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11 12 <title>RailsWest.com Interpreting the history of technology</title> 13 14</head> 15<body> 16<div id="sides"> 17<div id="container"> 18<div id="header"> 19 <a href="http://www.railswest.com/index.html"><img src="../images/railswestherald.gif" alt="Rails West" width="748" height="93" border="0" /></a> 20</div> 21<div id="nav"> 22 <ul id="menu"> 23 <!--First Dropdown--> 24 <li><a href="../index.html">Sharing A Heritage</a> 25 <ul class="active"> 26 <li><a href="../index.html" title="Sharing A Heritage">Sharing A Heritage</a></li> 27 <li><a href="../heritage/museumintro.html" title="Objects for Education">Objects for Education</a></li> 28 <li><a href="../heritage/interpretation.html" title="Interpreting History">Interpreting History</a></li> 29 <li><a href="../heritage/docents.html" title="Helping find the Past">Helping find the Past</a></li> 30 <li><a href="../heritage/recomreading.html" title="Recommended Reading">Recommended Reading</a></li> 31 </ul> 32 </li> 33 <!--Second Dropdown--> 34 <li><a href="../history/index.html">Railroad History</a> 35 <ul class="active"> 36 <li><a href="../history/index.html" title="Overview">Overview</a></li> 37 <li><a href="../history/pioneerrailways.html" title="Pioneer Railways">Pioneer Railways</a></li> 38 <li><a href="../history/californiabeginnings.html" title="California Beginnings">California Beginnings</a></li> 39 <li><a href="../history/pacificrailroad.html" title="Pacific Railroad">Pacific Railroad</a></li> 40 <li><a href="../history/secondtranscontinental.html" title="Race for Second Route">Race for Second Route</a></li> 41 <li><a href="../history/atsftranscontinental.html" title="ATSF Brings Competition">ATSF Brings Competition</a></li> 42 <li><a href="../history/shortlinerailways.html" title="Short Line Railways">Short Line Railways</a></li> 43 <li><a href="../history/mainlinerailways.html" title="Main Line Railroads">Main Line Railroads</a></li> 44 <li><a href="../history/citystreetrailways.html" title="City Street Railways">City Street Railways</a></li> 45 <li><a href="../history/interurbanrailways.html" title="Interurban Railways">Interurban Railways</a></li> 46 </ul> 47 </li> 48 <!--Third Dropdown--> 49 <li><a href="../technology/index.html">Train Technology</a> 50 <ul class="active"> 51 <li><a href="../technology/index.html" title="Technology Overview">Technology Overview</a></li> 52 <li><a href="../technology/steamloco.html" title="Steam Locomotives">Steam Locomotives</a></li> 53 <li><a href="../technology/dieselelectloco.html" title="Diesel Locomotives">Diesel Locomotives</a></li> 54 <li><a href="../technology/passengertrains.html" title="Passenger Trains">Passenger Trains</a></li> 55 <li><a href="../technology/pullman.html" title="Pullman Sleeping Cars">Pullman Sleeping Cars</a></li> 56 <li><a href="../technology/rpo.html" title="Railway Post Office Cars">Railway Post Offices</a></li> 57 <li><a href="../technology/freighttrains.html" title="Freight Trains">Freight Trains</a></li> 58 <li><a href="../technology/track.html" title="Track">Track</a></li> 59 <li><a href="../technology/stations.html" title="Stations">Stations</a></li> 60 </ul> 61 </li> 62 <!--Forth Dropdown--> 63 <li><a href="../operation/index.html">Railroad Operation</a> 64 <ul class="active"> 65 <li><a href="../operation/index.html" title="Overview">Overview</a></li> 66 <li><a href="../operation/timetables.html" title="Timetables">Timetables</a></li> 67 <li><a href="../operation/telegraph.html" title="Telegraph & Train Orders">Telegraph Orders</a></li> 68 <li><a href="../operation/signals.html" title="Signals">Signals</a></li> 69 <li><a href="../operation/workers.html" title="Workers">Workers</a></li> 70 </ul> 71 </li> 72 <!--Fifth Dropdown--> 73 <li><a href="../time/index.html">Railroad Time</a> 74 <ul class="active"> 75 <li><a href="../time/index.html" title="Railroad Time">Railroad Time</a></li> 76 <li><a href="../time/clocks.html" title="Railroad Clocks">Railroad Clocks</a></li> 77 <li><a href="../time/watches.html" title="Railroad Watches">Railroad Watches</a></li> 78 <li>
