Attachment_M_GEWA_LRIP_Final_08202018.pdf

LONG-RANGE INTERPRETIVE PLAN

George Washington Birthplace National Monument

August 2018

Prepared by

Management and Staff of George Washington Birthplace ational Monument ational Park Service

Harpers Ferry Center Interpretive Planning

Approvedby: ��-� Melissa K. Cobern, Superintendent

Date

Attachment M

The Planning Process

This Long-Range Interpretive Plan outlines recommendations for future interpretive services, facilities, and media. Many people representing federal, state, and local agencies; the local communities; and other partner organizations worked together to develop a comprehensive tool that will outline interpretive and educational opportunities for visitors to develop intellectual and emotional connections to the resources found within George Washington Birthplace ational Monument. Our goal is to promote the park's collective resource values through specially planned visitor experiences and excellence in interpretation.

This Long-Range Interpretive Plan (LRIP) recommends actions that should occur over the next five to seven years. It identifies future audiences, describes visitor experience goals, and recommends a wide variety of interpretive and educational services that will best communicate the purpose, significance, and themes. The ultimate product is a cost-effective, tightly focused, high quality interpretive program that achieves management goals, provides appropriate visitor opportunities, and facilitates desired visitor experiences.

The Foundation section workshop was held on August 14, 2017, the Recommendations workshop was held January 18-19, 2018, and the Implementation Strategy meeting was held on May 29-30, 2018. Appendix A includes a listing of all workshop participants.

Barring legislative changes or major new revelations, the foundational elements expressed in this LRIP - significance statements and interpretive themes - will remain constant over the life of the plan. Specific recommendations about media and programs may need to be updated as staffing, funding, technology, or resource conditions change. Further design documents must be produced to implement some of the goals and recommendations in this plan.

Table of Contents

The Planning Process

Table of Con.tents

Foundation for Planning

Site Background

Statements of Significance································· ······:·· ·············· ·· ······· ····· ······ ·· ··········· ····· 5

Interpretive Themes ... .......... .. ........ .. ...... .... .. ....... ....... ...... .... ...... ............ _

Vision for the Future of George Washington Birthplace National Monument

Interpretation Management Goals

Desired Visitor Experiences

Audiences

Challenges and Opportunities Affecting Interpretation

Existing Conditions

Goals for Interpretive Programming

Implementation Plan

Appendices

Appendix A: The Planning Team

Appendix B: Accessibility Guidelines

Appendix C: Interpretive Theme Matrix

Appendix D: 2016 HFC Assessment of GEW A and THST Interpretive Media

Foundation for Planning

Site Background

George Washington Birthplace National Monument is located in the heart of the Northern Neck of Virginia and stands as a tribute to America's founding father, George Washington. Although only here a short time, the culture into which Washington was born helped shape the man he would become and influenced the destiny of the United States of America.

Established to honor the 200th birthday of the first president of the United States, the Birthplace represents one of the earliest national and federal efforts to memorialize Washington and remains a physical record of both the lands and waters the Washingtons called home. Many visitors come to the Birthplace expecting to find the house in which George Washington was born. Although the park has several Colonial Revival structures that were built in the 1930s, the house in which Washington is no longer standing. The essence of George Washington's story at the site, however, does not reside in wood and brick rather it is in the land and colonial Tidewater culture, which forever shaped Washington's life.

Although Washington, D.C. is only 60 miles up the Potomac, the Birthplace has retained its rural character and the surrounding area remains essentially undeveloped. Visitors to the Birthplace can still experience the sites and sounds that would have been familiar to the Washington family.

2018 Foundation Document

Purpose

Situated on lands settled by the Washington family, George Washington Birthplace ational Monument preserves and interprets the birthplace of the first president of the United States, the generations of the Washington family and contemporaries who lived in the vicinity, and the 18th century plantation life and society into which he was born.

2018 Foundation Document

Statements of Significance

Significance statements are important for identifying resource management and interpretation priorities, and in defining the kinds of visitor experiences most appropriate for George Washington Birthplace National Monument.

The park contains the birthplace of George Washington and the lands and archeological resources of the Washington family.

Established to honor the 200th birthday of the first president of the United States, George Washington Birthplace National Monument represents one of the earliest national and federal efforts to memorialize Washington.

The birthplace is an excellent example of the rich land and water resources that attracted Native Americans and later attracted seventeenth-century Europeans to the Northern Neck of Virginia. Here the Washingtons and their contemporaries made the most of these resources to establish family plantations and a society that would become influential in the founding of the nation.

Because of the lack of development, the quality and breadth of archeological resources throughout the park contain critical information about the lives of all who inhabited this land over time. Because many of these people, including the Washington family, at Popes Creek are underrepresented in the documentary record, the archeological record has the potential to make a significant contribution to our understanding of these people.

