Getting the Visitor on the Interpretive Dance Floor: The HOWS & WAYS
Notes from Bill & Mike: In the last post, Putting Interpretive Design Ideas into Practice – Phase 3, we introduced Activity Matrix examples for the Head and Heart using AMORE (Achieve, Motivate, Organize, Reinforce, Evaluate). This planning tool is to help the visitor engage with interpretive experiences at a preservation, collection, or historic recognition site. To conclude Part 3 we have included Activity Matrix examples for the Hands and the Hunger. Let us know if you have any questions and please send us your comments on this or any other posts.
Quick Reminder…The Activity Matrix examples are for an Invitation Station (10-20 minutes) at the Métis Crossing Buffalo Camp for the ½ day adult visitor. The intent is for the Invitation Station to entice the visitor to return for a deeper experience of Métis culture by signing up for the Buffalo Camp Immersing Experience (60 – 120 minutes).
Photo Credit: Bill Reynolds
HANDS Activity Matrix (Tangible Skills & Memories)
This Dance Step of Hands can be a bit tricky because most folks immediately think of “Hands-On” activities. Not the case this time. The hands-on, sensory, visceral experiences are in the Achieve section of the Activity Matrix. When Van Matre refers to Hands he literally means what visitors will take home in their hands:
“Never forget that people want to take home some piece of the places they visit – as a concrete reminder, sometimes a trophy, often a validation of their experience…And if visitors cannot meet this need with something environmentally-friendly that supports the site’s mission, they will buy junk – lots of it – or pick up some object at the site and haul it away.”
It is also important to remember that using our “hands” (or even our feet) to learn new skills can be something tangible we take away from a site. As we struggled to clearly understand pages 168-169 in IDADE, we decided to offer two examples for Hands: (1) literally a memento the visitor takes home in their “hands” from the Buffalo Camp Invitation Station, and (2) utilizing the visitors’ hands to “earn” an item that will provide a memory of the place.
(1) “Laws of the Buffalo Hunt” -- Visitors receive a copy of the “Laws” to read over and keep as they enter the Invitation Station. Then, on the poster with all the “Laws” listed, place a mark by their choice for “Top Law.” (2) Métis Hunt Captain -- As each new Buffalo Camp Immersing Experience begins, the Métis Hunt Captain, dressed in traditional Métis clothing, announces the “Laws of the Buffalo Camp” for all present to hear. (3) Exploratory Booklet -- On pages provided visitors can record reflections on the “Laws of the Hunt” and record the rules and consequences that work in their family & community.
(1) Traditional Buffalo Products & Silhouette – traditional tools and items made from the buffalo are available on a table for visitors to handle. Visitors add a check mark or initials to the Buffalo Silhouette indicating what part of the buffalo was most interesting. (2) Make A Sash – visitors receive 5 colored threads to make a sash after visiting 5 Invitation Stations and highlighting 5 threads of the sash illustration in the Exploratory Booklet. (3) Exploratory Booklet -- After the visitor experiences an Invitation Station and interacts with the traditional items, they highlight one thread of the sash illustration in the booklet with a special pencil. When five threads have been highlighted, and sensory and visceral descriptions recorded and shared, they can receive the actual threads to weave into a sash.
Photo Credit: Métis Crossing/Métis Nation of Alberta, Canada
HUNGER Activity Matrix (Flavorful Delights)
“Let us break bread together.” This often-used quote speaks as much to the need for social interaction as to the need for nourishment. Relaxing over food can provide a mental and physical break from “site fatigue.” A meal or snack is also a chance to relax and ruminate over what the experience has meant so far, and, of course, to gather and “break bread” with friends and family members. Every visitor experience interpretive plan should integrate social time and activation of the taste buds in the pursuit of the site’s mission and message. If we as designers neglect this aspect of planning, the visitors will find a way to relax and eat even if it means bringing their own food and discovering their own comfortable spot. So, why not make “flavourful delights” an integral part of what the visitors remember about the site?
