Merry Christmas update

Hi folks,

Just a quick update. The e-courses are now up an running - links to them are posted at my web site: www.heritageinterp.com, and the new Interpretive Training Handbook is in final production and should be out early next year. Hope you all have a great holiday. Chat with you next year. jv

December Update - New Book

My newest book "The Interpretive Trainers Handbook" is in final production and should be out shortly. We are also working an a new exciting project for interpretive training - e-interp - a new web-based interpretive training course program in association with cpd4education - a UK based internet training provider. These courses will be offered and available world-wide. Our first two internet courses will be "An Introduction to Interpretive Communication" and "Planning Interpretive Panels". When these two courses are officially "activated" I will post a link to access them. They will be fee-based training and offer a certificate of completion. In all, about 10 new courses are planned between now and 2013. Two courses in the planning and development stages are "Planning Interpretive Exhibits" and "Developing Marketing Brochures for Heritage Sites and Attractions" that should be available early next year. So it looks like 2012 should be a busy year. More new projects on the horizon for 2012 as well. Cheers - jv

New JV Interpretive Books

Hi folks, I am pleased to announce that my new two-volume text-book set on Interpretive Master Plannning has been officially released. You can find out more about the books or order a set at: http://museumsetc.com/products/interpretation

Right now just finishing up some projects. We completed the St. Clair Light Station Interpretive Plan and are finishing up some some others too. My second new book on "Teaching Interpretation to Others" - a train the trainers book, is now in production. More on that later.

Happy November -
John V.

Slovenia Habit-Change Workshop

Back from the Habit-Change workshop in Slovenia. They had representatives from many different EU National Parks and agencies. There is a group photo of the workshop participants. I had a chance for the National Park folks to take me on a quick tour of some of the outstanding sights of Triglav National Park in Slovenia. We did some interpretive sign crituques as well. All-in-all a great trip and I had the chance to meet some wonderful people.

Sweden Trip

Hi folks. Just returned from my Sweden workshop with the Sweden National Property Board. We had a great workshop on using interpretation and interpretive planning for the interpretation of their historic buildings and landscapes nationally. Here is a pic from the workshop, attended by managers and staff from their marketing and communications divisions (bottom photo).

I also had a chance to meet over an extended lunch with staff from the Swedish Centre for Nature Interpretation (top photo) to talk about their work in developing interpretation skills and research projects. You can visit their website at http://www.scni.se/. Today is Friday, and I am off to Slovenia for the Climate Change workshop with EU National Park participants. More about that next week. Cheers, John Veverka

Off to Sweden and updates

It's been mostly a quiet few weeks of writing reports and a new article on useing mass customization in interpretive planning - posted at my web site. My new interpretive master planning two-volume text book set should be out this month too - anxious to see them with all the updates.

From the 26th - 29th of Sep. I will be in Sweden, then the following week in Slovenia. Will do some posts from both locations. The Fort Gratiot Light Station project in Port Huron, MI (photo of the Light Station) is almost competed with the final draft sent off for reveiw. So that's about it for now. More at the end of September. - John Veverka

National Property Board - Sweden

It looks like it will be an interesting autumn. I've been invited to present a seminar on interpretation to the National Property Board of Sweden. They're responsible for the palaces, royal parks, embassies, wild nature and historical buildings in Sweden. I will be doing the seminar for them at the end of September. You can visit their web site at: www.sfv.se/cms/english.html.

Lakeshore Museum Center Training

We completed our 3-day workshop with the Lakeshore Museum Staff/interpreters and what a great group. At the end of the workshop the final presentations included staff trying their hand at 2nd and 1st person historical interpretation - and did they excell. With an average score of 95% on the course post test, and outstanding presentations, the staff at the Lakeshore Museum diserve a standing ovation. Here are some photos - including a depression era housewife talking about the challenging times of the depression, and meeting a "hobo" who talked about losing his job and being on the searh for work while his family stayed with relatives - and outstanding presentation.

UK Association for Heritage Interpretation Annual Conference

I am honored to have been asked to provide a keynote presentation at the upcoming Association for Heritage Interpretation annual conference to be held in Huby (near York, UK) from 19-21 October 2011. The theme for the conference is "Interpretation - A survival guide" - My presentation will look at ways heritage sites can generate more new and repeat visitation using innovative interpretive planning and marketing strategies. Working smarter, not harder.
For more information on the conference and AHI, visit their web site at http://www.ahi.org.uk/. Hope you can make it - should be an important conference.

Habit-Change Workshop in Slovenia

I have been invited to present several workshop sessions for the Habit-Change workshop in October to be held at Triglav National Park in Slovenia. My sessions will focus on developing climate change exhibits for National Park exhibitions. Habit-Change is an international organization dedicated to the adaptation of management in protected areas related to climate change issues. You can visit Habit-Change at: www.habit-change.eu.

