ABSTRACT
Living history sites that exhibit farm animals and demonstrate historic agricultural practices most often draw visitors with little background in basic agricultural methods and the care and role of farm animals. Interpreters help people see things that might otherwise be overlooked. In metaphorical terms, interpretation is “giving meaning to a foreign landscape” to visitors of the land. Also say that interpreters translate the foreign language of their place or time or way of life, or point of view, into language that has meaning for the visitor. The interpreter’s first step is to somehow catch the attention of the visitor, and “light the spark of interest.” There are probably as many ways to interpret agriculture as there are agricultural interpreters. Methods, materials and style will vary depending on the interpreter, the audience and the resources available. Luckily for agricultural interpreters, some aspects of agriculture seem to be inherently interesting.