Van Matre has a few things to say about this on pages 169-171:
“For most people visiting a public jewel on a leisure journey demands some opportunity to attend to the toothed end of their intestinal tract, not merely as a necessity for their physical well-being, but for their mental well-being…Unfortunately, such activity is often divorced from the interpretive messages of the places visited. What visitors eat and drink, and where they do it, should contribute to the site’s intended outcomes, and giving the visitors something to discuss or ponder at these times should be an objective of its experiential design.”
The Invitation Station, the Immersing Experience, the Café, and the Gift Shop are all areas where the visitor Hunger can be addressed and integrated with the Outcomes and takeaways.
(1) “Rate the Taste” – A-Frame stand with the daily buffalo products available to taste. Visitor can use a simple 1, 2, 3 rating scale for “Great”, “OK”, “No Thanks” for each product tasted. (2) “Buffalo Silhouette” – silhouette divided into sections to indicate where tools, cuts of meat, and products obtained from buffalo come from. Visitors put a check mark on parts they tasted and tools they liked. (3) Exploratory Booklet – page to record which buffalo products and tastes they liked and compare taste with favorite family foods. (4) “Favorite Flavour of the Day” – Near exit to Cultural Gather Centre visitors record “Favorite Flavour of the Day.” An alternative is to put re-usable tokens in containers that have pictures of the various site “taste” options that day.
Activity Matrix Things To Think About… here are a few items we feel are important to remember when putting the Activity Matrix together.
1. Are you just presenting the pieces of a place or focusing on the processes that make the place a “jewel” ? An object should help reinforce the processes, not be the primary focus. You will notice we have incorporated the primary process for this Invitation Station into the Outcomes for the visitors.
2. Does the “meaningful information” fit into the visitor’s mental web? Will the experience and information connect, fill-in gaps, or strengthen the visitor’s mental web, or will the information fall out? To quote Van Matre: “The web of life is the inter-connected, inter-working of inter-related stories. When visitors grasp this ‘webbing concept’, it is easier for them to catch new things while dancing on their own.”
3. Do the “memorable experiences” provide a strong enough sensory and visceral glue? Has the visitor been deeply immersed in the place, is there time and space for reflection and sharing, and to explore ways they may be changed?
4. Is the focus on the meaning of the place? We want to celebrate why the cultural or natural heritage jewel is important, and then connect it to the visitor’s web. That is why it is important to provide experiences that reinforce the mission and message of the place throughout the site. The task of the interpreter is to set up an environment so the visitor can make the connections as they “dance” with the site on their own.
5. Are visitors being attracted to and “pulled” into experiences rather than simply ignoring or feeling “pushed” into an experience? It is important to find ways to invite the visitor into experiences with creative and sensory and welcoming “hookers” that cause a bit of delight and curiosity. If they are motivated to participate, then the mental and emotional web is better prepared to catch new ideas and feelngs.
6. Are the experiences organized in a Way so the processes and Outcomes are easy to hold onto and understand? What will the visitors take home in their Head, Heart, Hands and Hunger (stomach) and will it be connected to the whole experience? This may mean carefully reviewing all aspects of the visit — from car park to gift shop to café as well as examining current and future interpretive experiences.
7. Finally, is there some accountability? That is the value of the Evaluate column in the Activity Matrix. Are we achieving the intended outcome? Is it connecting to the visitor’s Head, Heart, Hands, and Hunger webs? Is it helping the visitor to embrace the natural and cultural value(s) of the place? Again, from Van Matre:
“By combining meaning with mission, we restore the dynamism to our interpretive sites. Each place represents a unique expression of the processes of life that is worthy of attentive experience; that’s why it was established, and what we are paid to celebrate and share. As interpreters, when it comes to our places, we don’t want so much to help people find their own meaning as to help them experience and appreciate ours. That’s the core of our job.”
We hope that our posts of Phase 1, 2, and 3 of Getting the Visitor onto the Interpretive Dance Floor have provided a clearer picture of how the process of designing and planning for the visitor works using IDADE. And yes, we did make some adjustments when working on a real-life project. However, the core of the books ideas were used in the planning process and embraced by staff at Métis Crossing.
An Epilogue to these three Phases is next on our list. There are a few important steps we did not spend time on at Métis Crossing but are vital to success: Image, Message, Welcome, Orient, Guide and Visitor Flow.
Photo Credit: Mike Mayer