Getting the Visitor on the Interpretive Dance Floor: The HOWS & WAYS
From Bill and Mike…Yes, there has been a long gap between our post on Phase 2 of Putting Interpretive Design Ideas into Practice and Phase 3. Some of this was due to holidays, camping trips, family commitments and other life events. But mainly we wanted to provide some good examples for this post…and that took time. If you have the Interpretive Design and the Dance of Experience (IDADE) book, review pages 218 – 219, “Everglades Dance Card.” Notice there is only a Head example. We wanted our examples to include the Heart, Hands and Hunger for a better sense of how to set up and use this planning tool. For a variety of reasons, we have decided to refer to the “Dance Cards” as the “Activity Matrix,” but we are using the same planning and organizing pattern for the design process.
Though a fully developed Activity Matrix was not included during our time with Métis Crossing, we used the Outcome Matrix from the Buffalo Camp Invitation Station as the basis for our examples. We carefully designed HOWS & WAYS to best Achieve the desired Outcome, talked with Van Matre several times, and used the “Model-Practice-Feedback-Revise” process on ourselves. We think this completed model will provide a better understanding of how the Activity Matrix (Dance Cards), work and we look forward to your feedback. If you have developed an Activity Matrix, or you would like us to work with you on developing one at your site, let us hear from you.
Photo Credit: Mike Mayer
A Quick Review…
In our first blog post on “Putting the Interpretive Design Ideas into Practice-Phase 1” we looked at EID’s Phase 1 when working with a site on an visitor experience interpretive plan. The major focus was making sure everyone is headed in the same direction as we Dig Into the Whys:
During Phase 2 of the visitor experience interpretive plan process we worked on the following:
Phase 3
Now in Phase 3 we get to the fun stuff – designing the HOWS & WAYS of getting the visitor on the Interpretive Dance Floor. The Activity Matrix, or Dance Cards, are used to start designing the mission-based experiences for a particular Visitor Type which will to help them Achieve intended Outcomes. And maybe by this time you are ready to throw up your arms and shout, “What, another matrix to think about and plan?” – well yes. This type of careful planning can help ensure the visitor will take away the importance of the site and connect it to the web of their life experiences in an organized and memorable manner. And yes, this takes time. Remember – these matrices are living tools that can be adjusted as goals and circumstances of a preservation, collection, or historical recognition site change. That does not mean new front line seasonal staff members should redo everything every year. Once an experience is doing what it is supposed to do, leave it alone and let it do its job.
Getting to Know AMORE
To get started on developing the four different Activity Matrices for the Head, Heart, Hands and Hunger, it is important to have some clear idea of what is meant by Achieve, Motivate, Organize, Reinforce, and Evaluate (AMORE). If you refer to pages 198-214 in IDADE you will find lots of details from Steve on these last 5 Dance Steps. We have condensed the information a bit for this post and it is still important to review the pages in the book for a deeper understanding of AMORE.
Achieve: Design and offer specific process and outcome driven interactions that invite & prepare the visitor to participate in a deeper experience with the site.
Motivate: Pull the visitor in with compelling & appealing invitations; stimulate willingness to experience what the site has to offer.
Organize: Tie together common outcome takeaways from the Invitation Station, the Immersing Experience and at other on-site experiences to assist visitor recall & integrate new understandings and feelings.
Reinforce: Designate a variety of site locations and experiences to practice and strengthen the outcome takeaways, aiming at enduring memories for the visitor.
Evaluate: Determine if the experience has Achieved the intended outcome and provided “enchantment, sparkle and delight” for the visitor.
As we developed the Outcomes for the Head, Heart, Hands and Hunger we stated the natural or cultural processes we were aiming for and incorporated these processes into the Outcome Statements. And by the way, please give us some feedback on this – Is it clear? Do you have questions? Do you have some examples to share?
Key points to remember:
These Activity Matrices examples are focused on the ½ day, adult, drop-in visitor type – so their time at Métis Crossing is limited. A different matrix would be needed for a different visitor type.
This is an Activity Matrix for an Invitation Station (10-20 minutes) at the Métis Crossing Buffalo Camp. It is an introduction that will hopefully entice the visitor to return for a deeper experience of Métis culture by signing up for the Buffalo Camp Immersing Experience (60 – 120 minutes) another longer experience.
Given the visitor’s time constraints (½ day), the goal is for this visitor type to leave with an initial connection in their Head, Heart, Hands AND Hunger (in the stomach) of the Métis Essences of Land & Water Relationships and Becoming a Nation.
Head Activity Matrix (Meaningful Information)
Pages 218-219 in IDADE display the “Everglades Dance Cards” example for the Head. You might wonder if this is really an activity description. No, it is not. It is simply a brief outline of the HOWS & WAYS the Outcome will be achieved (brochure, exhibit, walk, etc.). Fortunately, pages 220-222 provide more details about the HOWS & WAYS. We are going to use this same format to present each Activity Matrix – the matrix outline followed by a bit more detail about the activities we envisioned being developed. (Reminder: as mentioned earlier, these examples were developed by EID to better explain how AMORE works, they were not fully implemented at Métis Crossing during our time with the site.
Photo Credit: Métis Crossing/Métis Nation of Alberta, Canada
HEART Activity Matrix (Memorable Experiences)
As Van Matre mentions on pages 161-164 of IDADE, the feelings are the “glue” that hold the mental web of understandings together. How we feel about our experience at a site is often stronger than the information we may, or may not, remember about a place. To quote:
“Essentially, when it comes to the feelings, interpretation aims for visitors to take away both a feeling of a place (sensory impressions) and a feeling for it (visceral impressions), so we have to consciously design interactions that do both. People take away deeper feelings of a place when they have been immersed in it in a fully conscious way with all their senses stimulated. And people feel good when their needs are met in a way that says others care about them. In both of these cases, it’s the detail that counts. Those who want to facilitate memorable experiences should practice creating memorable moments that fit together in service of mission. Doing so requires a lot of hard work but the rewards are worth it.”
For more on “making memories” check out the dozen “Pointers” on page 164 of IDADE.
OK — how about we stop there so you don’t feel too overwhelmed with one post. The Activity Matrices for the Hands and Hunger, and a bit of an epilogue will be posted next week. Once again, please let us know if you have any questions or comments, and look for us at the upcoming NAI conference on Zoom in early December.
Photo Credit: Mike Mayer