INTERPRETIVE PROGRAMS
Charged with producing educational products and programs and with ensuring cultural animation, members of this unit are actively focussed on enhancing the visitor experience of the CMC. Interpretive Planners are core members of all in-house exhibition teams, serving as audience advocate to ensure that intended curatorial messages are clearly presented. Planners lead the process to develop hands-on elements, interpretive products, live-interpretation programs and animation activities to attain specific communication objectives related to exhibitions. Planners develop education programs targetted to specific clientele such as schools, community groups and adults, and either manage directly or collaborate in the delivery of these various programs. They devise strategies to increase attendance of specific market segments and negotiate partnerships with stakeholders in the community for the staging of cultural and performing arts events. Artistic direction is provided to the resident theatre company, Dramamuse, to animate historical subject matter. Finally, planners contribute to the Museum's national outreach mandate through the development of electronic and print products. Planners are expected to stay abreast of changes in museology and related fields in order to translate new theories and methodologies into practice and, as well, to publish and present their own findings on improving communications with the museum visitor.
General Objectives
The section will focus on providing:
- exposure to basic learning theories and education methods related to providing interpretative programming in a museum
- participation in the development of an interpretative product
- an overview of how special events are planned
- an understanding of how the resident theatre is artistically directed
Specific Learning Outcomes
These objectives will be reached through assigned tasks and projects which may include the following skills or procedures.
The intern will focus on the role of interpretative planner and may:
- become familiar with educational theories and methods used to develop and implement guided programs
- assist in the steps required to plan and produce an interpretative product aimed at school audiences and the general public
- observe training programs
- develop pedagogical materials
- participate in developing an education collection
- explore how the principles of organising interpretative programs can be applied in the intern's community or future work situation
- discover the steps in special event planning
- learn steps involved in artistically directing a theatre company
- participate in exhibit planning using a team approach
- assist in conducting the steps of an evaluation study
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