RE

381 fall 2015

FINAL EXAM

(100 pt. value)

Both Parts due on Tuesday, Dec. 8 during the Final Exam Period. Embed both Part 1 & 2 in your on-line
portfolio. Submit your on-line portfolio link during the exam period.
Part 2: Written Final (75 pts)
1. Draw/explain the interpretive necklace. Identify each part and explain how it is related to the other
pieces. (6)

The clasp is the hook which is a statement to get your audience involved then the introduction is the
first bead. The next three beads are sub- themes and the last bead is the conclusion. The other half of the
clasp is the concluding statement which ties back to the theme. The chain represents each transition between
all the components of the necklace.
2. Provide two examples of how you can make sure your interpretive program is content accurate. (2)

I can make sure that my interpretive program is content accurate by thoroughly researching my topic
and that I know more details than I have time to include in my presentation. I would also make sure that my
interpretive components are aligned with and dont over shadow my informative elements.
3. Choose one of the following topics and write a theme statement for a potential interpretive talk (Landmark
Hotel, ore dock, iron ore, maple trees, pasties, Bishop Baraga, Lake Superior, George Shiras III, peregrine falcon).
(2)

After hearing my program, I want my audience to understand the magnitude of Lake Superior compared to the
other Great Lakes.
4. Identify a current job announcement for an interpretive position. Explain how you are qualified for this job and
explain what you will need to do to meet the qualifications you do not possess. (5)

I would like to be an interpretive programs assistant at the Brookfield Zoo in Chicago, IL. I will be engaging
guests and providing informative and innovative education to increase guests appreciation of animals and nature while
providing an excellent guest experience. The primary focus would be to connect guests with wildlife and nature through
close-up animal encounters and presentations. I have to have a minimum of two years of college required, with
coursework in life sciences preferred or an equivalent combination of training and/or work experience in an informal
education setting, ideally at a zoo, aquarium, or nature center providing quality interpretive experiences. Demonstrated
strong interpersonal and communication skills. Must be comfortable speaking in front of the public and using a
microphone. I will have to know/ work with variety of invertebrates, including, arachnids, crustaceans, and insects, as
well as reptiles, amphibians, fish and a variety of domestic and exotic animals.
I posses interpretive skills based on this class as well as two years of college. I would need to either take courses in life
science or work at a place that has animals that I would be interpreting.

Chicago Zoological Society - Job details. (n.d.). Retrieved December 8, 2015, from
https://sjobs.brassring.com/TGWebHost/jobdetails.aspx?jobId=287821&partnerid=25814&siteid=5163
&codes=1-INDEED

5. Explain what the National Association for Interpretation is and what becoming a Certified Interpretive Guide
entails. Explain how the NAI can be a resource for you as a professional interpreter. (4)

The National Association for Interpretation is dedicated to advancing the profession of heritage interpretation
that is not-for-profit professional organization. They currently have about 5, 000 members in the United States and
Canada. Individual members are those who work at zoos, parks, museums, botanical gardens, nature centers, historical
and cultural sites, themes parks, and aquariums. Those who provide services to the heritage interpretation industry are
commercial and institutional members. The Certified Interpretive Guide course is 32 hours, which includes history,
definition, and principles of interpretation. Also making your programs purposeful, enjoyable, relevant, organized, and
thematic. It will use tangible objects to connect audiences to intangible ideas and universal concepts in interpretive
programs. The course will also come with presentation and communication skills as well as a certification, which
requires a 50-question literature review; program outline; 10-minute presentation. It comes with all materials,
workbook, and CIG course textbook. The NAI can be my resource for future interpretation techniques.

National Association for Interpretation. (n.d.). Retrieved December 8, 2015, from http://www.interpnet.com/
6. Audiences who attend Interpretation programs are non-captive.
a. With that in mind, what are four different motivations an audience member might have for attending
your program? (2)


Four different motivations an audience member might have for attending my program would be
interest, fun (leisure), personal growth, and achievement.
b. Knowing these motivations, what will you do to keep this person engaged during your program? (1)


I will have my audience/ participants engage in my program by asking questions, the audience is placed
in a new state of mind using techniques that uses all five of their senses.
7. Choose one of the following resource examples and explain how you would help your visitor relate to the
resource. (2)
i. Natural environment resource: geology



I can have my visitor feel the rock and having many different activities, which would help the
audience understand the formation of the rock.
ii. Historical /Cultural resource: mining industry
8. Select one object you can see in your current location and complete the following: PlayStation 4
a. Provide a list of 3 tangibles, 3 intangibles, and 2 universal concepts for the object you selected (4)

The three tangibles would be controller, cord, and battery. Three intangibles would be fun, competitive, and
relaxing. Two universal concepts would be Leisure and Technology.
b. Provide an example of how you can help your audience relate to one of your universal concepts. Be
specific. (2)

I can have them play on my PlayStation 4 to give them a personal connection between leisure and the
PlayStation 4.
9. Demonstrate your understanding of each of Freeman Tildens 6 principles by stating the principle and then
providing an example of that principle in an interpretive program. You may phrase this answer as either an
example you have seen or a way that you would integrate it into a program. (3 points for each principle. Total
points for question#10 is 18pts.)

