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I hope you enjoy these articles. My latest, below, reflects some work I've been doing with parks, historic sites, and other place-based interpretive destinations in trying to define what makes them unique in the world. It can be really interesting work—and not always easy.
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Life has been busy at my end—in a good way. I hope things are going well with you.
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New Tools for Defining Essence of Place
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One of the planning techniques I have been using a lot as an interpretive planner and visitor experience advisor is defining essence of place. Essence of place is the sum of the qualities, tangible and intangible, that come together to make that place unique on earth. Closely related to ICOMOS work on genius loci, the idea of essence of place …
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What is Experiential Interpretation?
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I've been spending a fair bit of time researching and pondering what "experiential interpretation" actually means. Here's what I've come up with. Interpretation is experiential when the interpreter uses a recognizable activity as the structure of the program, and imposes passive listening on the audience less than 10% of the time. It uses traditional activities, like snorkelling or cooking or …
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Screw Latin Names.
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Latin names have no place in popular writing and programming. Once upon a time I was a bit of a tedious pedant. Hard to believe, I know, but I have vivid memories of tossing around Latin names to impress my audiences. I was young and insecure, trying to do my best with a serious case of imposter syndrome. I remember …
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Mining Online Reviews in Interpretive Planning
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As an interpretive planner and visitor experience advisor, I’m a big believer in evidence-based decision making. When I start a new project, the first thing I ask for is data: visitor surveys, gate revenue statistics, comment cards… anything I can get my hands on. Recently I started an exhibit planning project where my client knows next to nothing about their …
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