden to Dogsbodies: How much ‘relate’ is needed to make good interpretation?
Category: Interpretation
Taking stock on leaving St Albans, or: From Site Staff to Consultant
Last week I left my job as Audience Development Manager for St Albans Museums Service to join Jura Consultants as a Senior Consultant. The change has prompted a few reflections, not the least around what it means to me to go from being a site-based member of staff to becoming a consultant. There are a … Continue reading Taking stock on leaving St Albans, or: From Site Staff to Consultant
Interpretation, using questions, and preferred readings
I recently read Sharon MacDonald’s fascinating book Difficult Heritage. Negotiating the Nazi past in Nuremberg and beyond [1]. There were a lot of thought-provoking observations in the book, but the one I’d like to focus on today are the guided tours of the Nazi rally grounds. Geschichte fuer Alle organises these tours. Their website explains … Continue reading Interpretation, using questions, and preferred readings
Community Engagement at Museums and Heritage Sites
Last week we had to cancel a training day on community engagement because of low uptake [1]. The training co-ordinator suggested that community engagement may still not be seen to be important to the work of museums. He may be right, but I very much hope he isn’t. After all, there is, and has been … Continue reading Community Engagement at Museums and Heritage Sites
Interpretation and Ethics: Displaying Human Remains
If you’ve been reading my blog you will know that I don’t believe in making my own opinion known when I interpret. No matter how contentious the story, I think it’s important to share all the facts, allow room for all the views. I’m a facilitator, not a dictator of opinions. I feel that we're … Continue reading Interpretation and Ethics: Displaying Human Remains
And that’s what good architecture can add to interpretation
In March last year I blogged about my thoughts on architecture and interpretation. When I visited the Rosicrucian Egyptian Museum in San Jose, California last week, I was reminded of that post –as an example of where it works brilliantly. Now, I’m sure an Egyptologist would find plenty of faults with the pseudo-Egyptian museum buildings, … Continue reading And that’s what good architecture can add to interpretation
Interpretation: If they notice it, it’s bad
As I continue to plough my way through transcribing the visitor interviews that I’ve done at Museum und Park Kalkriese in Germany I am struck by one observation: a lot of visitors refer to ‘the presentation’. They came because they wanted to see how the story was ‘presented’. They liked ‘the presentation’. ‘The presentation’ was … Continue reading Interpretation: If they notice it, it’s bad
Marking Place – The Role of Interpretation
I spent yesterday at the Battle of Hastings site [1]. They had a big event on to mark the upcoming anniversary of the battle, and at some point during the day, people laid down wreaths at the Harold Stone – the stone marking the place where King Harold is said to have fallen [2]. It … Continue reading Marking Place – The Role of Interpretation
Interpretation Needs More Self-Criticism
I know I keep writing about how we need more research and critical self-analysis in interpretation. But when I recently read Dr Bernadette Lynch’s report ‘Whose Cake is it Anyway?’ (2009) and Skibins, Powell and Stern’s 2012 ‘Exploring empirical support for interpretation's best practices’ I didn’t feel validated. I felt depressed. Lynch researched ‘the real … Continue reading Interpretation Needs More Self-Criticism
Communicating Messages: Is Interpretation Missing the Point?
In a recent meeting, my PhD supervisors asked me: Is interpretation missing the point by focussing on messages? That interpretation is about communicating messages is a conventional wisdom in the field. Distinct messages are inherent in the definition of interpretation as a ‘mission-based communication process’ [1], and they are the basis from which we measure … Continue reading Communicating Messages: Is Interpretation Missing the Point?
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