78<a href="../time/watchesapproved.html" title="Approved Watches">Approved Watches</a></li> 79 <li><a href="../time/watchcare.html" title="Watch Use & Care">Watch Use & Care</a></li> 80 <li><a href="../time/watchmfg.html" title="Watch Manufactures">Watch Manufactures</a></li> 81 </ul> 82 </li> 83 <!--Sixth Dropdown--> 84 <li><a href="../preservation/index.html">Preservation</a> 85 <ul class="active"> 86 <li><a href="../preservation/index.html" title="Overview">Overview</a></li> 87 <li><a href="../preservation/OERM.html" title="Orange Empire Railway Museum">Orange Empire Ry Mus</a></li> 88 <li><a href="../preservation/museumlist.html" title="Rail Museums to Visit">Rail Museums to Visit</a></li> 89 <li><a href="../preservation/heritagerailroadlist.html" title="Heritage Railroads">Heritage Railroads</a></li> 90 <li><a href="../preservation/depotlist.html" title="Depot Museums">Depot Museums</a></li> 91 </ul> 92 </li> 93 <!--Seventh Dropdown--> 94 <li><a href="../today/index.html">Railroads Today</a> 95 <ul class="active"> 96 <li><a href="../today/index.html" title="Freight Transportation">Freight Transportation</a></li> 97 <li><a href="../today/railpassengertoday.html" title="Passenger Travel">Passenger Travel</a></li> 98 <li><a href="../today/railcommutertoday.html" title="Commuter Travel">Commuter Travel</a></li> 99 </ul> 100 </li> 101 </ul> 102 </div> 103<div id="content"> 104 <h1>Interpreting the History of Technology</h1> 105 <p class="largep"><img src="../images/rb0403_0727.jpg" alt="PE Interurban Car approaches Oil Jct. Station at OERM (Richard Boehle photo)" width="380" height="276" hspace="6" vspace="6" align="right" /> 106 Museums are generally considered as engaging in five primary functions for the public's instruction 107 and enjoyment: acquisition, preservation, research, exhibition and interpretation. Interpretation 108 is considered the instructional process best suited for museums.</p> 109 <p>Interpretation is different than typical classroom education. The concept of interpretation of museum objects is similar to interpreting 110 a foreign language. Interpreters figure out what is important about an object, relate it to other objects, persons or places. They convey 111 this information in a way that is honest, understandable and relevant to the people for which they are interpreting the objects.</p> 112 <p>Interpretation, as defined by Freeman Tilden in Interpreting Our Heritage, 113 is "an educational activity which aims to reveal meanings and relationships 114 through the use of original objects, by firsthand experience, and by illustrative 115 media, rather than simply to communicate factual information". Freeman 116 adds two concepts to this definition, first, "interpretation is the 117 revelation of a larger truth that lies behind any statement of fact"; 118 second, "interpretation should capitalize mere curiosity for the 119 enrichment of the human mind and spirit".</p> 120 <p> The Interpretive Management Associates define interpretation as "the 121 art of translating the language of nature and the voices of history into 122 stories and experiences everyone can understand and enjoy."</p> 123 <p class="htnr20"> Objects Represent the Lives and Acts of People:</p> 124 <p> Tilden points out that historic buildings and places all point to representing 125 the life and acts of people. In places devoted to human history the objective 126 of interpretation is to bring to the eye and understanding of the visitor 127 real living people. Inventors created and improved the railways; engineers 128 and construction workers designed and built the railway lines, cars, etc.; 129 managers and workers made the railways function; customers traveled and 130 transported food, goods and materials on the railways; people, towns, 131 counties, states and regions benefited by the railways.</p> 132 <p> The ideal interpretation implies re-creation of the past and kinship 133 with it. Demonstration allows visitors to see and understand how the objects 134 and materials were used by people in the past. Showing historic machinery 135 in use demonstrates how it was used. Participation allows visitors to 136 physically experience use of the objects and to a varying degree experience 137 the pleasure of reverting to a period which is long gone. A carriage ride 138 from one location to another at Colonial Williamsburg, for example, provides 139 such an experience.</p> 140 <p class="htnr20"> Means of Interpretation:</p> 141 <p> <a href="docents.html">Docents and exhibit hosts</a> are interpretive guides and translators. 142 The goal of docents and exhibit hosts is create understanding of the purposes, functions and 143 contributions of the rail transportation industry by revealing meanings and relationships, and
