Slides from a workshop presented at the Museums Australia National Conference in Adelaide, September 2012, on behalf of Interpretation Australia

1. Regan Forrest and
Katherine Sutcliffe
Interpretation Australia

2. Today’s Workshop

• Shock and ORE
• Themes
• Practicing storytelling for your site

3. Shock!

Don’t think!
List five objects from your collection

4. ORE

• Organised
• Relevant
• Engaging

5. When good museums go bad


6. Relevant?


7. Organised


8. Organised?


9. 

10. TORE, T=Theme

• Sam Ham
• Building blocks to good storytelling and
effective engagement

11. Themes

If you only remember one thing about Tilden,
know this:
Information is not Interpretation

15. Themes are:

• Full ideas
• Complete sentences
• The ‘main message’ or ‘take home message’
• The point of the exhibit/presentation

17. Themes

• help you work out what to say
• help you work out what not to say

18. 
Public access rights to Britain’s open spaces were
eventually won following long-standing disputes
between landowners and ramblers which came to a
head with the landmark mass trespass protest on
Kinder Scout in 1932

19. 
Our right to roam was once a fight to roam – and the
most famous battle took place right here on Kinder
Scout
Source: TellTale Interpretation, UK

20. Why say it when you can show it?


21. Objects and words together


22. Now, you try


23. Interpretive Planning:
Finding your way

 A map
 where you are now (current experiences, strengths and weaknesses)
 An inventory
 what you have (people, places, collections)
 A destination
 where you want to be (intended audience, visitor experience)
 A compass
 how you’re going to get there (media selection, implementation plan)
 Signposts
 evaluation, maintenance and ongoing review
 Extra resources through
http://interpretationaustralia.asn.au/resources/sample-documents