NAI Awards Programs

Interpretive Media Awards

The Interpretive Media Awards promote excellence in the delivery of natural, cultural, and historical nonpersonal interpretive services. Through the exchange of ideas we increase the level of excellence in our profession.

Submission

Submit online here.
The submission process is open through May 31, 2017.

More important links:

  • Download a call for entries.
  • Visit the Interpretive Media Section Awards page here.
  • Volunteer to be a judge.



Pricing

 If Your NAI Member Type Is*  1st Entry  Additional Entries
 Commercial Plus  Free  $25 each
 Commercial Standard  $25  $25 each
 Consultant  $75  $75 each
 Institutional  $75  $75 each 
 Professional**  $100  $100 each
 *NAI membership is required to submit an entry.
 **Professional members must have been an active participant in some portion of the project.

2016 Recipients


DIGITAL MEDIA
 
1. Understanding Sacrifice: An ABMC Education Program about World War II in Northern Europe
American Battle Monuments Commission

2. Using Mobile Gaming to Engage Youth with Outdoor Place-based Learning
Discovery Agents

3 (tie). Texas Historical Commission Thematic Heritage and Tourism Mobile Tours: Texas Time Travel Mobile Tour
Q Media Productions, Inc.

3 (tie). GlassApp: The Corning Museum of Glass
The Corning Museum of Glass
 
 
INTERIOR EXHIBITS
 
1. Scaly Slimy Spectacular: The Amphibian and Reptile Experience
Zoo Atlanta

2. Oregon Caves National Monument: Cave Discovery Experience
George Herring, Chief of Interpretation, Oregon Caves National Monument and EDX Exhibits

3. Ohiopyle State Park Office / Laurel Highland Falls Area Visitor Center
Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources and 106 Group
 
 
LONG VIDEO
 
1. Where Ice & Ocean Meet: Kenai Fjords National Park
North Shore Productions

2. "Heart of the World" Colorado's National Parks
Great Divide Pictures
 
 
SHORT VIDEO
 
1. The Journey Back
American Battle Monuments Commission

2. YAP! Centennial Video
New Bedford Whaling National Historical Park - YAP!
 
 
WAYSIDE EXHIBITS
 
1. McLeod Plantation: The Transition to Freedom
The Design Minds, Inc. & McLeod Plantation—Charleston County Parks and Recreation

2 (tie). Houston Zoo: Gorillas of the African Forest
Houston Zoo, The Portico Group, and Laura Firth Markley

2 (tie). Hamill Family Wild Encounters
Chicago Zoological Society (Brookfield Zoo) & The Portico Group
 
 
SITE PUBLICATIONS
 
1. Let It Not Happen Again: Japanese American Incarceration in World War II (New park brochures for Manzanar and Minidoka national historic sites)
National Park Service
Carolyn Duckworth, Betsy Ehrilich, Angie Faulkner, Miles Barger, Carol Ash, and Alisa Lynch

2. A Living Canyon: Discovering Life at Grand Canyon
Grand Canyon National Park: Jonathan Creel, Johanna Lombard, Marker Marshall, Brad Sutton

3. Cape Lookout National Seashore Unigrid Brochure
National Park Service: Marsha Wassel, Angela Faulkner, Tom Patterson, and Patrick Kenney
 
 
BOOK
 
1. When The Akimotos Went To War: An untold story of family, patriotism, and sacrifice during World War II
American Battle Monuments Commission

 

2015 Recipients

BOOKS
 
1. Buckhead Storylines: Reimagined Historic Sites
Signature Design LLC

2. Wilderness Ranger Cookbook: A Collection of Backcountry Recipes by Bureau of Land Management, Forest Service, National Park Service, and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Rangers
Ralph Swain and USDA Forest Service​


DIGITAL MEDIA
 
1. Normandy American Cemetery Mobile App
Dog Green Productions

2. Sitka National Historical Site Audio Description of Wayside Exhibits
Julie Hein-Frank, Chad Beale, Carol Petravage, and Becky Latanich

3. Beyond the Walls (Mobile App)
Virginia Museum of Fine Arts


INTERIOR EXHIBITS

1. Designing for the Future: The Olmsteds and the American Landscape
Frederick Law Olmsted National Historic Site

2. (TIE) The Power of Human Connections
North Dakota Association of Rural Electric Cooperatives and Split Rock Studios