2018 Foundation Document

Interpretive Themes

Interpretive themes are those ideas and concepts of the park that are key to helping visitors understand and appreciate the park's resources. These themes are derived from- and should reflect- park purpose and significance. The interpretive themes connect park resources to relevant ideas, meanings, concepts, contexts, beliefs, and values.

Context: At Popes Creek, George Washington and his family occupied a place at the intersection of many worlds, abundant with possibilities. The Washingtons shaped an American identity and the landscape around them through encounters and relationships with diverse peoples, including Europeans, Native Americans, and enslaved people of African descent who were all struggling to define their place in the Atlantic world.

Washington's Emergence as a Leader: George Washington's birth at Popes Creek and his formative years as the third son of a middling family among Virginia' s colonial gentry could hardly predict the emergence of our nation' s most iconic leader. Washington's personal journey from the young boy in Northern Neck plantation society to "founding father" provides a window into the circumstances, choices, striving, and deliberate self-cultivation through which Washington, the man and leader, was made.

Memorialization: The creation of George Washington Birthplace National Monument emerged from more than a century of efforts to memorialize the first president of the United States by family, local and state advocates, women activists, and an emerging federal preservation community. Collectively, their overlapping and, at times, competing ideals, memories, and aspirations are written on the commemorative landscape in continuously unfolding stories.

2018 Foundation Document

Appendix C is an Interpretive Theme Matrix that describes each theme statement using examples of concepts/ideas appropriate to the theme and examples of topics and stories that fit within each theme.

Essential Questions

Effective interpretation explores controversial and complex issues as a means of finding natural and cultural resources' evolving relevance in today's community.

Interpretation honors and incorporates different types of truth -forensic/academic, personal, societal, and reconciliatory - and uses essential questions to invite dialogue, foster awareness, probe truths, and encourage collaborative solutions.

Audience-centered programs and media must be dynamic and flexible, with intentional design and clear purpose. A cohesive experience for the audience is achieved by exploring an essential question or relevant idea supported by a purposeful interpretive framework. Essential questions are based on understanding of the resource, audience and the broader social context.

Foundations of2JS1 Century Interpretation, Version 2017

These essential questions were developed during the 2017 LRIP workshop and may be used by interpretive staff to "invite dialogue, foster awareness, probe truths, and encourage collaborative solutions":

Context

• The Washingtons made their living through economic diversification, ingenuity and exploited enslaved and indentured labor. In the 21 si century, are there people who are still being exploited to drive economic growth and is such an exploration imperative to perpetuate the American economic narrative?

• Just as the Washingtons shaped their landscape for economic benefit, so too has our nation manipulated the land for maximum gain. What are the effects of humans on our ecosystems and are these effects now manifesting themselves back onto this particular landscape?

• How should we as a society treat immigrants?

• 400 years ago, Europeans were immigrants, Africans were forced to immigrate, but

Native people had lived here for thousands of years. Who is American? What is the American identity?

• Is it acceptable to suppress the rights of a some in order to achieve the rights of others?

• How do economic conditions shape the character of a group of people?

• How does life change when we are more or less connected to the land?

• What roles do farmers play in the building of our national hero sagas?

• What role does nature play in our culture?

• Is it right or fair/just to use a 21 si century value system to judge an 18th-century person?

• How does a place, a region, or a landscape shape and/or define the character of an individual?

• What are inalienable rights? Is everyone entitled to education? Health care? A burial place?

• Who is the rightful owner of this land?

Washington's Emergence as a Leader

• What does it mean to define ourselves in our world? Why is this important and how do we do it?

• How does family history and where we are born shape our identity? What is the importapce of family on the development of a person? How much influence does your family genetics/history have on you?

• Is it possible to be a self-made man (person)?

• What influence does a multi-generational family have on today's youth?

• Are leaders born or made?

• Washington's self-cultivation deliberately prepared him for a role in public service as it was understood in the 18th century, what qualities are cultivated in public leaders of the 21 st century? What is the most important quality of a public servant? What qualities must a strong, effective leader have? Can a leader be a leader if he/she has no followers? What education or experience is required to be a leader?

• Would Washington have had a Facebook page?

• What responsibilities do the victors owe to the vanquished? Do we acknowledge the vanquished? And do we see life as a zero-sum game?

• "What to the slave is the 4th of July? Who to the slave is George Washington?"

• How does your background shape your definition of freedom?

• How can we appreciate and benefit from education and accomplishment built on the suffering of others?

• What does it mean to define ourselves in our world?

• Is experiencing scarcity a necessary prerequisite experience for our national idols?

