Technology in Interpretation

Readings: Interpretation: "More Inspirational Than   Informational"   

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   What is Interpretation?

   Stevens Point: A Tradition of Training Interpreters

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What is Interpretation?

Interpretation is not an easily defined concept.  Many definitions have been proposed, but no single definition has been universally accepted by all interpreters in the field.  A simple definition comes from Interpretation of Cultural and Natural Resources:  “[Interpreters are] translators of the natural and cultural environment” that help their audiences to better understand and enjoy the resources being interpreted (Knudson, 1995).  From the same book, the purpose of interpretation is described as helping people to gain a sense of place, to respond to the beauty of the environment, or to the significance of their surroundings.

Enos Mills is considered the “Father of Professional Interpretation.”  His book, Adventures of a Nature Guide, contains the foundations of modern-day interpretation (1990).  In 1884, at the age of 14, Mills began to build a cabin at the foot of Long’s Peak in Colorado.  Mills had a passion for the outdoors, and would spend most of his time climbing mountains, observing natural phenomena, and attempting to understand the mysterious workings of nature.  He trained himself to guide visitors up Long’s Peak.  According to Adventures of a Nature Guide, Mills distinguished between trail guides and nature guides (1990).  Trail guides are those individuals that safely lead visitors to a point of interest and back again.  In contrast, “a nature guide is a naturalist who can guide others to the secrets of nature…Touched by a nature guide the wilderness of the outdoors becomes a wonderland.”  In addition, “A nature guide is not a guide in the ordinary sense of the word, he is a teacher.  At all times however, he has been rightfully associated with information and some form of education.  But nature guiding, as we see it, is more inspirational than informational” (Mills, 1990).  By making this distinction, Enos Mills created a field that would later be known as interpretation.  Before his death in 1922, he had developed interpretive principles and techniques that would guide the profession of interpretation in the future.

Freeman Tilden introduced another widely accepted definition of interpretation.  In 1953, Tilden, an experienced author, playwright, newspaper reporter, and observer, was invited to analyze the interpretation occurring in the national parks.  After four years of study, he published a landmark book called Interpreting Our Heritage, which was the first book to define the interpretation profession.  His book defines interpretation as “an educational activity which aims to reveal meanings and relationships through the use of original objects, by firsthand experience, or by illustrative media, rather than simply to communicate factual information” (Tilden, 1977).  He admits that definitions are too limiting when trying to describe interpretation, and so offers two concepts that expand upon the overall definition.  The first is that “interpretation is the revelation of a larger truth that lies behind any statement of fact.”  The second is that “interpretation should capitalize on mere curiosity for the enrichment of the human mind and spirit” (Tilden, 1977). 

To further overcome the limitations of a single definition, Tilden introduced six principles that have become the guiding foundations of the interpretive profession.  The principles are:

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.

What are the common threads that wind through the writings of Enos Mills and Freeman Tilden?  Both had different perspectives about interpretation.  Mills was the creator of the profession, while Tilden assessed the profession when it was already 30 years old.  However, both described the primary foundations of interpretation that distinguish it from any other profession.  Interpretation exists to inspire and provoke, not to teach information.  Leading visitors on a hike through the forest and teaching them the scientific name of every plant is not interpretation.  Factual information alone is not interpretation, although it is the foundation upon which true interpretation is built.  Interpretation is revealing the meaning behind the factual information.  When a naturalist states the scientific name of a plant, and then explains or shows why it received that name, interpretation begins to occur.  Interpretation involves not just the informational parts of the brain, but also the emotional and sensory aspects. 

Building from resources produced by the National Park Service’s Interpretive Development Program (IDP), the National Association for Interpretation (NAI) created a new definition for interpretation in 2000.  Based on the fundamentals of Tilden and Mills, this definition has been widely accepted within the interpretive profession.  It states that interpretation “is a communication process that forges emotional and intellectual connections between the interests of the audience and the inherent meanings in the resource” (NAI, 2000).

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Stevens Point: A tradition of training interpreters

            Today, the College of Natural Resources at UWSP is one of the leading undergraduate training institutions for environmental education and interpretation.  The primary purpose of this project is to improve the interpretive courses by incorporating technology training.  Over the years, the interpretive program at Stevens Point has grown from a single 3-credit course to a Major option composed of five courses and 13 credits.  To understand the current situation, a brief history of the interpretative program at Stevens Point will be presented.  The following information comes from interviews with Dr. Michael Gross (2002), Ron Zimmerman (2002), Dr. Rick Wilke (2002), and archived UWSP course catalogs.

            In 1970, Dr. Margaret Baumgartner developed the first courses that touched on interpretive principles.  A biologist by training, Baumgartner taught Interpretation in Central Wisconsin (NR 390), Nature Interpretation Agencies, Areas, and Issues (NR 391), and Nature Interpretation Activities (NR 392).  Although the classes used interpretation to teach the topics, they were not created to provide training in interpretation itself.  In 1974, Dr. Gabe Cherem developed and taught the first interpretive training courses at UWSP.  The 3-credit undergraduate course was called Environmental Interpretation Methods (NR 374), and the graduate level course was entitled Principles and Practices of Environmental Interpretation (NR 793).  Both courses covered a diversity of topics including verbal and nonverbal methods, exhibits, trails, signs, and visitor centers.  Cherem had received interpretive training from the University of Michigan-Ann Arbor.  When Cherem left in 1975, Dr. Jim Newman, who had three years of interpretive experience as a seasonal ranger, took over the course in the interim.  In 1976, Dr. Joe Roggenbuck was hired to teach interpretation and forest recreation in the College of Natural Resources.  He guided the program at Stevens Point for two years before moving to Virginia Polytechnic Institute in Blacksburg, Virginia. 