2. (TIE) Shipwrecks Alive!
Great Lakes Aquarium


LONG VIDEO

1. The Sand Creek Massacre and the Civil War
National Park Service - Sand Creek Massacre NHS and Post Modern Company

2. A Beautiful Mystery: Petroglyph National Monument
Great Divide Pictures and Petroglyph National Monument

3. Of One Heart / na-qc timine wisi
North Shore Productions 


SHORT VIDEO

1. Childhood Denied: Indian Residential Schools and Their Legacy
North Shore Productions

2. Our Sacred Grounds
Rory Banyard and North Shore Productions

3. The Lasting Legacy of Frederick Law Olmsted
Frederick Law Olmsted National Historic Site


SITE PUBLICATIONS
 
1. Petrified Forest National Park Unigrid Brochure
Betsy Ehrlich, Tom Patterson, Marsha Wassel, and Richard Ullmann

2. "Captured! A Prisoner of War Story" Andersonville National Historic Site Junior Ranger Activity Book
Andersonville National Historic Site

3. Unigrid Brochure, Interactive PDFs, and E-book for American Memorial Park
Saipan, Diane Liggett, NPS/HFC (COR), XNR Productions (primary contractor), AMME staff


WAYSIDE EXHIBITS

1. Badlands National Park Wayside Exhibits: Fossil Exhibit Trail and Pig Dig
Badlands National Park and 106 Group

2. Journey to Churchill: Wapusk Lowlands & Churchill Coast
Assiniboine Park Conservancy; The Portico Group; and Terry O'Connor Consulting LLC

3. Sitka National Historic Site Wayside Exhibits
Chad Beale, Carol Petravage, Becky Latanich, and Julie Hein Frank


2014 Recipients


BOOK

1.     New Birth of Freedom: A Walk Through the Civil War Home Front in Woodstock, Vermont
Marsh-Billings-Rockefeller National Historical Park
Harpers Ferry Center
Wood Ronsaville Harlin, Inc.

2. (tie) “Swamper: Letters from a Louisiana Swamp Rabbit,” A Book to Connect Kids to the Swamp
Friends of Black Bayou

2. (tie) Pearls from the Lagoon: Short Stories & Recipes
US Forest Service, International Institute of Tropical Forestry


DIGITAL MEDIA

1.     Tidal Changes Spin Browser
Taylor Studios, Inc.

2.     This is Now, and That Was Then
Kenai Mountains Turnagain Arm National Heritage Area

3. Waimea Valley Audio Tour
Antenna International


INTERIOR EXHIBITS

1.     The Waterfront: Sailors Called it Frisco
San Francisco Maritime NHP

2.     Explore and Discover Jewel Cave National Monument
Jewel Cave National Monument / National Park Service

3.     Interpretive Exhibits for Mesa Verde Visitor and Research Center
EDX Exhibits, Mesa Verde National Park


SITE PUBLICATIONS

1.     Andersonville National Historic Site Unigrid Brochure
Harpers Ferry Publications – Melinda Schmitt, Miles Barger, Marsha Wassel

2.     Phantoms of the Past: A Historic Walking Tour
Grand Canyon National Park

3.     Set in Stone: Learning from Layers of Geology on the Comanche National Grasslands
Bruce Schumacher, Michelle Stevens, Cimarron and Comanche National Grassland; and Lois Ziemann, Forest Service


SHORT VIDEO

1.     The Obed: Find Yourself Here
Obed Wild & Scenic River

2.     Volunteer for Your National Parks
Golden Gate National Parks—Design Volunteers in Parks/Ex’pression College

3.     The Hidden Stories of Lesser Known Parks
Jefferson National Parks Association


LONG VIDEO

1.     The Tuskegee Airmen: Sacrifice and Triumph
Harpers Ferry Center, Tuskegee Airmen National Historic Site, and Aperture Films Ltd.

2.     Beyond The Visible: The Story of the Very Large Array
National Radio Astronomy Observatory – Education & Public Outreach Media

3.     Kennesaw: One Last Mountain
Kennesaw Mountain National Battlefield Park, Great Divide Pictures, and Harpers Ferry Center


WAYSIDE EXHIBITS

1.     Blue Ridge Parkway Wayside Exhibits and Parkwide Exhibit Plan
Blue Ridge Parkway, 106 Group, Audio Description Solutions

2.     Conrad Prebys Australian Outback
San Diego Zoo Global

3.     Logan Pass Wildlife Super Powers Exhibits
Glacier National Park Division of Interpretation


2013 Award Recipients


Digital Media

First Place
The Lion’s Storyteller: The Kingsley Plantation Audio Tour
Somerset Group
Q Media Productions
Metabahn
National Park Service

Second Place
Interpretive Volunteer Online Training
San Diego Zoo Global

Interior Exhibit

First Place
Coming Home to the Wild, Montana WILD Education Center
Split Rock Studios and Rici Peterson
MT Department of Fish
Wildlife & Parks

Second Place
Discover the Connection
Split Rock Studios
Sandy Creek Nature Center Education & Visitor Center