144 by relating the objects to the people who depended on them in the context of history. As a result, 145 interpretation aims to encourage visitors to learn more about the railways and to have a greater 146 appreciation for them.</p> 147 <p> The means of interpretation include:</p> 148 <ul> 149 <li> Use of original objects, including the railway cars, locomotives, 150 buildings, track, documents and other artifacts allows visitors to see 151 first hand what our ancestors created and used.</li> 152 <li> Use first hand experiences, such as encouraging the visitors to see 153 and compare railway cars, to look at a row of cars through a caboose 154 cupola window, to step inside a Pullman sleeping car, watch track being 155 laid, watch a steam locomotive move, ride aboard a streetcar between 156 different parts of the museum, riding to town on a train allows visitors 157 to experience rail transportation “the way their ancestors did.”</li> 158 <li> Use of illustrative media, including labels, maps, charts, photographs 159 and stories help put the objects and experiences into correct contexts.</li> 160 </ul> 161 <p class="htnr20"> Principles Upon Which the Interpretative Process is Based</p> 162 <p> Tilden identifies six principles upon which the interpretive process 163 is based:</p> 164 <ol> 165 <li> Any interpretation that does not somehow relate what is being displayed 166 or described to something within the personality or experience of the 167 visitor will be sterile. Convey understanding to a visitor by relating 168 the information to their own experiences. For example, people can relate 169 to constructing a railroad by hand through their own prior experiences 170 such as digging ditches, etc.</li> 171 <li> Information, as such, is not Interpretation. Interpretation is revelation 172 based upon information. But they are entirely different things. However, 173 all interpretation includes information. Encourage visitors to discover 174 information for themselves, including meanings and relationships, based 175 on basic information. Many steam locomotives burned coal to boil water 176 and create the steam needed to operate. What would it have been like 177 to spend five to ten hours using a shovel to shovel heavy coal into 178 a locomotive firebox?</li> 179 <li> Interpretation is an art, which combines many arts, whether the materials 180 presented are scientific, historical or architectural. Any art is in 181 some degree teachable. Interpretation is a skill that can be learned 182 through study and practice that can be used to reach a person’s 183 emotions. Techniques can be developed, such as bringing to life the 184 railway workers and passengers through their stories and use of the 185 objects they used to humanize the history of the railways.</li> 186 <li> The chief aim of Interpretation is not instruction, but provocation. 187 As there is no way an exhibit host or docent can teach a visitor everything 188 there is to know about a subject, the primary aim of an interpreter 189 is to help, to create curiosity and encourage visitors to learn more 190 for themselves. For example, horse cars, exhibited next to the electric 191 railway vehicles which replaced them, have some obvious limitations. 192 Visitors can be encouraged to think of some of the limitations that 193 led to the development of the electric streetcars.</li> 194 <li> Interpretation should aim to present a whole rather than a part, 195 and must address itself to the whole man rather than any phase. Railway 196 artifacts individually are only a part of a much bigger system. Likewise, 197 the railways did not exist in a vacuum, they were a part of society 198 as a whole. Interpretation should, for example, aim to use the artifacts 199 to illustrate the overall picture of a railway or group of similar railways, 200 and how the artifacts relate to the eras in which they were used.<
200/li> 201 <li> Interpretation addressed to children (say up to the age of twelve) 202 should not be a dilution of the presentation to adults, but should follow 203 a fundamentally different approach. To be at its best it will require 204 a separate program. To be effective for children, interpretation needs 205 to consider the personal experiences children have had, their maturity, 206 their interest. Children like to be involved and to learn by doing. 207 If they were living in the 1880s, and their parents didn't own a horse 208 or carriage, how would they get around? How might the horse cars have 209 helped them? How would the introduction of the electric cars, or the 210 trains stopping at their town made a difference to their lives?</li> 211 </ol> 212 <p class="htnr20"> Do's and Don'ts of Interpretation</p> 213 <p> Interpretation of historic cars, locomotives and buildings is often 214 ruined if interpreters ignore certain basic do's and don'ts, such as these, 215 which are taken from Interpretation of Historic Sites, by William T. Alderson 216 and Shirley Payne Low. (1985, American Association for State and Local 217 History, Nashville, TN).</p> 218 <ol> 219 <li> Make your talk short and to the point. If you must err, do it by 220 saying too little rather than too much.</li> 221 <li> Change your interpretation a bit each time you speak to visitors. 