February 24, 2005

Great Tours, the popular one-day workshop on creating thematic tours at historic sites, will be held Saturday, February 26, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. at California State University, Fullerton. Large and small group interactive exercises are based on a case study of a historic site, providing participants with practical experience. Registration is $50 per person and includes the 159-page book “Great Tours! Thematic Tours and Guide Training for Historic Sites” (AltaMira Press, 2002), all materials, lunch and refreshments. Attendance is limited. To register, call the Center for Oral and Public History at 657-278-3580 or visit http://coph.fullerton.edu.

Successful historic site tours have a number of characteristics in common, most important, that they are organized around three to five significant themes. Through a combination of presentations, activities and discussion, in this one-day workshop attendees will learn how to select topics and construct themes, understand the principles of thematic interpretation, integrate material culture and historical biography and develop a thematic tour outline. Attendees will discover how to respond to the varied needs of visitors, as well as how to develop and maintain an outstanding guide program.

This workshop is specifically designed for educators, interpreters, curators, program directors, and other staff and volunteers responsible for the content and management of tours at historic sites, districts or heritage areas who have at least 2-4 years experience in developing or presenting guided tours.

Great Tours! is sponsored by the National Trust for Historic Preservation, Center for Oral and Public History at Cal State Fullerton, and American Association for State and Local History and funded in part by the National Endowment for the Humanities.

The National Trust for Historic Preservation is a private, nonprofit membership organization dedicated to protecting the irreplaceable. Recipient of the National Humanities Medal, the trust was founded in 1949 and provides leadership, education and advocacy to save America’s diverse historic places and revitalize communities. Its Washington, D.C., headquarters staff, six regional offices and 25 historic sites work with the trust’s 200,000 members and thousands of local community groups in all 50 states. For more information, visit the trust’s web site at www.nationaltrust.org.

The Center for Oral and Public History is a nonprofit organization and part of the College of Humanities and Social Sciences at Cal State Fullerton. The center grew out of the university’s Oral History Program (founded in 1968) and now holds over 3,500 tape-recorded interviews. As part of its mission to engage in teaching, training, research, publication and community service, the center offers course work in oral and public history, and connects the university with broader communities through contract work and participation in local and national historical associations. For more information visit the web site http://coph.fullerton.edu

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