Summary

• Organize a responsible guided tour that explains conservation issues related to a site or museum collection;
• explain environmental problems faced by archaeological sites and museums in an educational tour. Tour guides are encouraged to highlight conservation issues whenever the opportunity arises;
• create visual materials to better interact and inform the visitor.

Target group
Visitors to an archaeological site or museum. This project can be developed either for the general public, or for specific target groups such as school children.

Preparing the project

• Choose a site that manifests conservation problems that you want to highlight to the public. For instance, at an archaeological site you could highlight damage to floor mosaics from the roots of overgrown vegetation;
• establish key partnerships with the site or museum, the appropriate levels of government, scientific experts;
• establish organizational committees;
• set out a tour around the site, including a variety of stops that illustrate several different environmental conservation problems;
• design and print a leaflet. It should explain the purpose of the tour, provide both historical and artistic information about the site, and include the tour map. Each stop should include a brief description of the environmental damage detected, the conservation efforts undertaken, the costs involved, and the duration of the project;
• organize a training course for tour guides at the site or museum. Encourage tour guides to highlight conservation issues as often as possible during the tours. Provide them with further references for interested visitors;
• organize a series of visits with tour guides. Consider inviting school groups, employee from organizations, or other groups of the general public. Tours for media professionals are highly recommended;
• develop a questionnaire for feedback on this activity. Include the questionnaire in the tour leaflet;
• present identifiable numbered signposts at tour stops to help direct participants throughout the site;
• allow four to six months for the entire tour project when establishing your timeline.

During the project

• Distribute the leaflet and questionnaire to all visitors;
• record the number of visitors who take the tour.

Follow-up

• Collect and analyze questionnaire data;
• organize regular training courses for tour guides, concentrating on conservation issues;
• continue to highlight conservation issues at the site via, messages on tickets, printed materials, posters, information panels, websites, etc.

updated on: 8 August, 2006