[Bcma-l] Re: Guided Tours with Headsets]

[bcma-l@museumsassn.bc.ca]

What a thoughtful response, Bill!  And so insightful!
Having worked at both Barkerville and Hat Creek Ranch as a live interpreter, 
I totally agree with all you have said, and have learned from it too.  Thank 
you!

During the course of my work in history interpretation over the past 
seventeen years, I have spent much time, money and effort, researching 
various other forms of bringing history to life, as well as that with which 
I'm so deeply involved.

Most recently, I was privileged to visit the Philadelphia Art Museum and the
Frida Kahlo exhibit in particular.  They had audio tours there.  Here's my 
report:-

Headsets attached to remote controls were distributed by two
personnel at the beginning of the exhibit and collected by another two
at the end.  Given that this exhibit was extremely popular and the PAG is an 
enormous institution, it still illustrates the fact that someone has to be 
available to distribute and collect the audio sets, check them for 
functionality and maintain them (including avoiding health risks by 
sterilization or earpiece replacement).

There were attendants throughout the exhibit.  They looked bored and 
disinterested and were, when approached, not particularly helpful or 
well-informed - a negative experience for both staff and visitor.  However, 
these attendants were necessary to maintain security and protect the 
paintings/photographs from damage, as would be the case at a museum or 
historic site.  Sections at a site can be fenced off, of course, but that 
could drastically reduce any sense of involvement with the past and 
generally creates a 'then and now/them and us' situation which I find 
reduces visitor interest considerably.

A positive aspect, in this instance, was that the stations and corresponding 
audio were numbered in such as way as to guide the visitor through Frida 
Kahlo's remarkable work and life (both so inextricably linked), in a 
chronological and developmental journey that might otherwise have been 
missed.

Numbers beside the paintings discussed on audio were large and well placed.

The sets were expensive and sophisticated, light and easy to operate.  The 
sound control was such that no one's audio journey interefered with that of 
another's (and the exhibit was crowded to capacity).

Several different voices (both male and female; some Mexican, some American, 
some European; some old, some young) were used on the tape.  This created 
variety and maintained interest.  However, there were two voices that were 
constant: that of the 'guide' and that of the curator.  This produced a 
sense of comfort, almost to the degree of friendship.  Quite important, 
actually, in my view, and something that a live interpreter supplies 
automatically.

I thoroughly enjoyed the audio experience and learned a great deal about 
Frida Kahlo and her work.  However, I'd recommend headsets for a relatively 
small museum like Bella Coola, where visitors can be monitored and security 
of artifacts maintained, over an artifact on a living history site, like the 
roadhouse at Hat Creek Ranch, which is a long way from the Visitors' Centre 
and would mean some lonely soul has to stand around with little to do, when 
not maintaining the garden and dusting.

Christine Pilgrim
Hands-on-History
Website: www.christinepilgrim.com
Email: christinepilgrim@telus.net
Phone/Fax: 1 877 767 7622 (Toll free) & (250) 542 4152 (Local)
The Caetani House
4-3401 Pleasant Valley Road
Vernon   BC  V1T 4L4

> April 14, 2008
>
> Dear Colleagues:
>
> Back in 1990 we had tape players rented with guided tours.  We came to the
> conclusion that they may have a place in a static museum situation, but
> that they took away from the experience at a site like Barkerville.  They
> are not as free from the need of a human as one would think - they break
> down, one has to manage them, etc.  We felt the money was best spent
> having a real person rather than the head set.
>
> I do see how they might have advantages in certain situations - like the
> wands at the Egyptian exhibition at Expo 86 - an exhibit with a beginning
> and an end where someone can be stationed to distribute and pick up the
> equipment.  But, they are pieces of equipment that you have to drag
> around, that can become easily lost or misplaced - especially at a place
> like Hat Creek where there are so many nooks and crannies.  I would think
> twice before investing in technology that requires servicing, maintenance
> and accounting, especially in an outdoor situation.
>
> If you are looking at technology that 'tells you as you go along' then one
> might consider motion activated devices that turn on when people self
> actuate it or move past it.  Signage can have the same effect and could be
> much cheaper in the long run.  If you are trying to achieve ambience with
> voice overs - i.e. the story told by a worker at the ranch - remember that
> people have limited attention spans and will only listen for a short while
> prior to making a decision to move on - unless there is something visual
> to keep their attention.  There are digital picture frames now that also
> could be investigated - they can be programmed to rotate from image to
> image and I would think that a continuous play device could have voice
> overs for such a treatment.
>
> In general exhibit development, we gage that a sentence or two is the most
> that one will actually read.  We do have longer texts and some recorded
> material, but, in general it is no more time consuming than what a general
> visitor might endure.  We have also utilized some formats that are much
> lengthier, such as placement of an entire book (laminated and with solid
> rings for turning pages) of information for those who really want in-depth
> information that an interpreter would just not have at their command.
> However, in terms of getting a message across - a good headline is the
> best (newspapers are the best examples).
>
> Note that there are also health considerations with head sets - what was
> in that last person's ear/hair, etc.???  And, not least, will it distract
> people in the ranch setting - which has horses, wagons, etc., that a
> person listening to the head set might become entangled with?
>
> W. (Bill) G. Quackenbush, Curator
> Barkerville Historic Town,
> Box 19, Barkerville, B.C.  V0K 1B0
> Telephone: 1-888-994-3332; ex. 25
> Fax: 1-250-994-3435
> bill.quackenbush@barkerville.ca
> visit - www.barkerville.ca for general information