The Wisconsin Conservation Hall of Fame
Wisconsin has long been known for its leadership in both state and national conservation movements. People like John Muir, Aldo Leopold, and Gaylord Nelson, known throughout the country, started their conservation policies in the state. Wisconsin was home to hundreds of individuals that devoted time and energy to protecting our natural resources and educating others. In the early 1980's, a dedicated group of people decided that the significant individuals who contributed so much to Wisconsin's conservation history needed to be honored. The Wisconsin Conservation Hall of Fame was born.
The Wisconsin Conservation Hall of Fame is a unique facility. It is housed in the Schmeeckle Reserve Visitor Center on the campus of the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point. The Schmeeckle Reserve is a 275-acre natural area that serves a place for recreation and research. Wisconsin is the only state in the country that has a Hall of Fame which recognizes its environmental leaders. Every year, individuals are nominated to be included in the Hall of Fame. Before being inducted, the individuals must pass a variety of requirements set forth by the Wisconsin Conservation Hall of Fame Committee. An induction ceremony is held every April for those individuals that pass the requirements.
The Touch Screen Computer Project
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"To demonstrate Conservation Hall of Fame inductees� contributions to the conservation of Wisconsin and American resources." |
The Touch Screen Computer Project will strive to achieve one of the primary goals of the Conservation Hall of Fame: to educate the public about the inductees.
Today, the Hall of Fame is composed of museum exhibits that highlight important conservation events in Wisconsin's history, and a formal Conservation Hall of Fame that includes a wall of plaques. The computer project will attempt to tie these two aspects of the Hall of Fame together, by linking inductees with the historical events that occurred.
This
will be done by providing the visitor with an experience he or she would not be
able to obtain elsewhere. The computers will immerse visitors in the lives
of the inductees through movies, photographs, paintings, illustrations, sounds,
music, and talking. The interactive nature of the computers will allow the
audience to choose the pace and amount of information, and will contain a
multitude of different learning experiences.
For more details on the rationale for using computers, see Purposes and Goals.
The project will involve determining the target audiences, selecting an appropriate number of inductees to interpret (ideally, all inductees would be selected, but time constraints will limit the actual number included), collecting background information on the selected inductees, creating short interpretive storylines about each, and gathering or creating movies, sound effects, and pictures that will be used in the actual computer program. We will be working with professional videography staff on campus to digitize the movies and transfer them to DVDs.
The interpretive plan for this project is just as important, if not more so, than the end product. Very little literature is available that details the steps of creating successful interpretive computer programs. This thesis will provide a framework for visitor or nature centers that are interested in designing interpretive computer programs that will effectively achieve their goals. It is hoped that the final product of this project achieves the educational goal of the Wisconsin Conservation Hall of Fame, and that the interpretive design plan can be utilized by other interpretive centers.
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Home Page | Project Overview | Purposes and Goals | The Plan | Multimedia Samples | Related Reading | Meet the Inductees | Project Support |
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