Interpreting History and Technology
1997 National Railway Preservation Symposium
March 21-23, 1997
at the California State Railroad Museum, Sacramento, California

To many people, the idea of "Interpretation" in railroad preservation is
daunting.  How can we use the tools available to us to do a better job
of preserving railroad history and technology?

The purpose of the 1997 National Railway Preservation Symposium is to 1)
provide a series of useful, practical, and comprehensive definitions of
interpretation which make sense for railway preservation, 2) explain how
other museums and preservation organizations have made interpretation an
integral part of their programs, and 3) show examples of
"interpretation" at a variety of museums and in the academic
setting--what it looks like and how it actually works in its different
forms.

We have invited several distinguished speakers from academia,
preservation agencies, museums, and interpretive planning and design
organizations to lead us through a review of the philosophy and
techniques of interpretation.

Special tours have been arranged to Railtown 1897 in Jamestown,
California, and the Southern Pacific Railroad Sacramento Shops for an
on-site discussion of interpretation opportunities and practices at
historic railroad sites.

A special feature this year will be a Friday evening reception in the
California State Railroad Museum Library.  The reception will highlight
the Museum's Southern Pacific Railroad Sacramento Shops Oral History
Project initiated in July 1996.  The reception will provide an
opportunity to listen and view oral history interviews of Southern
Pacific employees.  The reception will be followed by a participatory
interpretive presentation by the Society for the Preservation for Carter
Railroad Resources, Inc.

The basic registration fee includes continental breakfasts, Friday
evening reception, lunches on Saturday and Sunday, and the tour of the
SP Shops on Sunday.  The tour to Railtown 1897 and the Saturday evening
banquet in the Museum Roundhouse are separately priced and ticketed, and
require advance registration.

FACULTY
Ed Austin, author and partner Interpretive Exhibits, Inc. Salem, OR
Peter Barton, Executive Director, Railroaders Memorial Museum, Altoona,
PA
Elizabeth Edrich, Special Projects Manager, California State Railroad
Museum Foundation, Sacramento, CA
John Hankey, historian, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL
Mary Helmich, Interpretive Planner, California State Parks, Sacramento,
CA
Albert O. Louer, Director of Corporate and Foundation Relations,
Colonial Williamsburg Foundation, Williamsburg, VA
Donna Pozzi, Chief of Interpretation, California State Parks,
Sacramento, CA
Judith Ryan, Exhibit Developer, The Children's Museum of Indianapolis,
Indianapolis, IN
James A. Ward, author, historian and professor of history, University of
Tennessee, Chattanooga, TN
David Weitzman, author, Santa Rosa, CA


Registration fee:       $125.00
Railtown 1897 tour fee: $30.00
Saturday Evening dinner $25.00

For registration information, please call (916) 322-8485, Fax (916)
327-5655, e-mail: <[log in to unmask]>, or write CSRM Att.: Symposium, 111
"I" Street, Sacramento, CA 95814.