• Can you admire and dislike a person at the same time?

• Do we inherit the prejudices of our families? Must we?

• Why are we still talking about George Washington?

• How do we acknowledge our faults without being defensive?

• Who has the right to define someone's morals?

• How does a mentorship play a role in the development of a person?

M emorialization .. Why are people drawn to creation myths and what about GW's own origin story supports or contradicts America' s creation mythology?

• How should we memorialize an important figure?

• How do we honor and remember a person who worked toward lofty ideals and was also a flawed?

• How has history been used or how has "memory" been constructed?

• What do we lose when we idealize the past and its people? Why do we search for evidence of America's greatness? Why do we make "idols" of historic figures -why do we memorialize?

• How would you want to have someone remember you and your life' s work?

• What is memory and how does it relate to our understanding of history?

• What makes a person worthy of national ( e.g. federally funded) memorialization? Who gets chosen for memorialization and why?

• How has our culture changed the way we look at history? Does memorialization reflect or distort history?

• Ifwe honor today, can we take it back if scholarship or research shows something different? Should we honor past people who did things which today we deplore?

• What is worthy of commemoration?

Vision for the Future of George Washington Birthplace National Monument

As visitors explore George Washington Birthplace National Monument and walk in the footsteps of the many different and diverse people who lived and worked at Popes Creek almost 300 years ago, they begin to discover how George Washington was influenced by this land of opportunity and contradiction, not unlike the evolving American nation he helped to establish.

Interpretation Management Goals

The following goals reflect how interpretation and education will support broader management goals with an emphasis on helping people understand the value of the resource and fostering a sense of stewardship:

• Identify Research Needs, Establish Priorities and Conduct Studies

• Interpret the Historic Area/Popes Creek Plantation

• Improve Orientation Throughout the Park

• Update Visitor Center Experience

• Redesign the visitor experience at the Memorial House Museum

• Integrate the Picnic Area, Trails, Beach, and 17th-century Neighborhood into the Visitor Experience

• Create Stronger Connections with Local Community

• Strengthen Relationships with Northern Neck Partners

Future Visitor Experiences

A more immersive, cohesive, future visitor experience at George Washington Birthplace National Monument will include a balance of interpretive media, programs, and services.

Encouraging visitors to get out into the park and find themselves within the historic landscape will require research and significant changes to the current interpretive and educational program.

Visitors will discover a range of options at each location that allows them to blend their contemporary personal experience with those who lived here before including American Indians, the Washington family, and those employed and enslaved by the Washingtons.

An interpretive framework that the park may explore uses "Layers of History" to tell park stories. This framework would allow the park to share archeological research and findings as well as connect to the important time periods and different areas of the park.

Visitor Center:

The visitor center provides an orientation for a site visit and an introduction to George Washington's immediate family and ancestors who settled on Popes Creek. An improved wayfinding system and an updated park unigrid brochure will help visitors make informed choices about how they will experience the park. For safety and security reasons, the visitor center will have an information/orientation desk that is staffed when the visitor center is open.

When additional staffing is available, there may be opportunities to engage visitors in the exhibit area, theater, or on the deck.

An atmosphere within and around the visitor center may be created that encourages visitors to go from the 2151 century to the 20th century (193 Os) when the park was established, and then to the 18th century (1730s) when the Washington family lived here on Popes Creek. Each area of the visitor center will be used to help the visitor make these transitions beginning with the music played at the entrance to the building. Diversifying the play list will allow first-time and repeat visitors to hear music representing the different time periods and cultures associated with park stories. A table top mural or area map would provide a visual representation of the entire Washington estate. Window treatments on the interpretive offices may help set the historic scene.

The interpretive media within the visitor center needs to be updated and revised based on new scholarship. Orientation and arrival information needs to be developed including portable, tactile displays so that visitors may make informed choices about their visit. Interactive exhibits and a new park film will be used to tell the multi-generational Washington story and both should be inclusive and reflect stories representing the many different people who lived here on Popes Creek (e.g. genders, races, ages, experiences, and cultures). The exhibits and films will provide context and background information about the Northern Neck - what brought people, including the Washingtons, here. Much of this information currently is dated, inaccurate, or incomplete.

The theater may be used as a program space during inclement weather or for special events. A screen/scrim on the windows and door of the adjacent interpretation office may be used to create another visual representation of life on Popes Creek.

Social media may be used to provoke visitors to come to the park and highlight short videos, provocative questions, and a play list of thematically appropriate music. Visitors may extend their engagement with the park through social media and share their experience with friends and family.

