February 20, 2023

Visitor Studies

Creative thinking may simply mean the realization that there’s no particular virtue in doing things the way they have always been done.

– Rudolph Flesch, Educator

Why are we here – remember the visitor?

By John Veverka

Before we plunge into the many aspects of interpretive philosophy, theory, and planning, it’s important to ask: why are we here? What is the main objective of interpretive programs and services?

Simply stated, our primary mission as interpreters is to communicate with our visitors.

I have found that most interpreters boast high levels of knowledge about certain resources or special fields (such as geology, natural history or cultural history). And many have a fairly good foundation in communication principles. But I have also found that many interpreters know too little about understanding visitors. It seems that many academic courses for interpreter leave out key areas of study, such as visitor psychology. Students of interpretation learn how to present programs and services, but are left in the dark when it comes to how or why visitors learn and remember information.

To remedy this situation, interpreters and students in training should consider broadening their education to include (at a minimum) the following important subjects:

·        Adult non-formal education (adults as learners).

·        Consumer behavior

·        Marketing and advertising courses

·        The psychology of the audience (theater or psychology department)

It’s not enough to work hard to make our programs interesting and exciting. We must also understand what motivates visitors to participate and how best to apply our communication skills and procedures used in adult education. We must study how to use marketing strategies to grab the visitors’ attention and feed their desire to remember the interpretive message, to carry it home with them. If we fail, the visitor may choose to not participate, or may quickly forget all that was learned.

Understanding the psychology of the visitor in recreational settings is essential to developing successful interpretive plans. Let’s take a little time here at the beginning to look at some of the general concepts I have found to be the most valuable when planning and designing interpretive programs and services.

_________________________

Excerpt from Interpretive Master Planning Volume One: Strategies for the New Millennium. To learn more join John Veverka for MS 269 Visitor Motivations for Selecting Programs starting March 6, 2023.

Early Bird Discounts Available for Full Length Courses

An Early Bird Discount is available for anyone who signs up for a full length course from museumclasses.org 30 days prior to the start of that course. 

Sign up for a full length course up to 30 days prior to its start and save $100.00!

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Earlybird Discount Deadline for April 2023 Courses is March 4, 2023

Earlybird Discount Deadline for May 2023 Courses is April 1, 2023

Course Rescheduled! New Dates: April 1 to 28, 2023!

Thinking about using interpretive panels for your institutional grounds, historic site, or zoo? Need information and guidance on the best practices for creating these panels and finding the best product and companies to make them? This course will walk you through the process of creating the best and most informative panels possible.

MS 270: Planning and Designing Interpretive Panels

April 3 - 28, 2023 NEW DATES

Instructor: John Veverka

Description:

The Planning, design and text copy development for interpretive panels is a practical “how to do it” course to develop updated or new interpretive panels for heritage sites, historic homes, natural areas, zoos, and other related sites. Panels are the most widely use interpretive media, world-wide, to quickly present a message or story to site visitors in a memorable fashion. We will look at the interpretive planning process, interpretive design concerns, interpretive text writing for panels, panel fabrication materials, panel pre-testing evaluation, and even how to write a RFP (request for proposal) to have your panels fabricated. This is an important course for any interpretive staff member, planner, designer or manager.

The course includes an e-copy of John’s Interpretive Planning Textbook, and a e-copy of John’s new The Interpretive Trails Book.

March 2023 Courses

MS 101: Introduction to Museums

March 6 to 31, 2023  

Instructor: Samantha Hunt-Duran

Description:

The United States has more than 17,000 museums, we can only guess at the world's total. While most people think of a museum as a well-staffed, professionally run institution, the vast majority of museums are started and run by people with little or no basic training in museum studies or preservation. Introduction to Museums is designed to change that. The course introduces basic concepts, terminology and the role of various staff members, including curators, registrars and directors. Introduction to Museums is aimed at staff members, board members, interns, volunteers, as well as anyone interested in becoming a museum professional or learning more about the profession.

MS 223: Care of Metals 

March 6 to April 7, 2023  

Instructor: Diana Komejan

Description:

Outdoor sculpture, silver tea service, gold jewelry, axe head, wheel rim - metals are found in most museum collections and may be stored or displayed indoor or outdoors depending on the object. Learn how to identify different types of metal and their alloys. Gain an understanding of how and why metals deteriorate and methods for preventing deterioration from occurring or continuing. The pros and cons of different popular treatments will be covered along with recommendations for the least damaging approach to treatment. Care of Metals provides a simplified explanation of the chemistry and structure of metals, explaining the importance of the galvanic series and electrochemistry in care strategies. Starting with an overview of the history and function of metals and how they are made, the course will cover guidelines for handling, labeling, exhibiting and storing metals. An overview of treatments, including cleaning, used on metals and how appropriate they are for the long-term preservation of the metal object will help students make care decisions when consulting with conservators.

