NAI 2024

Pre-Conference Workshops

December 2–3, 2024

If the minimum requirements are not met by October 1st, the workshop will be canceled.

NCDA Road Show

Monday, December 2–Tuesday, December 3
8:00am–5:00pm

The NCDA Section Road Show is intended to provide an overview of several interpretive sites in the vicinity of the conference while networking with peers.

The NCDA Section Road Show is a long-standing national workshop tradition that delivers interpreters, managers, and administrators to several interpretive sites while giving them opportunities to go behind the scenes to meet with staff. The group will speak with administrative and front-line staff from public and private sites, institutions, and organizations. Site tours will be conversational and highlight the resources that each site has while also learning about the successes and challenges that each experiences during the operation. Likely conversation topics may include volunteer management, program development, marketing, facilities management, master planning, funding development, creating partnerships, exhibit design, habitat management, and human resources. All transportation from the conference site, two lunches, and one dinner are included in the registration. Overnight lodging will be required but is not included in the registration cost for this pre-workshop. Participants should arrange for early check-in to the hotel of their choice for the duration of the conference. No more than 24 participants will be accepted for this pre-workshop experience.

Learning Objective: Speak to, share ideas with, and learn from industry peers regarding best practices for managing nature centers, visitor centers, parks, and natural areas.

Experience Level: Intermediate

Price: $230
Meals: Lunch included
Minimum participants: 10
Maximum participants: 23

Brushing Off the Limewash: Guide to Programs

Tuesday, December 3
9:30am–3:00pm
Presenter: Emily Ward

Learn how the Ximenez-Fatio House Museum spent the past five years transitioning from offering one everyday tour to a full calendar of events with multiple tour types and programs.

Key Takeaways:

• Create a new program or exhibit to work on implementing at your museum
• Create a free community event for your museum

Five years ago, our museum's hours were inconsistent, the displays in the museum never changed, and there was only one tour being offered. Today our museum has consistent hours, continuously changing exhibits, and a full calendar of events including multiple tour types and programs. This transition did not happen over night. Slowly changes in the museum were being made in regards to how the rooms were interpreted, more staff was hired and hours became consistent. Then, new programs were introduced. Now our calendar includes over ten different events/tours including some free community events, specialty tours/exhibits, and unique fundraising opportunities. We also have our everyday tour of the museum which is offered as a docent led tour or an audio tour available in multiple languages. In our workshop, we would like to show people how this all became possible and how they can do it themselves. We would start by explaining what the museum is and what programs we offer, followed by a tour of the house. Then we will breakdown in more detail how some of those events came to be with a focus on what others could replicate. We'll talk about how hours, staff, volunteers, grants, salary, working with your organization, and social media all contribute to these programs being able to happen. We will then have a brainstorming session with the attendees to help them walk away with some new ideas to implement at their places of work.

Emily Ward is the Tour and Program Coordinator for the Ximenez-Fatio House Museum and a graduate from Flagler College with a degree in Public History. This workshop will be facilitated by additional staff of the Ximenez-Fatio House Museum.

Experience Level: Intermediate

Price: $65
Meals: Lunch on your own
Minimum participants: 10
Maximum participants: 30

Mapping the Visitor Experience

Tuesday, December 3
8:00am–4:00pm
Presenter: Chuck Lennox

Visitor experience mapping is a valuable tool for understanding an interpretive experience from the visitor’s perspective.

Key Takeaways:

• Gain a greater understanding of the visitor experience concept
• Learn how to use site mapping tools as a participant in small group exercises
• Experience a new site as a “visitor” that will build greater empathy

The Visitor Experience encompasses more than just interpretation. From the time of decision making on a website to the arrival, further on-site and then the departure, many elements impact what our visitors experience.

Taking a modern technique from user experience design (technology), this workshop will introduce participants to visitor experience mapping - what it is, why engaging in visitor experience mapping is valuable to interpretive settings, its applications, and how results can be used to drive visitor outcomes and accomplish a site mission.

Using the conference site as a “visitor experience” we will document, evaluate and map the setting in small groups as if we are in an interpretive venue paying attention to the same elements visitors to our sites would such as the website, wayfinding, customer service, engagement and departure. Reconvening as a larger group, we will share our findings with each other with suggestions for improvement.