Lakeshore Museum Center, Michigan

Lakeshore Museum Center, Muskegon, Michigan. JVA will be providing a three day interpretive training program and "secret visitor" tour and critique of the Lakeshore Museum Center's facilities and programs. The interpretive training will focus on the basics of planning and delivery of professional interpretive tour presentations based on Tilden's Interpretive Principles and developing interpretive themes and tour objectives. You can visit the museum's web site at: http://www.muskegonmuseum.org/. The training course will be conducted August 14th - 17th, 2011.

Henry Ford Estate Interpretation

Here's an interesting and important new heritage project. I have been asked to provide interpretive planning consultation for the Henry Ford Estate. Ownership of the estate has been transferred from the Univ. of Michigan to the same folks that manage the Edsel & Eleanor Ford House (Grosse Pointe Shores, Michigan). They are looking for innovative ways to "reinterpret" the estate.

New technologies for interpretation

We are looking at the use of QR Codes for self-guiding interpretation options. Here is the QR Code for my website. These codes can be scanned with a smart phone with a bar code/QR code reader, and be directed to client videos, web sites, articles, or anything else. I am looking at using these for some up coming projects. Lots of new projects on the horizon, just waiting for the official notices to proceed to post them. Enjoy July... JV

EWI New Project

JVA was awarded a contract to provide interpretive services for Exhibit Works for a project for one of their commercial clients. Our work will include: Interpretive Exhibit Label Copy, Developing a Docent Training Program and Interpretive Tour Guide Book, conduct a "Train the Trainers" program, and conduct exhibit pre-testing evaluation. You can visit this client at: http://www.ewiworldwide.com/specialties/exhibit-works/index.aspx

COE Training Course June 2011

Our introductory interpretive training course included lots of hands on interpretive projects and experiences. The photos show teams working on interpretive panel designs for the Wheeler National Wildlife Reserve (our field trip host), and one of the creative interpretive panels on forest management (Who Cut One?)created by another team project. This introductory course will be offered again at least twice next year. Contat me if you're interested in having interpretive training for your organization. jvainterp@aol.com
Cheers, jv

Corps of Engineers Interp. Training

Hi Folks,
This past week was spent working the draft interpretive plan for the Brown Family Environmental Center in Ohio and preparing proposals for some new summer projects.
Sunday I'm off to Alabama for the Corps of Engineers 4-day Interpretive Services Course. The photo is from the earlier IS course this year - our field trip and planning practicum at the Wheeler NWF. My new books should be out this month too.
Enjoy summer!
JV

Korean National Arboretum Project

JVA, working with Dr. Ju-Hee Lee of Daegu University (Korea), will begin working on a new projet for the Korean National Arboretum, developing an interpretive training program/exibit planning training program, for Arboretum Staff. I will be working on a strategy for training people who want to be an expert on Interpretive Education and Exhibit Planning in Arboretum settings. I am also charged with developing the curricula for the training program as well as lesson plans, teaching aides and related materials, all of which will be translated into Korean. I just finished my new book "An Interpretive Trainers Handbook" which will be incorporated into the training program.
I will post more on this project as we develop it further.
jv

COE Advanced Interp. Training Course

We are just finishing up our 2011 Army Corps of Engineers Advanced Interpretive Training Course in St. Louis, MO. This was a 5 day interpretation course that included having the participants do a critique of exhibits at the National Great Rivers Museum and Lock & Dam, on the Mississippi River. Here are some pics of the participants. The exhibits were generally very good, but the group had some excellent ideas for exhibit updating, and reinforcing the interpretive theme.

Bonnet Carrie Spillway

Just saw the news that the levy at the Bonnet Carrie Spillway was opened to help releive water pressure on the Misissippi. We did the interpretive plan for the BC spillway, including auto tours in the basin, and many different interpretive kiosks and panels there too. Fountinately the interpretive media haven't been fabricated yet or all our work would be "underwater" now. Here is a pic of the BC spillway opening to allow the water flow into the basin (bottom photo). In the top photo, everything to the right of the spillway is now underwater!

Back from Panama

Our Panama trip is over and back home again. Had a great time going through part of the Panama Canal, visiting rain fortest habitats, and visiting Indian villages. I did spend time looking at and photographing different interpretive panels and exhibits, and went on some museum tours. Here are some pics from the trip:
- A Kuna Indian marketplace, they make famous mola embroidery.
- Judi getting a "tatoo" from a Embera Indian woman during a visit to their village.
- Embera village dance performance.
- On a tour boat going through several locks in the Panama Canal.

Books to be out this summer.

Hi folks,
Just got the covers for my two new books. One is the revised/updated version of my original Master Planning text book, and the other a collection of about 20 articles on various aspects of interpretation. They will be out sometime this summer.
Off to Panama tomorrow.
Cheers,
JV

Panama Coming Up.

Looking forward to a get-a-way to Panama for a short 8 day trip. We are looking forward to visiting the canal - of course - as well as interpretive centers and other cultural heritage experiences. We'll be gone from the 13th - 20th of April.

JVA and Heritage Destination Consulting, our UK partner will have some other exciting news to post too in the upcoming weeks. Still lots of work on the desk to wrap up before the 13th. All-in-all, 2011 looks to be a busy year.