The visitor center deck not only may be used as a place to sit and enjoy time in quiet reflection overlooking Popes Creek, it may also be used for appropriate programming. A roll out awning may offer shade and a seating area will offer incentives for visitors to either enjoy the view and/or participate in a program. For example, brief ranger-led talks may be offered from the deck.

Visitors will be encouraged to go from the deck to take the lower walk to the Historic Area.

Evocative wayside/outdoor exhibits along the lower trail will immerse the visitors in the natural resource and begin to interpret the story of the Washington family. A timeline may be helpful to provide perspective.

Historic Area/Popes Creek Plantation:

Park staff are using historical records and archeological data to offer a more accurate and diverse view of the Historic Area including an acknowledgement that we still do not know exactly where George Washington was born. The park recognizes that it is difficult for visitors to understand that the buildings within the Historic Area are from the Colonial Revival (1930s) memorialization era and are not from the 18th century when the Washingtons lived at Popes Creek Plantation. The park wi ll contact Northeast Region staff to help develop a more appropriate naming strategy for this area to help alleviate some of the confusion.

Finding a balance of interpretive and educational techniques that conveys the current historical record compared to earlier interpretations is and will continue to be a challenge. A series of cues may be identified that will help visitors know which structures date to the Washington era and which ones are from the Colonial Revival era. A raised seal was the emblem used by the Wakefield National Memorial Association and could be developed as a tactile object and attached to the structures. An historically appropriate coat of arms may be used to signify Washington era locations. These cues could also be used throughout the park and just within the Historic Area.

The park is working to conduct and/or sponsor more research about 18th-century life on Popes Creek. Archeology and historic research studies will be necessary to more accurately interpret the time period when the Washington family and the enslaved people lived here. More research will be needed to ensure that the histories of the Washington family, the enslaved people at Popes Creek and the American Indians who lived in this area prior to development are preserved and available through future interpretive programs and media.

While ranger talks will continue to be offered, visitors will be encouraged to experience the site on their own. Some buildings including the kitchen may be open to the public on a regular basis, others like the trades buildings may only be open during special events. Wayside panels, interactive outdoor exhibits featuring silhouettes on the landscape, and digital media (cell phone tour/enhanced website) will be used to tell the stories of the 18th century plantation including all of the people who lived and worked here. The ESRI story mapping project in the Historic Area may be a platform to offer many different types of tours using pre-set data points. The park will need to determine the best naming methodology to use for consistency and visitor understanding.

School programs and seasonal special events will continue to emphasize 18th century farm life activities, the working gardens, and the heritage farm animals. Some of the trade buildings like the blacksmith shop could become an interactive activity space to encourage visitors and students to learn about the skilled trades. The park will need to consider activities that can be done independently and do not require dedicated staff time. Volunteers, interns, teacher-ranger teachers, and contractor interpreters will be required to offer this program and could add a 21 st c.

perspective.

Family-friendly activities will be increasingly offered throughout the area and the front lawn may be used for games. The park will continue to offer junior ranger programs.

The Colonial Revival garden near the Memorial House Museum will be maintained and used in interpretive programs. The patio will continue to serve as a scenic view point for the area. The park will continue to have the demonstration garden near hog pens.

After experiencing the Historic Area, visitors will be encouraged to either explore the Dancing Marsh and Nature Trails or return on the trail back through visitor center. This will give visitors an opportunity to ask follow up questions, spend more time in the exhibit area, and also purchase souvenirs in the Eastern National shop.

Memorial House Museum:

As a significant landmark within the Historic Area/Popes Creek Farm, the Memorial House was designed to be a museum. Now the park has decided to use the title "Memorial House Museum" to help visitors begin to understand that this building is not the birthplace of George Washington.

All park references, including the website, unigrid map and guide, and publications will need to be updated to reflect this change.

Initially, this building will tell stories associated with the 1930s preservation effort and the women's group who took the lead so that visitors begin to understand how historical interpretation has evolved. During a 6-month period beginning in July 2018, the park will pilot ideas developed through the "NPS NER Historic House Museum Study". Interpretive changes will focus on first floor rooms and the hallway. Proposed changes will include the use of modern museum lighting, seating and 1930s music to begin the change from the original "colonial look and feel." Packing crates and furniture coverings may be used to give the impression that an exhibit is being installed. Life-size silhouettes of 1930s-era figures may also be used to establish the interpretive timeframe. A second pilot project may be conducted in advance of the Bicentennial of George Washington' s birth and may include a modern interactive exhibit including artifacts that addresses the establishment of the Wakefield National Memorial Association and the early efforts of memorialization. Due to accessibility challenges, the second floor will no longer be used for interpretive or educational programming.

