Building a More Accessible Interpretive Site
May 1, 2018
10a Pacific/1:00p Eastern (90 minutes)
Kara Stella and Hannah Petri
Register here
Does visitor diversity include disability access where you work? We will share ways to serve and engage visitors with disabilities through your interpretive programs and products, whether you are a manager or field staff. Bring your challenges and opportunities to discuss.
Kara Stella is an American Sign Language (ASL) interpreter, Deaf Services Coordinator and Interpretive Coach for Yosemite National Park. She has degrees in heritage and ASL interpretation. She has a CIG, CIT and National (ASL) Interpreter Certification. She has worked in both fields for 20 years.
Hannah Petri is the Manager of Docents and Interpretation at the Saint Louis Zoo. With her M.S. in Environmental Education, she is a CIG and CIT. She has been working in zoos/aquariums/museums for over 20 years with a focus on bringing programs to a wide variety of audiences.
Sense of Place & Story: 21st Century Ideas for Connecting People and Place
May 15, 2018
10a Pacific/1:00p Eastern (1 hr)
Erica Wheeler
Register here
How do we help visitors find themselves in the stories we tell? How do we include multiple layers of story? Explore why finding sense-of-place stories is an essential skill for 21st Century Interpretation. Learn about Erica’s Soulful Stewardship Method and hear how other sites have applied her techniques. Gain fresh ideas for your site.
Erica Wheeler is a visitor experience specialist, speaker, educator, songwriter and creator of The Soulful Stewardship Method. She has offered her sense-of-place interpretive trainings at parks, museums and heritage sites across the country. Winner of a Media Award for “Best Interpretive Music” she has keynoted and presented her method at NAI events since 2007. More at www.senseofplaceconsulting.com.
Training Thematic Interpreters
May 24 & June 5, 2018
Sam H. Ham
Register here
Training Thematic Interpreters—Part 1
May 24
10:00am Pacific/1:00pm Eastern (TWO HOURS)
Over the last 20 years, the theory and research underpinning thematic interpretation has deepened in important ways. We know so much more today not only about what interpretation itself can accomplish but also how delivering strong themes to audiences contributes to those outcomes. In Part 1, we’ll consider what themes should do, what “success” looks like, and how the new CIG curriculum reflects these emerging ideas.
Training Thematic Interpreters—Part 2
June 5
10:00am Pacific/1:00pm Eastern (TWO HOURS)
In Part 1, you were given a compendium of thematic interpretation training activities. Now that you’ve had time to think about or even try some of these activities, join Sam in this follow up webinar where we will share observations, address questions and suggest more ideas for your training programs.
Sam H. Ham is a Professor Emeritus of Conservation Social Sciences, University of Idaho. Dr. Ham has trained interpreters and trainers internationally reaching a combined audience of 60,000. He is author of more than 400 publications including two widely acclaimed books on interpretation. Interpretation—Making a Difference on Purpose is one of the main references used in NAI’s CIG Training program and is viewed worldwide as providing a substantiated empirical basis for contemporary interpretation practice.
Toddling Across the Bridge of Interpretation
May 31, 2018
10a Pacific/1p Eastern (1 HR)
Hollie Sanders and Stacy Gray
Register here
Children can begin to build a lifetime relationship with nature in their first months. But interpretation with the “two and under” audience can seem intimidating for many of us. Join seasoned toddler wranglers, Hollie and Stacy, as we make the trek together and gather tips, tools and techniques of toddler-based programming.
Hollie Sanders is the Education Specialist for the Witt Stephens Jr. Central Arkansas Nature Center in Little Rock, Arkansas and has been connecting with toddlers weekly for three years on her site. Previously she taught preschool for eight years.
Stacy Gray is the Education Coordinator for Caddo Parish Parks in Shreveport, LA. She has a B.S. In Environmental Studies from UNC Asheville. Stacy has been offering toddler programs since 2008 and is raising two young children of her own.