Sherburne County Heritage Center Interpretive Plan Final Report 2005

Home Browse Search

For the full audience report, see Making Sense of Place, Inc. and Associates, "Sherburne County Historical Society Heritage Center Audience Study Final Report," January 25, 2005 Overall Interpretive Strategy To offer visitors who have diverse learning preferences diverse learning opportunities, the SCHS Heritage Center will use an interpretive methodology that employs a mix of interpretive experiences: outdoor and indoor exhibits that combine passive text and photo panels with interactive hands-on programming,. special events, Internet -based exhibits and programs, and a variety of other media and interpretive strategies. Although the program is designed to be primarily a self -guided experience, it will provide opportunities for demonstrations, third -person and first -person living history, and interpretive theatre. To facilitate programming and management, the Heritage Center will be divided into several visitor and interpretive zones: Outdoor Ox Cart Exhibit and Orientation, Bailey Station, Heritage Center Exhibit Gallery, Clitty Lake Overlook, Outdoor Trail, Historic Farmstead Ruins, and the Fox House. Exhibit panels in the Heritage Center and on trails should contain layered information that accommodates the different ways visitors will want to use the exhibits. Whenever possible, interactive experiences should be part of each exhibit station. Interaction can be physical, or it can consist of a well -placed question that requires thought or provokes visitors. Layered information and/or experiences should provide for the 3-30-3 (3 seconds, 30 seconds, 3 minutes) rule, and contain 1.) headlines that evoke a theme or message, 2.) summary information, and 3.) more detailed information. In most cases, text should be limited to no more than 300 words on main section panels and 150 words on sub -section panels. Text should be casual and engaging and written for a general audience. Research, Themes, and Station Experiences The interpretive themes and messages at the Heritage Center have been created from the information gathered during the Community Advisory Interpretive Planning Committee retreat. SCHS staff member Bobbie Scott wrote an annotated bibliography of the major topics and themes that emerged from the planning committee and previous SCHS planning, covering major sources and SCHS archival holdings. SCHS Executive Director Kurt Kragness and Collections Curator Luis Vasquez provided information on SCHS collections. Although the contract specifically excluded detailed historical research and documentation, Dr. Woods spent many additional hours completing directed research to understand the storylines, add detail when it was absent, analyze the material, and provide citations whenever possible. As a result of this additional work, story sections in the Interpretive Plan are longer than might be expected and contain citations. These lengthy story elements in the station sections are intended to assemble the major outlines of the story that can be used to write panel text and form the experience. They are not intended as panel text, which is part of the next phase. Much of the story information in each section can be communicated in shorter summary form or as photo captions. The objects and photos noted in the station sections are potential resources that can be used to tell the stories. Final decisions about combining text, photos, and objects will be made in the next phase after a more thorough review of photos and the results of directed collecting efforts. Sherburne County Historical Society Heritage Center Interpretive Plan, April 21, 2005, page 4