Third Place
A Place Called Poarch
Split Rock Studios
Kerretv Cuko (Building of Learning)
Poarch Band of Creek Indians Museum

Site Publication

First Place
Trail of Tears National Historic Trail Official Map and Guide
National Trails Intermountain Region
Harpers Ferry Center Writer

Second Place
Planet Protector Comic Books
Roseville Utility Exploration Center
Harvest Moon Studio

Third Place
The Historic Point Reyes Lighthouse
Point Reyes National Seashore

Interpretive Curriculum

First Place
Women Caring for the Land: Improving Conservation Outreach to Female Non-operator Farmland Owners
Women, Food and Agriculture Network

Video

First Place
The War at Home
Rosie the Riveter WWII Home Front National Historical Park
Harpers Ferry Center
National Park Service

Second Place
Life in the Desert
Lake Mead National Recreation Area
Harpers Ferry Center

Third Place
Campaign for Chattanooga: Death Knell of the Confederacy
Great Divide Pictures
Chickamauga and Chattanooga NMP
Harpers Ferry Center

Wayside

First Place
Holly Discovery Trail
Lake James State Park
North Carolina State Parks

Second Place
Rohwer Japanese America Relocation Center Exhibit
Arkansas State University
National Trust for Historic Preservation
106 Group

Third Place
Corn Creek Interpretive Trail Waysides
U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service with The Nuwuvi Working Group
Split Rock Studios

  2012 Award Recipients


Audio Program

1. Kam Wah Chung State Heritage Site
Oregon Parks and Recreation Department
Odyssey Productions

2. Colorado Chautauqua Historic Audio Tour
ECOS Communications
Colorado Chautauqua Association

Book (Long)

1. Mount Rushmore Memories
Mount Rushmore Bookstores

Book (Short)

1. Abraham Lincoln’s Inaugural Journey Two-Volume Handbook
Lincoln Home National Historic Site
Lincoln Institute for Education
Ulysses S. Grant National Historic Site
Little Rock Central High School National Historic Site
Brown v. Board of Education National Historic Site
Graphic Works, Inc.

2. Hispanics and the Civil War: From Battlefield to Homefront
National Park Service

Curriculum

1. Our Mississippi: Educational Activities about the Upper Mississippi River, Grades 5–6
Formations Inc.
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, St. Louis District

2. Connections to Africa
Cleveland Metroparks Zoo

Interior Exhibit

1. “Across a Wire: Voices from Heart Mountain,” Heart Mountain Interpretive Learning Center
Split Rock Studios
Heart Mountain Wyoming Foundation

2. Prairie Grove Battlefield State Park
Taylor Studios, Inc.
Arkansas State Parks

3. Encountering Fort Totten
Taylor Studios, Inc.
State Historical Society of North Dakota

Poster

1. Civil War to Civil Rights
National Park Service Civil War to Civil Rights Trading Cards

2. Great Lakes Invasive Species Posters
Harpers Ferry Center, National Park Service
Great Lakes Exotic Plant Management Team

Site Publication

1. National Park Brochure
Potomac Heritage National Scenic Trail
Harpers Ferry Center

2. The Northern Elephant Seal: A Life of Singular Extremes
Point Reyes National Seashore, Division of Interpretation & Resource Education

3. Washington-Rochambeau Revolutionary Route National Historic Trail Brochure
McKnight Design, LLC

Video (Long)

1. Grand Canyon: A Journey of Wonder
Grand Canyon National Park
Aperture Films

2. Shiloh: Fiery Trial
Great Divide Pictures
Shiloh National Military Park

3. Mount St. Helens: Eruption of Life
Mount St. Helens Eruption of Life
USDA-CMBC & First Light Films

Video (Short)

1. Preserving The Grange
Harpers Ferry Center, National Park Service
Hamilton Grange National Memorial
Aperture Films, Ltd.

2. Mount St. Helens: A Living Laboratory
USDA-CMBC
First Light Films

3. Healthy Parks Healthy People
Golden Gate National Recreation Area
Design Volunteers In Parks, Ex’pression College
Healthy Parks Healthy People

Wayside Exhibit

1. Castle Williams, Governors Island National Monument, National Park Service
Formations Inc.
RBH Multimedia
Q Media

2. African Elephant Crossing
Cleveland Metroparks Zoo
Gecko Group

3. A Journey Through the Ocala and Apalachicola National Forests
Rosene Creative Services, LLC

Interactive Multimedia

1. Mount St. Helens: Return to Life Touchscreen Exhibit
Second Story, USFS, MSHI

2. Denali eDiscovery Hike
Denali National Park and Preserve
National Park Service

3. Trade Canoe for Don Quixote Multimedia Interactive
Denver Art Museum
Experience Design

Previous Recipients

2011 Media Awards
2010 Media Awards