We will then make a connection to our home venues. Participants will be strongly encouraged to choose an issue or specific location at their home site to practice these new gained skills. Visitor experience mapping can be used at an entire site or for a single exhibit and has the potential to bring increased value to ensuring a well thought out and reviewed experience from entry to exit and beyond. Participants will be asked to make a commitment to produce a visitor experience map following the workshop focused on a particular issue at home. An e-toolkit for use at home will be provided to support this task.

Chuck Lennox, Principal/Consultant with Lennox Insites for 20+ years, is a visitor experience consultant using visitor experience mapping with clients to help them understand the challenges and highlights of the visitors at their sites.

Experience Level: Experienced

Price: $95
Meals: Lunch on your own
Minimum participants: 10
Maximum participants: 15

Participatory & Dialogic Interp: Your Way

Tuesday, December 3
8:30am–4:00pm
Presenter: Dr. Jacquie Gilson

Discover visitor-centered techniques through the online course in the month before the conference, then join classmates on Dec 3 to help each other craft your own program plans.

Key Takeaways:

• Know techniques for engaging visitors through PIE (Participation, Info, Encouragement) and TALK
• Be engaged reviewing the content online & with their classmates on Dec 3
• Be inspired to use new techniques at their sites, based on their program plans

In this innovative blended learning experience, participants will delve into approximately 6 hours of online coursework at their own pace in the month leading up to the conference. This "PRE" pre conference component, conducted through a dedicated Miro whiteboard, fosters interactions between classmates and covers a range of modules, including Interpretation Models & Growth Mindset, Holistic Inspirational Interpretation, the PIE model for Participatory Interpretation (Participation, Information, and Encouragement), the TALK model for Dialogic Interpretation, and the Recipe Card planning template. The content is relevant to both natural and cultural interpreters. The course will culminate in a face-to-face workshop on Tuesday, Dec. 3, guided by Dr. Jacquie, where participants will finalize their site-specific program plans for visitor-centered interpretation using the PIE Recipe Card. During this session, attendees will collaboratively navigate the planning template, engaging in brainstorming and practice sessions to refine their plans. By the workshop's end, participants will have developed a comprehensive plan for a new or modified program that emphasizes engaging audiences through two-way and visitor-centered experiences. This unique, interactive format offers a cost-effective and time-saving approach, providing actionable outcomes over 2 days of training but only 1 pre conference session. Certificates of completion will be provided.

Dr. Jacquie has been an interpreter all her life and loves training new interpreters in ways that encourage two-way and engaging experiences for the visitors. She really loves that a benefit to using these approaches is learning and inspiration for everyone, including the interpreters!

Experience Level: Intermediate 

Price: $95
Meals: Lunch on your own
Minimum participants: 6
Maximum participants: 25

Jacksonville Zoo Field Trip

Tuesday, December 3
9:00am–4:00pm

Jacksonville Zoo and Gardens Interpretive Engagement Division will host conference participants for a day of interpretive collaboration and fun! We invite participants to learn more about the ongoing interpretive planning process in a zoo setting and provide an opportunity to explore the zoo and gardens. Your experience will include a classroom discussion and introduction to interpretation at Jacksonville Zoo and Gardens, a behind the scenes walking tour with interpretive staff, free time to explore, and a debrief session to provide feedback on your experience and advice for our interpretive plan going forward.

Experience Level: Intermediate

Price: $110
Meals: Lunch on your own at zoo
Minimum participants: 15
Maximum participants: 24

Navigating and Re-Thinking School Programs

Tuesday, December 3
12:30pm–4:00pm
Presenter: James Fester

What program features ensure engagement and interest from schools & teachers? Come share & discuss your ideas and find opportunities for improving school and student participation.

Key Takeaways:

• Hear directly from classroom teachers about what they need and what their students want
• Understand how to align programs to standards and learning objectives
• Learn how to tailor interpretation to K-12 audiences needs and interest

Providing high quality programming to schools and students comes with a variety of challenges. A confluence of factors in the educational realm make responsive and engaging programming particularly difficult for interpreters -- lack of formal classroom curriculum development experience, few dedicated resources and the ever-changing nature of schools today. The fact that fewer than 3 in 10 interpreters have a background in formal education makes this session especially inviting for those looking to understand how to bridge the formal/informal education landscape.

At the same time, the experiences provided by parks, museums, and other informal educational entities are essential to ensuring young people have opportunities to make authentic, real-world connections to what goes on inside the classroom. If you are looking to refresh your current educational offerings or just get a better idea of the possibilities, this is the session for you!