The park will make a gradual shift from the guided house tours currently being offered to a place of self-discovery. Staff training will be required to increase resource knowledge and provide alternative interpretive experiences including informal roving, facilitated dialogue, and audience centered programs. A long-term goal will be to place self-directed interactive, portable exhibits in different locations throughout the Memorial House Museum to reveal a variety of stories. The museum may also provide space for programs, memory making, and education. A distance learning lab and other educational materials/resources may allow students of all ages to become immersed in life on Popes Creek.

This building is the best place within the park to focus on the 1930s memorialization. Visitors may be asked to consider why Washington has become such an American icon and to show people what an ideal American was? What makes a real American? How do we remember the past/nostalgia? The historic post office gives visitors the chance to write a message to George Washington and share their thoughts and feelings about this special place as well as his life and times.

The park will work with Eastern National to change their brand from the Memorial House which has become an iconic image to the obelisk located at the park entrance.

Dancing Marsh Loop Trail

The loop trail is not well known or visited, and yet it links two of the most heavily visited areas of the park - the picnic area and the Historic Area. Perhaps a different name and improved wayfinding would encourage visitors to walk both this ¾-mile loop and the nature trail one-mile loop. Both of these trails would allow visitors the oppo1tunity to experience the local environment and discover the natural history that brought indigenous people and the Washington family to Popes Creek. This is also an area that would provide students of all ages a range of opportunities for science learning and discovery.

Picnic Area

More visitors go to the beach and the picnic area than the visitor center and Historic Area/Popes Creek Farm. Many local African American families come specifically to picnic. From the picnic area there is an overlook to the Historic Area; however, few take the trail and go across to the Historic Area. A strong invitation and sense of welcome is required to encourage picnickers to go across the bridge and enter the Historic Area/Popes Creek Farm.

The picnic area including the grills and tables is the perfect place to help visitors discover 18th century food ways. The grills, tables, and site could be given names that relate to early foods and food preparation techniques.

Multi-generational families often come for picnics. Installing a play area that represents a ship (e.g. Caledon State Park Discovery Area) or an archeology dig could allow families to consider what life might have been like here while engaging in play and having fun. These families are also looking for stories associated with family. Telling the stories of the Washington family as well as all of the families who lived on Popes Creek during George Washington's early childhood will help visitors make positive connections and lasting memories. Using interpretive media (digital or wayside exhibit) will bring this area to life.

Creating memories could be a significant aspect of the picnic area experience. Helping visitors make and share their own digital memories as well as commemorating and honoring the ancestors who are no longer named will make a lasting impression. Developing a Memorial Forest (e.g. Duck Hall) walk or a memory station near the current nature trail may provide this opportunity. The park staff will need to meet with community to discuss this idea and conduct research before taking action. Hosting a naturalization ceremony is another memory making experience and ties directly to historic and contemporary immigration themes. For digital interpretive media to be effective, connectivity in this area must be improved. The park may also want to offer an electronic charging station at the bathrooms.

1'11"-Century Family Sites on Popes Creek:. Washington Burial Ground, Henry Brooks site, Bridge's Creek, John Washington House

A few waysides are currently used to tell the stories associated with 17th-century life on Popes Creek including Bridge's Creek, the Henry Brooks site, the John Washington house site and the Washington family burial ground. With additional historical and archeological research, so much more could be shared. For example, the 17th century families who lived here, the agricultural production, and the marketing and shipping of goods by George Washington's ancestors is not told elsewhere. This would also be an appropriate location to share Anne Pope's, great grandmother of George Washington, story. Visitors then would have a multi-generational opportunity to discover how Popes Creek changed over time.

This area will emphasize self-discovery and little staff presence. The park may consider digital or printed media to supplement the wayside exhibits. The Chamberlain Map could be a resource to develop a tactile map of this area and provide a sense of place. A review of the Cultural Landscape Report will be helpful to detem1ine if any additional strategies for interpreting this area have already been identified and are feasible within the next 5-7 years.

Establishing mowed paths in fields that have been returned to native grass may provide increased interpretive and recreational opportunities. Visitors must drive or bicycle to travel through the park. Creating a primitive trail system that connects to existing trails will allow visitors to walk without going on the busy park road.

The Washington family burial ground provides opportunities to continue the 1930s memorialization and Colonial Revival stories introduced at the Memorial House Museum.

Any archeological excavation near the Henry Brooks site will need to be done as soon as possible due to bank erosion. This site provides opportunities for visitors to gain insight into what life was life for the first land patentee in the area and sets the scene for the arrival of the Washington family.

Potomac River Beach

More than 2/3 of the park visitors go out to the beach and picnic area for recreation rather than visit the Historic Area. The park will begin to strengthen NPS brand recognition through more frequent and visible use of the NPS arrowhead so that future visitors will recognize that they are within a unit of the National Park System. Wayfinding needs to be improved and the arrowhead needs to be included within the wayfinding system. Wayside exhibits also need to be updated to include the NPS arrowhead.

