Draft Interpretive Plan Join the adventure! - Captain John Smith ...

*Develop ways to tie interpretation to water based experiences with in-depth guides,
paddling guides to St. Leonard’s Creek and other ways to interpret from the water. Tap
into the marina populations and boat clubs (Cruising Club of the Chesapeake). Place
interpretive panels in marinas. Develop landings at Jefferson Patterson Park & Museum.
“Connect people through the waterways. Return to the old ways.” Elder hostel boat
tours. Patuxent and Potomac rivers tour packages.
*Develop a program coordinating scouting events/hikes/paddles/orienteering with
patches/medals.
*Develop additional events tracing Captain Smith’s voyages.
*Broaden the programming of the Skipjack Lab of the Chesapeake Biological
Laboratories.
*Encourage geocaching (using GPS devices to find “caches” at predetermined sites) at
St. Mary’s River State Park and Point Lookout State Park. (This will require an
agreement from the Maryland Department of Natural Resources.)
*Develop kayak and canoe historic tours (Annapolis Maritime Museum has initiated
this).
*Weave CAJO content into Ingleside Winery Tours.
*Develop skiff tours, e.g. Calvert Marine Museum to Jefferson Patterson Park &
Museum. (Note: insurance an issue. Check National Park Service support program.)
*Encourage Heritage Boat Tours (visit sites from water), e.g. Watermark Tours.
8. Interpretive Media
Participants recommended the types of media they thought would effectively reach
visitors.
Summary:
Recognizing the nature of the Captain John Smith Chesapeake National Historic
Trail, participants recommended that media be developed to reach out to visitors,
potential visitors and local residents. Websites, cell phone tours, school curriculums,
road signs, buoy system panels, NOAA’s Chesapeake Bay Interpretive Buoy System,
guidebooks, radio broadcasts, offsite films and Regional Information Centers were
recommended to communicate to people where they were. Conventional media such as
films or indoor or outdoor exhibits requiring on-site visitor centers were not
recommended.
By their comments, participants tacitly acknowledge that people would not be
likely to come to the Trail until media promotions and Trail interpretation reached
people where they are.
The participants’ creative suggestions for utilizing the latest in electronic media
acknowledged the need to contact the greatest number of people with the most efficiency.
Again, planners and managers will have to carefully evaluate these and other
ideas for interpretive media to get the most out of the available resources of people and
money.
Specific Suggestions:
101