MS 269: Visitor Motivations for Selecting Programs

March 6 to 31, 2023  

Instructor: John Veverka

Description:

A visitor-centered course on how to increase your visitor program participation numbers (attendance) in interpretive programs and experiences. John Veverka researched why visitors select and attend interpretive programs for 2 years while working as a seasonal naturalist with Ohio State Parks and completing his MS in interpretation from the Ohio State University. The results of this research was groundbreaking for program planning. Employing research results increased program attendance the following year by over 30%. This course teaches how to do your own research into what motivates your visitors. The results may help you increase your visitor numbers and their satisfaction with the experience you offered.

April 2023 Courses

MS010: Condition Assessments

April 17 to 28, 2023

Instructor: Elizabeth Burton

Description:

Whenever an object leaves or enters your museum, it should have a dated condition report completed. A condition report is so much more than "good" or "poor." Learn about different types of condition reports, what is essential and what is optional information in each, the function of a condition report, and how to use an online condition assessment tool.

MS 202: Museum Storage Facilities and Furniture

April 3 to 28, 2023 

Instructor: Laura Elliff Cruz

Description:

If you are building a new storage facility or retrofitting an old one, this course provides the blueprint for how to approach architects and engineers as well as redesigning your facility yourself. The course covers the philosophy of storage, the construction requirements, security, fire and water prevention, types of furniture, and how to plan for collections growth.

The course will start with a refresher on the agents of deterioration and environmental issues to assure that the students have a common base to begin.

After this introduction, topics include determining storage and defining space, architectural design considerations and issues such as lighting, security and planning. We will discuss general information about storage furniture types and storage materials, how to modify existing cabinets and information on homemade storage systems. The last section includes specific information from a variety of vendors, specifics on writing a Request for Proposal (RFP), and what to consider when making a decision on a furniture type and vendor.

The instructor will add readings and other information depending upon the students and their individual institutional problems and concerns.

MS 214: Collections Management Databases

April 3 to 28, 2023 

Instructor: Sarah Kapellusch

Description:

A collection database is a necessary tool for accurate and efficient collections management. In Collection Management Databases you will learn what characteristics distinguish one database system from another; how a database can be used to manage inventory, conservation, pest management, and other aspects of collections management; as well as how to prepare your collection and documentation for entry into a database.

MS 259: The Volunteer Handbook  

April 3 to May 12, 2023  

Instructor: Karin Hostetter

Description:

Volunteers should be considered unpaid staff and, like a staff handbook, a strong volunteer organization should have a volunteer handbook. This course goes beyond understanding various aspects of a volunteer program to putting the volunteer program to paper. Create an outline and some draft text for a handbook providing consistency within the volunteers as well a legal support if ever needed.

May 2023 Courses

MS 014: Education Collections

May 22 to 26, 2023

Instructor: Karin Hostetter

Description:

What do you do with collection objects that no longer belong in the scientific collection but are too good to throw out? What do you do with the donations that just don't quite 'fit?' Use them in education collections. Their value as educational objects for the public is immeasurable.

MS 211: Preservation Environments

May 1 to June 10, 2023 

Instructor: Ernest Conrad

Description:

The museum's brick exterior wall is crumbling. The powder coated metal storage shelves have active rust under the foam padding. Objects in fur storage are covered in mold. It is raining in the exhibit hall. This is the damage that occurs to museum buildings or collection when staff do not understand preservation environments. Preservation Environments is essential knowledge for any collecting institution. Everyone should understand how humidity and temperature are controlled by a building and its mechanical system. For museum staff considering a new building - and any institution planning to expand or rebuild an existing one - Preservation Environments provide important information for calculating whether the proposed improvements will actually improve the environmental control of your protective enclosure. Participants learn the advantages and disadvantages of numerous methods of temperature and humidity control. Preservation Environments does not try to turn museum professionals into engineers. Rather, it arms them with the knowledge they need to work with engineers and maintenance professionals. And helps explain why damaged occurred and how to keep it from happening again.

MS 212: Care of Textiles

May 1 to 26, 2023

Instructor: Ann Coppinger

Description:

Caring for textiles demands an understanding of how and why they deteriorate. This course offers a simplified explanation of the origin and structure of textile fibers as well as the finished textile object; be it either a piece of whole cloth or a finished garment. Care of Textiles teaches students to identify fibers, fabric structures and finishes, write condition reports, and understand the agents of deterioration that are harmful to various fabrics both in storage on exhibit. Topics include preparing textiles for storage and exhibit, the use of archival materials with textiles, and three dimensional supports.

MS 272: Exhibit Rehab - Breathing New Life Into Old Exhibits

May 1 to 26, 2023  

Instructor: John Veverka

Description:

Creating or contracting for new exhibits is often hugely expensive. But if you have a small museum, visitor center or interpretive center you may not have the budget to create new exhibits. This course on exhibit rehab will help you evaluate the effectiveness of your current exhibits and provide a strategy for breathing new life into exhibits on life support – with a small budget but lots of creativity.

Conferences and Meetings

Double check each organization's website for more information.

Your copy should address 3 key questions: Who am I writing for? (Audience) Why should they care? (Benefit) What do I want them to do here? (Call-to-Action)

Create a great offer by adding words like "free" "personalized" "complimentary" or "customized." A sense of urgency often helps readers take an action, so think about inserting phrases like "for a limited time only" or "only 7 remaining"!