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Step Over the Line; Beat a Sign
 Dealing with Sign Vandalism

 What sign materials hold up best to vandalism?  Who are vandals?  Why do they destroy public property?

Interpreters at parks, nature centers, and historic sites often struggle with these questions. Vandalism destroys not only the targeted objects, but also degrades the sense of safety, comfort, and aesthetics of an entire area. With ever tightening budgets, vandalism can be an expensive problem for interpretive sites.

On November 7, 2007, Jim Buchholz and Ron Zimmerman presented a session on sign vandalism at the National Association for Interpretation conference in Wichita, Kansas. Participants in the session were encouraged (okay, goaded) to "step over the line" into the shoes of a vandal. Armed with pens, permanent markers, lip stick, lighters, razor blades, hammers, and rocks, they defaced and disfigured several signs to see how each stood up to vandalism.

Results: Vandal Resistance of Sign Materials

 Results from Session Participants: November 7, 2007
Results from Schmeeckle Reserve Follow-Up Study:
    November 11, 2007

Photo Galleries

Photos from the NAI "Step Over the Line" workshop
Photos of vandals destroying signs (not easy to find,
    so we took our own! Thanks to our student staff)
Photos of sign vandalism at interpretive sites

Workshop Documents

 Workshop outline and notes
Vandal Resistance of Materials score worksheet
Vandal Resistance Rating System

Resources

 Vandalism resources used in workshop
Video of sign materials being shot by a shotgun
    (by Schmeeckle Reserve, Windows Media file, 7.5 MB)
Destruction: Fun or Dumb 1970s film with a catchy
    theme song (new page)
Why Vandalize? 1955 vintage film from Encyclopaedia
    Britannica (new page)
The Ancient Vandals (new page)

    

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Schmeeckle Reserve - University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point - 2419 North Point Drive - Stevens Point, WI 54481
Phone: 715-346-4992     Fax: 715-295-8918     E-mail: schmeeckle@uwsp.edu     © 2006