Before making significant changes to the type and level of interpretation to offer at the beach, the park should consider a study to determine carrying capacity and the desired duration of stay at the beach.

Many of the beach visitors do not speak English as their first language. There is a push button audio box, that features a NPS arrowhead, that offers safety information and some historic context in both English and Spanish. There are also safety messages and no collecting signs in English and Spanish. In addition to safety and security messages, the park may develop and install bilingual wayside exhibits on the beach that reveal what this landscape meant to the Washington family, Native Americans and enslaved Africans, may be an appropriate technique to help the beach visitors consider what did it mean historically to be American and what does it mean today?

Roving rangers, from interpretation, resource management, and law enforcement branches, may take turns contacting beach visitors through fishing demonstrations and Leave No Trace activities. These efforts may help visitors begin to recognize that the beach is much more than an easily accessible place to swim and fish. The beach area was important to early indigenous people as well as the Washington family's commercial enterprise. Engaging locals in fishing demonstrations that help them discover early American Indian and American colonial fishing techniques may be appropriate on the weekends when there is the heaviest visitation.

Desired Visitor Experiences

Desired visitor experiences describe what physical, intellectual, and emotional experiences should be available for visitors to George Washington Birthplace National Monument. These experiences will be available to the degree possible to visitors of all abilities, including those with visual, auditory, mobility, or cognitive impairments.

Before they arrive, visitors will have an opportunity to use:

• Use a comprehensive website to receive helpful trip planning information.

During their visit, visitors will be able to:

• Easily use directional signs to get to and around the site.

• Self-guide through the site using a well-designed system of waysides with tactile elements enhanced by a mobile website and audio tours.

• Have authentic, thoughtful conversations with staff, partners, and others or enjoy the resource on their own.

• Have access to a variety of site-specific publications both hard copy and downloadable.

• Purchase appropriate books and sales items.

After their visit, visitors will be able to continue their connection to the park by:

• Joining the cooperating association or friends group.

• Visit nearby, related sites.

• Obtain information about other related sites in the area so that they can extend their visit.

• Participate in the social media offerings.

• Become a volunteer.

• Participate in distance learning programs.

Audiences

In order to design the most effective interpretive and educational programming as well as employ the most effective techniques, parks must identify intended audiences, both existing audiences who actively visit the park (onsite and virtually) and potential new audiences that well-planned services may attract. Because different audiences have varied needs and expectations, specific interpretive and educational strategies and methods should be developed to meet the needs of each particular audience.

Current Audiences:

• First-time visitors

• Recreational users - locals, walkers/runners, horseback riders

• 4-H/Youth

• Local Elementary Schools

• Virtual visitors - web and social media

• Special interest groups

Potential Future Audiences:

All audiences are welcome and invited to participate in park programs and services; some techniques are better adapted or appeal to particular audiences. Parks seek to appeal to a wide range of visitors of varied backgrounds and ages with different motivations and expectations for visiting.

Potential new audiences will receive focused attention because they are either inadequately served by existing interpretation, need different strategies for engagement, or require specific methods to open or sustain communications and relationships. Factors to consider when developing interpretive and educational programs and services include the life experiences of the individual or group, level of education, learning styles, language, cultural traditions, and time available for interaction.

Youth Current studies indicate that youth, including millennials, are disconnected from parks. This disconnect may be a result of competition for time, family history/diversity/ethnicity, and lack of access. Exploring ways to effectively engage youth building on the success of the 4-H program, through social media, service-learning projects, organized groups, and within family units will ultimately create opportunities for them to become future employees, stewards, advocates, voters, and decision makers.

Local and Regional Visitors - Emphasis on Connecting to African American and Hispanic Communities Anecdotal evidence suggests that many local residents living nearby may not even know that they live near the park. Many local and regional residents do not know about George Washington Birthplace National Monument. Staff will need to explore a variety of outreach methods to effectively engage and promote stewardship with these local and regional residents.

Virtual Audiences Virtual audiences will visit on-site and off-site using a variety of electronic devices. They are looking for conversation, community, trip planning, current conditions, and emergency alerts using a variety of social and digital media. Since this trend is likely to accelerate, the site will need to develop strategies to use emerging technologies to reach these audiences in cost effective and sustainable ways.

Education Groups Education groups may include students from pre-school to Road Scholars (formerly known as Elderhostel) and seniors. Life-long learning opportunities should be offered in addition to elementary and secondary school models to introduce adults as well as children to park stories.

Transportation and time constraints may make it challenging for students to travel to the site.

