By Curator
Don Boarman
With the assistance of Friends
of Audubon and the technical expertise of KMG Studios of
For some time we have been aware
of the need for a recorded tour of the museum. We do have a very few volunteer tour guides, called
"docents" in museum language, and a couple of the members of our staff offer
tours. However, quite often a volunteer has other commitments and the staff
members are not available. Then too, it is simply not always practical for a
tour guide to stop their regular work to lead a forty-five minute tour for one
or two people.
We had looked into this in the
past and found that those museums that offered recorded tours leased their
equipment from a vendor who specialized in that medium. For a small museum like
ours the cost was prohibitive. Along comes modern technology! Now, for a modest
cost we can record our own tour onto a CD and load it into a small hand held CD
player equipped with earphones.
As the museum visitor goes
through the galleries there are instructions on which way to turn and what to
look at as the story of John James Audubon and his family unfolds. If the
visitor is not interested in hearing the whole story or wants to skip an entire
exhibit or section, they can fast forward through the tracts to focus on what
they are interested in..
All of the exhibits in the
museum are labeled and follow the story chronologically. The visitor can still
wander through the exhibits and read those labels, and we certainly encourage
that. Because of the time element, some of the exhibits are not discussed on the
CD. We tried to present a clear and thorough sequence of the events of the story
and how they played out, without mentioning every tiny detail. Those details, we
hope, will be sought out by the visitor depending on their individual degree of
interest and the amount of time they have to spend.
Though we
tell an interesting story, we in the museum have the luxury of punctuating that
story with tangible artifacts, which support and bring it
. to life. The beauty of a guided tour is that
we can tell you about how Audubon painted a particular bird portrait while you
are actually looking at that portrait. We can also tell you little side stories
about the struggles, worries and joys that swirled around the artifacts. Those
elements help you understand the Audubons in your own
terms, because of your own struggles, worries and joys. That's what makes a
museum tour a meaningful experience.
The only
thing wrong with a recorded tour as opposed to a guided tour is that you can't
ask questions. Frankly, I love it when people ask questions. It's feedback! It tells me I have gotten their
attention. Our hope is that we can stimulate your interest so you will check out
a book at the library and learn more about these fascinating historical figures.
The recorded tours should be
ready by September. There will be a very nominal fee for the use of these
recordings. Unfortunately that is necessary to allow us to replace worn
equipment and keep a supply of fresh batteries on
hand.