New Book Deal in the Works

This is exciting news. My current text book "Interpretive Master Planning" which was published by Acorn Naturalists, just went "out of print", as Acorn wanted to get out of the publishing business. I have been looking for a new publisher, and as chance would have it, found a great one. MuseumEtc - (http://museumsetc.com/) located in Edinburgh, Scotland is going to publish the new "revised edition"of my book. The revised edition has several changes in it including new photographs and planning examples. In addition, I have many articles I have written on interpretation that they are interested in publishing as well, including some of my Interpretive Graphic Standards documents, and new concepts for interpretive planning. So we are looking at a two volume set:

Volume 1: Interpretive Master Planning - Strategies for the New Millennium.
Volume 2: Interpretive Master Planning - Interpretive Philosophy, Theory and Practice Updates

We are working on the details now and may have the two volumes available by mid summer 2011. Details will be posted at my web site: www.heritageinterp.com.

Check out the MuseumEtc. web site for their current book selections.

That's it for now. Still waiting for Spring.
JV

Brown Family Env. Center Project Begins

Hi folks,

It has been a busy past few weeks. The interpretive plan for the American Chestnut Land Trust has been completed and I am moving on to other projects, including starting work on the Brown Family Environmental Center interpretive plan. Spent several days on site walking trails, and enjoying the 70 degree weather. Hope to have a draft done for them this coming week. Also working on finishing up work for the Susquehanna Greenway and the Landscape Museum project in GA. So one down and many to go. Here are some pics of the Brown Family Environmental Center in Ohio from last weeks field trip: their EE Center facility and office (bottom photo), and a view from one of their excellent trails where we are looking at doing a viewing area to interpret their local watershed system and ecology (top photo). You can visit their web site at: http://bfec.kenyon.edu/welcomeset1.htm

March Updates

Hi Folks,

Thought it was time for an update. The photo is from my April Army Corps of Engineers Interpretive Services Course - a 4-day course. In the photo, they are at our field trip site working on developing interpretive panels as part of an interpretive trail plan. A repeat of this course is scheduled for June, with a 4-day advanced interpretation course set for May.

What else is new:

* Working on the COE Atchafalaya Basin – Indian Bayou Area Interpretive Plan . A draft plan copy went out to the client last week.
* Finishing up the Interpretive Plan for the American Chestnut Land Trust - that plan will go out on Monday.
* Finishing up work for for Susquehanna River Corridor project - self-guiding auto tour booklet and pod-cast audio edits from interviews. That will go out next week too.
* Preparing for a project start up with the Brown EE Center, in Ohio - that starts in two weeks after some "snow delays" for the origingal trip last month.
* Sent draft interpretive objectives and theme for the Ft. Gartiot Lighthouse Interpretive project - that project is moving along.
* Getting ready for a trip to Panama in April.

So you can see why I haven't had time to blog too much lately. I am ready for spring - how about you?

Cheers,
JV

Fort Gratiot Lighthouse Project

Yesterday we began our Fort Gratiot Lighthouse interpretive planning project with a site visit and tour of the several buildings in the complex, and of course, the lighthouse itself. Other buildings on site include the keeper's houses, foghorn building and coast guard crew quarters. All the buildings and grounds were just recently transfered from Coast Guard ownership over to St. Clair County Parks. The Coast Guard built a new complex and headquarters next door to this site. Yesterday we also did a public meeting to get development ideas and interpretive needs and subjects from the community.
As you can see from the photo, this is a cold, cold, cold place in winter. I was totally impressed with the wealth of heritage sites/museums in Port Huron, MI, the location of the Fort Gratiot Light. Some serious Heritage Interpretation and Tourism when everything is fully developed and connected.

Interpretive Training Updates

Hi folks,

We just finished the first of two Interpretive Services Courses for the US Army
Corps of Engineers Rangers/Intepreters, here in Huntsville, AL. These are 4 day courses and we award 1.9 CEU credits for the participants. We will be repeating this course on Monday and complete this batch of training on Feb. 3rd. The course will be presented again in June.

JVA was also just awarded the contract to present the Advanced Interpretation Course, for COE Managers, Supervisors and Team Leaders. This course will be held in May in St. Louis, MO.

When I return to Michigan at the end of the week I only have a few days at home as Monhday I am off to Port Huron, MI to start the Interpretive Plan for our Lighthouse projet. It's good to be busy.

The photos are my class at the Wheeler National Wildlife Refuge - our field trip site -where they are working on developing interpretive panels for several different trails there.

For more information on these projects you can check my web site: http://www.heritageinterp.com.

Getting Ready for 2011.

Hi folks, Happy New Year. It looks like 2011 will be a busy one for JVA. We start two new projects this month noted in recent blogs. In addition, we have two training courses for the Corps of Engineers to teach at the end of January as well. We completed the Interpretive Plan for the NPS Abraham Lincoln Birthplace NHS, and the Civil War Lanadscape Museum Project in Georgia in November/December 2010. It's cold with snow here in Michigan today, so I thought a Spring scene from the Snowdonia NP Training Center in Wales would warm things up. I will be back there in May for the start of our 2011 UK training courses. Hope you all have a great New Year. jv