222 If you memorize what you are going to say, like the salesman at the 223 door who has to start all over again if he is interrupted, you may be 224 painfully embarrassed if you "forget your lines."</li> 225 <li> If you make a mistake, say so and laugh it off. Visitors identify 226 with the human qualities of an interpreter who is not infallible. Besides, 227 the heavens won't fall.</li> 228 <li> Speak confidently, but never with an attitude of superiority. If 229 you are nervous speaking before the group, remember that you probably 230 know more about the subject than they do. After all, you have access 231 to information that they don't have.</li> 232 <li> Don't preach: leave that to the pulpit. Say what you have to say 233 as well as you can and hope for the best.</li> 234 <li> Keep some information for questions, rather than immediately telling 235 all you know. Visitors like to ask questions and are often likely to 236 come up with good ones.</li> 237 <li> Speak in a natural, informal way, never in a singsong. Try to give 238 the impression that you just happened to think of a particular point 239 that visitors might enjoy hearing about it.</li> 240 <li> Leave yourself and your personal opinions on controversial subjects 241 out of your interpretation. Visitors did not come to hear about you, 242 but about the site [Museum.]</li> 243 <li> If visitors appear bored or indifferent, do evaluate what you are 244 saying and how you are saying it. Cut it short and bring in a few of 245 the most interesting points you've reserved for such occasions.</li> 246 <li> Remember that you are the historic site [Museum], so far as visitors 247 are concerned -- the front line. You can make or break visitors' interest 248 in the site [Museum] and in what it has to say to the modern world.</li> 249 <li> When interpreting for a foreign group, speak slowly and distinctly, 250 resisting the impulse to speak louder than usual.</li> 251 <li> Give foreign groups extra time to ask the questions that will help 252 overcome language and cultural barriers.</li> 253 <li> Try to link the culture of your site to that of foreign visitors, 254 if possible.</li> 255 </ol> 256 <p> One additional point needs to be included. Often visitors will comment or ask about other rail 257 transportation <a href="../preservation/museumlist.html">museums</a> in the area, <a href="../preservation/heritagerailroadlist.html">heritage railroads</a> or the <a href="../today/index.html">railroads</a> themselves. OERM and almost all other museums 258 maintains a friendly relationship with each other and with the railroads, working together to 259 find better ways to <a href="museumintro.html">preserve, research and interpret</a> the history 260 of rail transportation throughout the region. Each of these museums offer different learning 261 experiences for visitors.</p> 262 <p>For more information about about museums, education and interpretation: <a href="recomreading.html">recommended reading</a> </p> 263 <p class="smallp"> </p> 264 <table width="690" border="0" align="center" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="1"> 265 <tr> 266 <td><strong class="largep">Tell me and I'll forget, show me and I may remember, involve me and I'll understand.</strong><br /> 267 <i> Chinese Proverb</i></td> 268 </tr> 269 </table> 270 <p class="largep"> </p> 271 <p class="ctr"><a href="http://www.railswest.com/index.html" class="footer">Sharing A Heritage</a> 272 <a href="http://www.railswest.com/history/index.html" class="footer">Railroad History</a> 273 <a href="http://www.railswest.com/technology/index.html" class="footer">Train Technology</a> 274 <a href="http://www.railswest.com/operation/index.html" class="footer">Railroad Operation</a> 275 <a href="http://www.railswest.com/time/index.html" class="footer">Railroad Time</a> 276 <a href="http://www.railswest.com/preservation/index.html" class="footer">Museums & Heritage Railroads</a> 277 <a href="http://www.railswest.com/today/index.html" class="footer">Railroads Today</a></p> 278 <table width="100%" border="0"> 279 <tr> 280 <td><a href="http://www.digitalnetexpress.com" target="_blank"><img src="../images/dnelogo150.gif" alt="DigitalNetExpress.com" width="150" height="24" hspace="1" vspace="6" border="0" align="right" /></a> 281 <span class="smallp"> 282
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296 297 Photo and text by Richard Boehle<br /> 298 Entire web site copyright 2002-2013, DigitalNetExpress.com, Burbank, California.</span></td> 299 </tr> 300</table> 301</div> 302</div> 303</div> 304<div id="bottom"> </div> 305</body> 306</html>
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