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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 &quot;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&quot;. Freeman 
116        adds two concepts to this definition, first, &quot;interpretation is the 
117        revelation of a larger truth that lies behind any statement of fact&quot;; 
118        second, &quot;interpretation should capitalize mere curiosity for the 
119        enrichment of the human mind and spirit&quot;.</p>
120      <p> The Interpretive Management Associates define interpretation as &quot;the 
121        art of translating the language of nature and the voices of history into 
122        stories and experiences everyone can understand and enjoy.&quot;</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 &#8220;the way their ancestors did.&#8221;</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&#8217;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 &quot;forget your lines.&quot;</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">&nbsp; </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>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Chinese Proverb</i></td>
268        </tr>
269      </table> 
270	  <p class="largep">&nbsp; </p>
271      <p class="ctr"><a href="http://www.railswest.com/index.html" class="footer">Sharing A Heritage</a>&nbsp;&nbsp; 
272        <a href="http://www.railswest.com/history/index.html" class="footer">Railroad History</a>&nbsp;&nbsp;
273		<a href="http://www.railswest.com/technology/index.html" class="footer">Train Technology</a>&nbsp;&nbsp;
274		<a href="http://www.railswest.com/operation/index.html" class="footer">Railroad Operation</a>&nbsp;&nbsp;
275        <a href="http://www.railswest.com/time/index.html" class="footer">Railroad Time</a>&nbsp;&nbsp;
276		<a href="http://www.railswest.com/preservation/index.html" class="footer">Museums &amp; Heritage Railroads</a>&nbsp;&nbsp;
277		<a href="http://www.railswest.com/today/index.html" class="footer">Railroads Today</a></p>
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