Multi-generational Families Large extended families may speak multiple languages and have different cultural and spiritual needs that will need to be addressed to ensure that they have a meaningful and safe visit.

Virginia American Indian Tribal Members Rappahannock and Pamunkey tribal members, as well as five other federally recognized tribes in Virginia may not know they live near the park or they may be unaware of the tribal cultural and historical significance of the site. Staff will need to explore a variety of outreach methods produced in collaboration with both tribes including special programs and youth camps to effectively engage and promote stewardship with tribal elders, members, and their families.

Master Gardener/Naturalist Aspects of the Colonial Revival period and other thematic connections to George Washington, will attract those interested in heirloom and traditional gardening and farming techniques, and those studying the environmental history associated with the site.

Challenges and Opportunities Affecting Interpretation

George Washington Birthplace National Monument has many assets upon which to build an effective interpretive program, including evocative and compelling stories, outstanding natural and cultural resources, ongoing research, and engaged, enthusiastic partners. It also faces a number of challenges. Well-designed programs can build on interpretive strengths to help overcome these challenges.

George Washington Birthplace National Monument is subject to the same budget and staffing constraints and benefits as any similar type of resource. This lack of staff and funding limits the site's ability to provide interpretive and educational services and programming. These limitations can make managing local citizen and partner expectations difficult, since site development often takes longer than the public expects.

Visitor motivations for spending their leisure time are changing. As more demands are being placed on free time there is a limited amount of time available to participate in interpretive and educational activities and programs. Offering a range of options as well as consolidating events may need to be considered.

Due to budget shortfalls and curriculum mandates, schools may not be able to come to the park so outreach alternatives will need to be identified. For example, the park may provide the resources so the teachers can develop lessons and present them to the students.

Future audiences may have different expectations and needs for media and technology to better understand area stories and to make connections with area resources. The park does not have the infrastructure or capacity to handle some types of technology.

As fiscal budgets tighten, park staff, and partners will need to develop business strategies and consider new, different, perhaps entrepreneurial fee-based ways to provide interpretive and educational services.

Existing Conditions

Site Experience George Washington Birthplace National Monument, located on Popes Creek on the northern neck of Virginia, offers visitors the opportunity to explore the area where George Washington was born. Upon entering the park, all visitors drive by the Obelisk. One third then go to the visitor center to begin their experience and two thirds of the visitors go to the beach and/or the picnic area. Anecdotal data suggests many visitors who go to the beach and/or picnic area do not speak English as their primary language.

The visitor center includes an auditorium, exhibit space, restrooms, bookstore, and park offices.

The 10-minute park film is show on request in the visitor center. The visitor center exhibits cover a variety of topics. There is a children's comer with a selfie station.

Ranger-guided tours are offered of the Memorial House Museum and visitors are encouraged to walk around the Historic Area on their. On the Memorial House Museum tour visitors will see Colonial Revival furnishings and learn about the culture and history of the Washington family.

The kitchen building has been divided into two parts to provide a Colonial Revival interpretation of a colonial kitchen and to create a reflective space for temporary exhibits. Wayside exhibits on the grounds as well as historic furnishings and interior exhibits in some of the building set the scene.

Visitors can go on trails or by car to the picnic area. Traveling from the visitor center to the beach, visitors may stop anq view wayside exhibits that highlight the locations of the family burial ground and the sites where John Washington, George Washington's great-grandfather, and Henry Brooks, a neighbor, lived. There is no public access to the Bridges Creek area.

Trails Three different interconnected loop walking trails are one mile or less in length and allow visitors to walk around the visitor center, the Historic Area, the picnic area, and Dancing Marsh.

Most visitors walk the trail from the visitor center to the Memorial House Museum. Many local recreational visitors use the trails on a regular basis.

Guided Memorial House Museum Tours The only way to access the Memorial House is on a 20-30-minute park ranger-guided tour.

During the peak season, the tours are offered on the hour from 10:00 a.m. until 4:00 p.m. daily.

Tours begin at the benches near the garden outside of the home with an introduction to George Washington and his historical significance. The tour proceeds into the house where visitors are allowed to look at the first floor rooms while the ranger provides insights into the possible uses of the furnishings if this had been the actual birth home of George Washington. For those able to go upstairs, they may look in the rooms and continue to listen to the ranger. Tours are not capacity controlled; and group size varies on each tour. The tours are often personalized and somewhat informal. During the tours, rangers provide insights into the Colonial Revival structure and time period. The rooms are closed to visitor access except to view the period furnishings used to set the scene.

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For visitors who do not want a guided tour, they can walk around the colonial farm and go over to the John Washington house site and the family burial ground. Iftime allows they could walk some of the trails. Except during special events, there are no family-friendly or children's activities available other than the Junior Ranger booklet.

