One Unforgettable Summer: **A Baptism in Interpretation at Gettysburg National Military Park**

As this holiday weekend approaches, so does the 154th anniversary of the Battle of Gettysburg. As such, I thought I’d share how universal and impactful interpretive practices can be–whether you are interpreting a historic event, a patriotic holiday, or the outdoors–these tips can help your story resonate with your visitors.

It was the summer of 2009 and I had the chance of a lifetime – an opportunity to be an interpretive intern at Gettysburg National Military Park. As a history nerd, I knew that the four months represented an opportunity like few others to explore one of the most pivotal moments of our country’s past. Little did I know, however, that it would also introduce me to the formal practice of interpretation – led, in fact, by none other than some of the best interpreters in the world. Looking back now, I realize that so much of what I do today as an Interpretive Planner at Taylor Studios stems from lessons that I learned that summer in Pennsylvania.

Photo courtesy of Nicolas Ramond Matt and Angie were two of my “teachers” – full-time rangers who spend the first week of every summer teaching the basics of interpretation to young interns like me. We had a full week of intensive classes before we could even get out on the battlefield and interact with the visitors, learning every small detail about interpretive practice and how to captivate our audiences. Matt and Angie used props, artifacts, maps, photo aids, and the most compelling of stories to illustrate how formal interpretation can make education both fascinating and personally relevant. I was spellbound at how amazing they were at their jobs! Here are some of their lessons that I still use today:

• Tell personal stories.Interpretation must be relevant to visitors – otherwise they will not care. To many people, history can be boring. But when personal stories are involved, visitors can connect directly to men, women, and children in an intimate way that makes the content relevant to their own lives. It is too easy to always tell about the “big picture” campaigns, battles, and troop movements – but the most relevant stories are about the people

• Don’t just talk! To expand this lesson to exhibits, it could also be restated “don’t just write”! Your visitors can read a book at home. So why do they come to the park (or to the museum)? To learn through visuals, through audio, through videos, through real artifacts and props, and through being at the authentic site itself. All interpretive presentations – and all interpretive exhibits – should utilize objects, visuals, art, and media when telling stories.

• Inspire people. This is one of our biggest pride points at Taylor Studios too. Do not just tell stories. Do not just explain historical or scientific facts. Inspire people to learn larger lessons. Inspire people to want to learn more. Inspire people to take action for similar causes in their own lives. When you’re giving a tour of where Abraham Lincoln gave the Gettysburg Address, do not waste it on boring facts – instead use it to inspire visitors to keep fighting for “new births of freedom” in our modern world.

I could go on and on – the lessons that they taught me that summer are far too numerous to list here. And they were not alone in teaching me, as the entire staff of rangers and educators served as mentors, guides, and friends to us fresh-faced interns. When the summer was over, I felt such a debt of gratitude for all that I had learned.

Perhaps as a coincidence, perhaps not, I now work at Taylor Studios – an exhibit firm that prides itself on the practice of interpretation and that has even done work for Gettysburg National Military Park. I could not feel more blessed. The seeds of what I learned that summer continue to bear fruit in all of the work that I do, and I can only humbly hope to one day be as great of an interpreter as Matt, Angie, and their fellow rangers at Gettysburg!

Photo courtesy of Jared Frederick

Do you have an inspiring interpretive experience that you’d like to share on our blog? Contact our Marketing Manager, Samantha Osborne, to learn how.