"I did it! I did it! All by myself; 



The Hall Interpretive Program 



b/ Philip Courington 

 Coordinator, Hall Interpretive Program 



photos by Robert A. Feldmon 



Bright yellow banners with a dark blue question 

 mark tell you that a Field Museum hall inter- 

 preter is busy at work. These cheerful, friendly, 

 well-informed staff members have carts loaded with 

 intriguing things. He or she may be giving a four-year- 

 old a loop of string, then showing the child how to 

 make an Eskimo string figure. 



Another interpreter may be introducing a family 

 to a fascinating activity called "Horns and Antlers." 

 The younger child tries on a pair of antlers for that 

 souvenir snapshot while the older child voices amaze- 

 ment that horns are made of "fingernail stuff." The 

 delighted parents confess that in twenty years of 

 school they never learned that deer grow new antlers 



each year. Every Thursday through Sunday and on 

 most holidays, interpreters hear countless adults and 

 kids saying things like "Wow! No kidding!" and 

 "Thanks, I never knew that." 



In Centennial Directions (Field Museum Bulletin, 

 October 1986), as the Museum looked toward the 

 needs of its second century, it committed itself to 

 providing even more varied experiences for visitors 

 — a commitment to create a museum that would be 

 human, approachable, and fun. In 1986 the Joyce 

 Foundation and the Lloyd A. Fry Foundation pro- 

 vided funds to support this innovative program for 

 three years. 



Museum staff then developed 45 activities to 



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