Education Programs Curriculum-based programs for elementary school children, primarily 4th and 5th grade students, are available upon request. Teacher resources are available on the park website for each program.

Interpretive Media Website: The park website (www.nps.gov/gewa) is maintained by staff and features information about the park, program schedule, educational materials, and some historical background.

Social Media: The park staff regularly posts to Facebook; however, has a limited presence on other social media platforms. Posting is done irregularly with no consistent message or design.

Exhibits: Visitor Center and Historic Area exhibits tell a variety of stories. However, they are dated, do not tell a cohesive story and are not terribly compelling. Once more research is completed, new exhibits may be considered.

Digital Media: The film is outdated and does not connect with visitors. A new sh01t video would provide context and encourage visitors to go explore the park.

Wayside Exhibits: The wayside or landscape-based exhibits are located along the trail from the visitor center the historic house and around the colonial farm. There are also wayside exhibits at some trail heads, the John Washington house site, the family burial ground, and the parking lot looking towards Henry Brooks' house site. None of the panels include tactile or audio components.

Publications: The park brochure (unigrid folder) is available to all park visitors at the visitor center. A park-specific Junior Ranger booklet and many other thematic Junior Ranger booklets are available at the visitor center. Site bulletins cover different topics and are available upon request.

Special Events The interpretive staff hosts well-attended special events associated with holidays (e.g.,4th of July and Christmas) that sometimes include live firing demonstrations and living history/period dress interpretation. Some events such as the lecture series will be offered on a limited basis due to declining attendance. The operational burden will need to be carefully considered when planning future special events.

Staffing/Volunteers Currently, the four permanent staff are supervised by the Chief of Interpretation, who also manages Thomas Stone National Historic Site. There are no interns and a few volunteers currently helping at the park. A minimal level of staffing makes it difficult to offer a variety of programs, keep the visitor center and the historic house open at the same time, offer educational and outreach programs, and update and maintain the website and social media outlets.

Partnerships With few staff, the number and variety of partnerships has decreased. The relationship with local school districts and nearby historical sites needs to be strengthened and maintained. New partnerships will need to be identified and established. Park staff and partners will need to collaborate and work together to reach and educate the public about the history and significance of George Washington Birthplace National Monument.

Eastern National:

The Eastern National bookstore in the visitor center primarily offers books that emphasize Washington' s later (adult) years and the American Revolution. There is very little printed about Washington's childhood. Stuffed animals and magnets are popular sales items that help visitors remember their time at Popes Creek Farm. Commemorative items are also top sellers. If there are changes made within the Historic Area, the park may need to reconsider the use of the Memorial House Museum as the commemorative icon.

Westmoreland State Park: · Westmoreland State Park provides camping and day use facilities and connects to the Captain John Smith Trail, a water-based trail. The park is often a launch point for a visitor' s experience to George Washington Birthplace National Monument and the staff provide arrival and orientation information to help visitors plan their time in the area including the Birthplace. The State Park tells stories of the natural resources and history of the Northern Neck and the Potomac River watershed, local American Indian tribes, paleontological resources, and the Civilian Conservation Corps. Visitors engage in recreational activities and there are opportunities provided to experience the cultural history at the visitor center. Birthplace staff sometimes present programs at the park. The State Park and Birthplace have found shared training opportunities, when offered, are valuable. In the future, visitation is expected to increase at both sites when the new Northern Neck biking and walking trail extends into the area.

Stratford Hall:

Stratford Hall was originally part of Popes Creek Plantation before becoming home to four generations of the Lee Family. The site is actively removing elements of the Colonial Revival period and focusing more on the daily life and living associated with the Lee Family. For example, the colonial garden is going to become a working garden where visitors will be encouraged to help tend crops using historic methods and tools. Ship building and trades will also be emphasized in the future. Stories of archeological research will help visitors better understand how the site could " lose a house." They are addressing controversial issues and topics through social media and using on-site storytelling techniques developed by National Endowment for the Humanities and the Lower East Side Tenement Museum. While not actively partnering with the Birthplace on projects, there are many future connections that could be established.

Ferry Farm/Kenmore Ferry Farm was the childhood home of George Washington. Archeology is an important story here and the site has established a lab, field school, and camps. Currently, the emphasis is on the science of history. Through the use of historical evidence and data collected on site, the historical area is being built including a reproduction house with interactive displays. In the future, period dress interpretation may be offered; however, a volunteer corps will be required to offer and sustain this program. Washington family stories are explored including "What price freedom?

and Loyalist vs. Patriot." While not connecting directly to the Birthplace through joint…