interpretation

How to Run a Reenactment - Introduction to Reenactments and Reenactors, Part 1

Author(s)
Deb Fuller 1 ✉
Publication Date
Reenactments, meaning special events that use outside costumed interpreters, are a great way for sites to engage visitors and host memorable programs that build a following. Planning and executing a reenactment can be a daunting challenge for a site that has never hosted one. Like any special event, you have to make sure you have the staffing, resources, and logistics to handle the event...

Event Review: NEMO Training Course ‘Regional Development through Heritage in Sweden’ in Östersund, Sweden

Author(s)
Annemarie Pothaar 1 ✉
Publication Date
Annemarie Pothaar was selected to attend the one day NEMO training course on 29th June 2018 in Östersund Sweden. This was facilitated by the Jamtli Foundation and the Nordic Centre of Heritage Learning and Creativity (NCK). The meeting was attended by six colleagues coming from different countries, including the Netherlands and Azerbaijan...

Public Access to (Pre-)History Through Archaeology

Author(s)
Katie Stringer Clary 1 ✉
Publication Date
Public history, like experimental archaeology, is relatively new as an accepted academic program; the two fields are intrinsically linked and should, ideally, use interdisciplinary collaboration to better educate and involve the public in their work. This paper presents case studies in education and interpretation by the author, as well as exemplary programs from various sites in the United States and Europe...

Vacation in the Past - Effective Heritage Interpretation through Education

Author(s)
RĂ©ka Vasszi 1 ✉
Publication Date
2018 EXARC in Kernave
***Heritage sites are breathing memories from the past; however, visitors can hardly imagine or experience the ancient life on the spot. In fact, these visits are supposed to conjure up journeys back into the past and park managers should facilitate such experiences by the most effective means possible in order to help tourists gain...

Event Review: Dark Ages Recreation Company at L’Anse aux Meadows, NHSC 2017

Author(s)
Neil Peterson 1 ✉,
Karen Davidson 2,
M. Burnham 2,
K. Burnham 2
Publication Date

Lying at the extreme northern tip of Newfoundland, L'Anse aux Meadows represents the only widely accepted Viking-Era presence in North America.  Archaeological remains of seven buildings were found at the site, along with a few minor artefacts including a ring-headed pin, glass bead, and drop-spindle whorl.  Evidence of on-site work was also found in the form of iron slag, discarded ship rivets, and axe-hewn wood chips.  Four of the seven buildings were reconstructed by Parks Canada.  Since 1997, these have been staffed by costumed interpreters who blend first- and third

Reconstruction of the Ancient Greek Long Jump - an Opportunity for Multidisciplinary Collaboration

Author(s)
Hannah Friedman 1 ✉,
Peter J. Miller 2
Publication Date
The Games of the XXXI Olympiad – the Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil (5 August to 21 August, 2016) – continued the long tradition of Olympic sports, which began in ancient Greece (circa 776 BCE), and were heavily modified in their re-creation by the International Olympic Committee...

A Broken Leg in the Year 1350: Treatment and Prognosis

Author(s)
Wiel van der Mark 1 ✉
Publication Date
It is the year 1350 in Gravendam (the medieval town of the archaeological open-air museum, (AOAM) Archeon, in the Netherlands). Master Roelof, a wood-and-bone processor, lies unconscious on the stone floor. Shortly before this, he had been climbing the ladder to the attic to grab a log of wood, but it slipped from under him and he ended on the floor...

Interpreting the Interpreter: is Live Historical Interpretation Theatre at National Museums and Historic Sites Theatre?

Author(s)
Ashlee Beattie 1 ✉
Publication Date
In his 2007 book, Living History Museums: Undoing History through Performance, Scott Magelssen describes the various reactions to his main line of enquiry: is historical interpretation theatre?

“You could See it [the Past] in your Mind”: What Impact might Living History Performance Have on the Historical Consciousness of Young People?

Author(s)
Ceri Jones 1 ✉
Publication Date

Combining theoretical perspectives with two case studies carried out in 2008 with British students aged from 10-17 years old, this paper will explore how living history might contribute to the development of young people’s historical consciousness and help them to cope with the social and cultural differences which confront them when learning about the past. In particular, it will focus on the effectiveness of first- and third-person interpretation.