1. Interpretation that does not somehow relate what is being displayed or described to something within the
personality or experience of the visitor will be sterile. Interpretation should be personal to the audience.

An example would be when Loren gave her interpretive characterization talk about the 1980 U.S.
Olympic Hockey Team and I related to the hockey position that I was assigned as an audience member. I was
supposed to represent Jim Craig, the goalie.
2. Information, as such, is not interpretation. Interpretation is revelation based upon information.
Successful interpretation must do more than present facts.
Not only did I give the components of a lure but also demonstrated how the lure works by the jigging
method which connected my audience through observation of a demonstration rather than strictly facts.
3. Interpretation is an art, which combines many arts. Any art is in some degree teachable.
Gabes personification represented a good performance because he was a fish in Lake Superior and
emerged from the water and acted like a beached lake trout.
4. The chief aim of interpretation is not instruction, but provocation. Interpretation should stimulate people
into a form of action.
Remi and Haleys Guided Walk and Tour in the Landmark Inn piqued my interest in the Lilac Room in
the hotel enough to want to stay in it for a night someday.
5. Interpretation should aim to present a whole rather than a part. Interpretation is conceptual and should
explain the relationships between things.
I was engaged in Justin Os Characterization when he was William Austin Burt because he had us
involved in physical person because of artifacts and engaged us mentally through guided imagery and story
telling. I felt motivated to learn more about navigating.
6. Interpretation addressed to children should not be a dilution of the presentation to adults, but should
follow a fundamentally different approach. Different age groups have different needs and require
different interpretive programs.
.
For kids, I would do coloring pages based on the lures rather than passing the actual lures around like I
did with college students. I would still be sure to identify each part of the lure with both groups.
10. You have been assigned the responsibility of explaining interpretation to the RE 191 Professional
Development Seminar class. In a maximum of 4 sentences explain what interpretation is to this group
(2)
Interpretation is the act of relating someone to a resource by giving them information about it and
supplementing that information with interactive activities. Using a variety of techniques interpretation relates
the audience to a resource mentally, physically, and emotionally. Interpretation helps the audience form a bond
with the resource and care about it beyond just the informational qualities.
11. Explain how each of the following must be taken into consideration when designing an interpretive
program: Agency, Visitor, Resource, and Interpreter. (4)
You should cater your program to the agency mission statement and be sure to uphold their values
within your presentation content. Customize your interpretive techniques to your visitor demographics and
learning level. You want to consider the fragility and cultural significance as well as type of resource your are
interpreting. The interpreter should be aware of his or her own performance, skills, relationship to the audience
as well as any bias they may hold for or against the resource.
12. Describe how to create an interpretive program using the Interpretive Equation: (Ka + Kr) x AT = IO
(3)
The combination of the knowledge of my audience (KA) and the knowledge of my resource (Kr) helps
determine what might be an appropriate interpretive technique (AT) to use during a presentation. Considering
all of these components and their affect on each other will create a productive interpretive opportunity (IO).
a. Include in your answer what each acronym stands for. (2)

13. Using a ven diagram, show how an interpretive talk, guided walk & tour, and
characterization/personification are similar and different. (6)

Guided walk and tour

Covers multiple places

Characterization
Use Characterization
in your guided walk
and tour

The Interpreter becomes a

part of the resource (First
person narrative)

Interpretive
Interpreter is
in the third
person

Limited to one
main resource

Interpretive talk
A third person explanation of a
singular process, event or
object.

14. Create a timeline which includes:

a. At least three people who have contributed to the development of interpretation, explaining who
they are and how they have contributed to the development of the profession. (6)
Enos Mills was born April 22
In Linn County, Kansas
He is best known for being the
Father of Rocky Mountain
National Park after struggling
To educate the public and
Congress of the Importance of
Setting aside large land areas for
Preservation of scenery and
The wild life inhabitants. Was an
Author, photographer, nature guide,
Lecturer, and adventurer.

1838 1870 1883

John Muir was born
On April 21 in Dunbar, Scotland
Was Americas most famous and
Influential naturalist and conservationist
Founder of the Sierra Club

Freeman Tilden was born

On August 22 in Malden, MA
Was one of the first people to
Set down the principles and
Theories of Heritage Interpretation

b. Significant events, developments, and/or organizations that have contributed to the development
of interpretation as a professional field. (4)
Muir took a trip
Mills begins writing
To Mt. Rainer to
Articles on Estes Park
Tildens book The
Become the editor and
For other newspapers
National Parks is
Contributor of Picturesque
published
California, two volumes

1888

1892

Muir founded the

Sierra Club.

1897

1902

Mills first major magazine

Article published in
Outdoor Life

1951

1961

Tildens book about the

National Parks got published and
Was called The National Parks: What
They Mean to You and Me