Volume 10, Number 2
Abstracts: Volume 9, Number 2
2004
RESEARCH
Elements to Successful Interpretation
A Multiple Case Study of Five National Parks

Doug Knapp, Ph.D.
Associate Professor
Department of Recreation and Park Administration
133 HPER
Indiana University
Bloomington, Indiana 47405
812-855-3094
dknapp@indiana.edu

Gregory M. Benton, M.S.
Research Assistant
Department of Recreation and Park Administration
133 HPER
Indiana University
Bloomington, Indiana 47405
812-855-3094
gbenton@indiana.edu

Abstract
The multiple case study described further investigates and identifies elements associated with successful interpretive programs through assessing what is perceived as important elements by interpreters in five U. S. National Park units. Data sources included semi-structured interviews with interpretive personnel, analysis of documentation related to interpretive programs in the units, and participant observation of interpretive programs conducted at each site. Four themes surfaced from this data: (a) an interpretive program must relate to the visitor, (b) it must attempt to achieve its goals through innovative techniques, (c) attain basic program needs and, (d) promote community outreach. One discrepancy found, based on the researchers’ analysis of program observations, was no attempt at receiving responses from the program participants. This “one-way” form of communication differs from the profession’s interest in connecting with the visitor. One recommendation from this study is to explore constructivist learning strategies that could help bring about “two-way” communication between the interpreter and visitor.


The Effects of a National Wildlife Refuge’s EE Programs on Elementary School Classes’ Knowledge and Attitudes

Jason P. O’Brien, M.S.
Department of Natural Resource Ecology and Management
Iowa State University
339 Science II
Ames, IA 50011-3221
515-294-6440
jpobrien@iastate.edu

James L. Pease, Ph.D.
Department of Natural Resource Ecology and Management
Iowa State University
339 Science II
Ames, IA 50011-3221
515-294-7429
jlpease@iastate.edu

Abstract
In 1997, the Neal Smith National Wildlife Refuge-Prairie Learning Center began offering on-site environmental education (EE) to school groups visiting their reconstructed tallgrass prairie. To evaluate the EE program, fourth-, fifth- and sixth-grade classes from central Iowa completed a pre- and post-visit knowledge and attitudes survey and results were compared with similar classes that did not visit the refuge. Results indicate a significant increase in knowledge and a positive change in attitudes in the treatment group two weeks after visiting the refuge compared with the control group. This research also tested the effectiveness of hands-on stewardship activities in changing knowledge and attitudes. No differences were detected in either knowledge or attitudes between treatment classes that participated in stewardship activities and treatment classes that did not.
IN SHORT

Book Review: Interpreting the Land Down Under: Australian Heritage and Tour Guiding
Edited by Rosemary Black and Betty Weiler
Fulcrum Publishing
Golden, CO, 2003
224 pp.
ISBN 1–55591–865–4.

Reviewed by Joseph Roggenbuck
Professor
Virginia Tech
Forestry
304 Cheatham Hall
Blacksburg, VA 24061
540-231-7418
jroggenb@vt.edu

Introduction
To help journal readers decide whether to purchase this book or to seek out its contents, I will provide an overview of its context, its purpose, for whom it is written, and how it is organized. I will then provide a somewhat longer summary of its contents, and I will end with a critique.

Context
This book, Interpreting the Land Down Under, is the fifth in Fulcrum Press’s Environmental Communication Series, a series edited by Sam Ham. The content of the book includes 11 chapters or papers presented at a 2002 seminar sponsored by Australia’s Monash University on research to enhance tour guiding and heritage interpretation in Australia.

IN MY OPINION

The Future of Interpretation

Diane M. Chalfant
Chief of Interpretation
Yellowstone National Park
P.O. Box 168
Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming 82190
307-344-2250
diane_chalfant@nps.gov

In 2001, the National Park Service (NPS) published a new mission statement and a set of five “core values” as a result of a re-examination of its purpose and mandate. In my opinion, the challenges to interpretation in the NPS over the next several years and the critical skills that the profession must develop to address these challenges relate directly to the revised NPS mission statement and core values. These skills include partnership development, serving nontraditional audiences, and responsiveness to social, demographic, and technological changes.


It’s a Matter of Balance

Sam Vaughn
Chief of Interpretive Planning
NPS Harpers Ferry Center
303-987-6984
sam_w_vaughn@nps.gov

I recently spent a couple weeks in Utah—as a visitor. I visited six national parks and several Forest Service and BLM areas. Grand Gulch: ancestral Puebloan sites and spectacular geology. Capitol Reef for more spectacular geology. A spiffy new visitor center at Hovenweep. Natural Bridges. Arches. Grandview at Canyonlands. Rock art: some made by people thousands of years ago, some fashioned by the earth over millions of years. Follow the cairns across slickrock and down gulches and washes. Sun. Rain. Quiet. An owl hoots. Campfire stories and philosophizing. Communal dinners in Ed Abbey’s old Pack Creek Ranch cabin. Outstanding experiences, connections, and meanings. Like most park visitors, not one interpretive talk or walk.


Twelve Trends in the Interpretive Profession

Tim Merriman
Executive Director
National Association for Interpretation
P.O. Box 2246
Fort Collins, Colorado 80521
888-900-8283
naiexec@aol.com

Lisa Brochu
Associate Director
National Association for Interpretation
P.O. Box 2246
Fort Collins, Colorado 80521
888-900-8283
naiprograms@aol.com

The interpretive profession is no different than any other in that it requires thoughtful research and relies on resulting data to guide developments in the field. Trends that emerge within any profession tend to define the direction of research in that field. The National Association for Interpretation (NAI) national office is in a unique position to identify trends from observations of almost 5,000 members in 32 countries and from contacts made with thousands of non-members through telephone, Internet, and participation in varied U.S.-based and international activities. Managers and researchers in heritage interpretation may want to consider some of the following observations when determining how to allocate resources most effectively.


Legacy Denied

Myra Dec
Chief of Interpretation and Education
Apostle Islands National Lakeshore
715-779-3397 x301
myra_dec@nps.gov

The mission of the National Park Service has long been to preserve the tangible and intangible values of our world. These are the combined treasures of scientific fact and the hearts of men and women. The cherished lands that cradle our national parks represent, in living systems and stories, our collective heritage. The loss is great if these stories are ignored or denied. The social implications of stories left untold are ominous.