            By the time Cherem arrived at UWSP, an Outdoor Education minor had already been available through the College of Professional Studies (CPS) for six years.  The minor was administered by the CNR under the general degree requirements of the CPS.  In 1975, an education professor named Dr. Robert Schmatz became the first half-time director of the Central Wisconsin Environmental Center (CWES), which had previously been a Boy Scout camp.  That same year, Rick Wilke, a recent graduate of the CNR masters program, was hired as an assistant director at CWES on a federal CETA (Comprehensive Employment and Training Act) grant, and was primarily responsible for taking care of the site and developing the education program.  Schmatz and Wilke developed an Outdoor Education Practicum at CWES for teachers to gain real-life experience.  In 1976, the university hired Wilke as the full-time director of CWES, who in turn hired Ron Zimmerman, a graduate student who had been helping with programming, as the assistant director on another CETA grant. 

To strengthen the ties between CWES and the College of Natural Resources, Wilke and Zimmerman requested that a professor be hired not only to teach the interpretation courses, but also to be the education coordinator at CWES.  In spring of 1977, Dr. Michael Gross was hired to fill the position.  On campus, Gross was responsible for teaching the interpretation course originally developed by Cherem.  Zimmerman, who obtained training in interpretation from Dr. Newman and assisted Dr. Roggenbuck, volunteered to help teach the course.  In addition, Gross taught graduate seminar, Environmental Issues (which was developed by Wilke), and other natural resources courses.  At CWES, Gross was responsible for mentoring and supervising the outdoor education practicum students. 

In the fall of 1977, Wilke left Stevens Point to work on his doctorate degree and Zimmerman became the acting director of CWES.  The first Outdoor Education Practicum (NR 376) was to be taught at CWES during that season.  According to the 1977-1978 Course Catalog, the purpose of the course was to provide “practical experience at an Environmental Center, including teaching, scheduling, food service, maintenance, and organization.”  Unfortunately, few students signed up.  The entire CWES teaching staff consisted of Gross, Zimmerman, three interns, and two graduate assistants.  To keep up with the numerous school groups that had been scheduled, the staff set up a creative booth in the concourse of the Union Center on campus to advertise the CWES program.  By the end of this campaign, 26 students had signed up to help teach the next semester.

Wilke returned to the director position in 1978, and Zimmerman again became the assistant director.  To secure full-time funding for the assistant director position, Gross and Zimmerman wrote a CESA (Cooperative Education Service Agency) grant to teach Project Learning Tree workshops half-time.  In 1979, Zimmerman was hired as the full-time director of the newly established Schmeeckle Reserve.  Gross and Zimmerman began to team-teach the Environmental Interpretation course.  At the same time, Gross, Zimmerman, and Wilke began to push for an Environmental Education and Interpretation minor through the CNR that would replace the Outdoor Education minor.

In the fall of 1979, the Environmental Education and Interpretation minor was created, which spawned a flurry of changes in the interpretive program.  Gross developed and taught a new course called Foundations of Environmental Education.  The former Outdoor Education Practicum was renamed Environmental Education and Interpretation Practicum.  Cherem’s single interpretation course (NR 374) was split into two 3-credit courses:  Environmental Interpretation I (NR 368) that covered principles and verbal techniques, and Environmental Interpretation II (NR 369) that covered nonverbal techniques.  The interpretation graduate course (NR 793) was dropped from the curriculum. 

To better prepare students for community interpretive programming and to strengthen the ties between Schmeeckle Reserve and the CNR, Zimmerman and Gross created a new practicum in 1987.  Environmental Education Practicum (NR 376) would still be taught at CWES, but the new 3-credit Interpretation Practicum (NR 374) would be taught at Schmeeckle.  According to the course catalog, the purpose of the course was for students to gain “practical experience in environmental programming for nature centers and park visitors.”  That same year, another interpretation course was added for students in the Forest Recreation program.  This 4-credit course, called Park Interpretation (NR 367), taught both personal and non-personal skills for interpreting a park or recreation site to visitors.

In 1989, Gross and Zimmerman made the last major changes to the interpretive courses.  Environmental Interpretation II (NR 369), which taught nonverbal techniques, was split into four different 1-credit courses: Interpretive Signs, Trails, and Waysides (NR 363), Interpretive Publications (NR 364), Interpretation for Visitor Centers (NR 365), and Planning for Interpretation (NR 366).  The Park Interpretation course (NR 367) was cut down to two-credits, and only covered verbal techniques.  Forest Recreation students could now take any of the newly created 1-credit courses.  In addition, Environmental Interpretation I (NR 368) was renamed Oral Interpretation Methods.

            Minor changes have occurred in the years following 1989.  Planning for Interpretation (NR 366) was dropped in 1993 due to lack of enrollment and overlap with other new courses.  That same year, Interpretation for Visitor Centers (NR 365) was increased to 2 credits.  In 1995, the Visitor Centers course was increased again to 3 credits.   Finally, in 1997 the Signs, Trails, and Waysides course (NR 363) and the Environmental Publications course (NR 364) were increased to 2 credits for interpretation students.

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