Resource of Module 101

The Idea Box: Optional Activities for Training Sessions or Self-

Development--Linking Tangible Resources and Intangible Meanings

--Break into groups and take a tangible item and link as many intangibles as
possible (items may include office supplies, household goods, clothing,
natural/cultural items from a park, etc).

--Use video clips of Schindler’s List to demonstrate the linking of tangible items
to their intangible meanings (segment shows Schindler looking at scene of
destruction during the holocaust…everything is in black and white. He sees a
little girl in a red coat. Camera follows her into a building, where she hides
under a bed. Next clip comes from later in the film, while Schindler is at a
concentration camp, and he sees a wagon of corpses, and the red coat is amongst
the piles.)

--Use video clip of Dead Poet’s Society to demonstrate link of tangibles to

intangibles. Robin Williams’s character takes students out into entry hall,
looking at trophy case. As students look at a trophy, teacher whispers a word in
each student’s ear.

--Use Titanic to demonstrate link of tangible to intangible. Shipwreck is the

tangible, and the love story, which humanizes the desperate tale, is the
intangible.

--Develop a Handout to explain Module101 principles

--Demonstrate an interpretive program which contains excellent examples of

tangibles, intangibles and universal concepts. Program can be delivered either
live or on video

--One-on-one interview: Each person pairs up with another student, and they
have a discussion, which they will use to make a presentation to the class.
Everyone is asked to share something that has special meaning to him or her.
Instructor writes the object and the meaning on a flipchart, and uses this
information to illustrate tangible/intangible links.

--Instead of presenting a strong conclusion for the session, have students in

groups develop and share their own conclusions which should demonstrate their
understanding of how all Park employees contribute to the process of
interpretation.

--Use these two definitions of interpretation:

TWO DEFINITIONS OF INTERPRETATION:

"The act or result of interpreting; explanation, meaning, translation,

exposition, etc. The expression of a person's conception of a work of art,
subject, etc. through acting, playing, writing, criticizing, etc."

Webster's Dictionary

"An educational activity which aims to reveal meanings and relationships

through the use of original objects, by firsthand experience, and by
illustrative media, rather than simply to communicate factual
information."

Freeman Tilden

--Use these two "Concepts of Interpretation" from Freeman Tilden:

For personal contemplation he offers:

Interpretation is the revelation of a larger truth that

lies behind any statement.

For contact with the public he states:

Interpretation should capitalize mere curiosity for the

enrichment of the human mind and spirit.

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 Editor: STMA Training Manager Interpretation

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