This session focuses on bridging the gap between the formal and informal parts of our educational ecosystem. It is the byproduct of over a decade of work with school districts and teachers as well as a two year book project focused on how to adapt the educational approaches and resources used by interpreters for the traditional classroom.

During this session I will share my findings as well as examples of some of the very best collaborations involving classrooms from across the country. I will share a simple framework for revising and refreshing educational programming, all backed by current research and scholarship.

The session will be hands-on and participatory with all the participants working together to build our collective knowledge and sharing stories, resources, and opportunities for improving our programs. At the end of the workshop we will leave with not just a better understanding of school, teacher, & student needs, but also actionable steps for refining existing programs as well as ideas for creating all new ones. There will also be loads of opportunities for expanding your interpretive “toolbox” through the modeling of strategies and protocols.

Experience Level: Novice

Price: $40
Minimum participants: 10
Maximum participants: 15

JEDAI Program Workshop

Tuesday, December 3
8:30am–12:00pm
Facilitators will include members of the JEDAI Section Leadership team and the NAI DEI Committee.

Are you striving to support justice and equity in your role as an interpreter but need support to move forward? Share your insights and challenges in this collaborative workshop.

Key Takeaways:

• Recognize at least one JEDAI-related challenge that they share with other interpreters
• Work with peers to identify at least one new strategy that they would like to implement for this challenge
• Identify at least three opportunities to create connections with colleagues for practical and emotional support in their interpretation-related JEDAI work.

This program is geared toward participants who already have a general knowledge of JEDAI (Justice, Equity, Diversity, Accessibility, and Inclusion) terms and practices. The workshop will bring together members who are already working on bringing JEDAI to their organizations and would like input from colleagues to move their work forward. The workshop will start with introductions, community building activities, and initial discussion of the big picture issues related to JEDAI work in interpretation. Then, participants will break into small groups around project types; programs, community engagements, outreach, etc. and will have time to explain their project or their goals and obstacles. Feedback from other participants and additional resources will enable each participant to further their work.

After the small groups, the whole group will reconvene to reflect on shared goals and obstacles faced by interpreters in their professional and person lives and supports for them as they work through these challenges.

Facilitators will include members of the JEDAI Section Leadership team and the NAI DEI Committee. Kyrie Kellett will act as coordinator for the session.The JEDAI section serves the members of NAI in matters relating to Justice, Equity, Diversity, Accessibility, and Inclusion. Working closely with the DEI Committee, the Section hosts events, workshops, quarterly zoom meetings, and more as the members require.

Experience Level: All welcome

Price: $25
Minimum participants: 10
Maximum participants: 30

Fort Mose: Southern Routes To Freedom Tour

Tuesday, December 3
12:00pm–4:00pm
Presenter: Erica Veal

Join us for an interpretive tour exploring southern routes of the underground railroad & African & Indigenous resistance to slavery & occupation at Fort Mose State Historic Park

Key Takeaways:
To teach attendees about:

• The history of the Gullah Geechee Corridor
• Southern Routes of the Underground Railroad
• Freedom and resistance at Fort Mose

There is a well-documented history of African men and women self-emancipating themselves from slavery on rice plantations in British colonies and fleeing southward on foot toward Spanish Florida. They traveled through ancient Cypress-Tupelo Swamps and, while some found refuge among Indigenous groups like the Seminoles of Northern Florida, others reached St. Augustine and were often, but not always, granted asylum by the Spanish. In exchange for conversion to Catholicism and agreeing to bear arms against the British in the event on an attack, Africans risked their lives in search of freedom at St. Augustine. As a result of the steady stream of freedom seekers into the territory, in 1738, the Spanish governor of Florida chartered the fortified town of Gracia Real de Santa Teresa de Mose on St. Augustine’s northernmost border. Fort Mose became the site of the first free Black community in what is now the United States. During this tour, which is sponsored by the Sunny Southeast Region, we will explore this history of resistance and Black and Brown solidarity at the southern tip of the Gullah Geechee Cultural Heritage Corridor. While there are no admission fees at Fort Mose State Historic Park, proceeds from the registration will go toward a charter bus and the Sunny Southeast Region Scholarship Fund, which financially supports NAI members who want to attend the NAI national conference and Sunny Southeast Regional Workshop.

Erica Veal is a certified interpretive guide and certified interpretive trainer based in Charleston, SC with 17 years of experience leading tours around the Gullah Geechee Corridor.

Experience Level: Intermediate

Price: $65
Meals: Lunch not included
Minimum participants: 20
Maximum participants: 24