Longwood grad program hosts symposium March 9

The Longwood Graduate Program is holding a daylong symposium “Technology's Influence on the Interpretive Experience,” beginning with registration at 8 a.m., Friday, March 9, in the ballroom of Longwood Gardens.

This year's symposium will focus on how current technology is used at public gardens and other nonprofit organizations to enhance interpretive experiences to better reach, engage and serve visitors.

The speakers include:

Jim Ockuly, director of interactive media at the Minneapolis Institute of Arts, who will speak on “Technology's Impact on the Visitation Cycle”;
Chad Wollerton, Monticello webmaster, and Brad Johnson, cofounder of Second Story, a company that helped create Monticello's Explorer Program web site, who will speak on “Shaping Visitor Experiences with Interactive Media”;
David Asheim, founder of Guide by Cell Inc., who will speak on “Answering the Call to the Interpretive Question”; and
Craig Bettles, futurist and researcher for the Institute of Alternative Futures, who will speak on “Capturing the Imagination of the Digital Native.”

Cost is $75, with a 20 percent discount for full-time students, and includes free admission to Longwood Gardens the following day, Saturday, March 10.

For more information, go to [www.udel.edu/longwoodgrad] and click on symposium.

Media contact: Martin Mbugua, (302) 831-8749, [mbugua@udel.edu]
February 26, 2007