Exhibition Docent Handbook - Museum on Main Street

docent handbook<strong>Museum</strong> on Main StreetA partnership of theSmithsonian Institution andState Humanities Councilsnationwide in serviceto rural America

San Augustine County, Texas, 1939; Photo by Russell Lee.Library of CongressCover: Detail of Spring Yardwork by Thornton Utz,Saturday Evening Post cover, May 18, 1957; © 1957 SEPS:Curtis Publishing, Indianapolis, IndianaBETWEEN FENCES is a MUSEUM ON MAIN STREET exhibitiondeveloped by the Smithsonian Institution Traveling<strong>Exhibition</strong> Service.MUSEUM ON MAIN STREET is a partnership betweenthe Smithsonian Institution, the Federation of StateHumanities Councils, and state humanities councilsnationwide that serves small-town museums andcitizens. This innovative project brings rural Americaone-of-a-kind access to prestigious Smithsonianexhibitions and first-rate educational humanitiesprograms. Most importantly, MUSEUM ON MAIN STREETenables rural museums to demonstrate theirenormous talents and their meaningful contributionsto small-town life. Like all MUSEUM ON MAIN STREETexhibitions, BETWEEN FENCES was specificallydesigned to meet the needs of small institutions.BETWEEN FENCES was made possible through thegenerous support of the United States Congress.For information about other MUSEUM ON MAIN STREETexhibitions, visit www.museumonmainstreet.org.

Welcome to BETWEEN FENCES and thankyou for being an exhibition docent/tourguide. We’ve created this handbook toincrease your familiarity with BETWEENFENCES and to assist you in helping visitorsappreciate and enjoy the exhibition.This handbook leads you through the exhibitionsection by section. It offers ideas, themes, andquestions designed to inspire meaningful discussionduring your tours. Your job as a docent/tour guideis to encourage visitors to think about the subjectand to invite them, through skillful questions,to share their own ideas and experiences.BETWEEN FENCES consists of an introduction, fivecontent sections, and a conclusion. This handbookfollows the same format. An overview paragraphfor each exhibition section or theme is followed by“Think About It” and “Let’s Talk.” “Think About It”helps you recognize important points in each sectionso that you can encourage your visitors to thinkabout them. “Let’s Talk” offers questions to askvisitors. Most are open-ended; the answers to otherscan be found in the exhibition text.Remember, you aren’t expected to be an expert curator.You’re here to open and lead a discussion. Visitors whoarrive as part of an organized tour group usually feelmore comfortable speaking up. Visitors who arriveindividually and become part of a tour may requirea bit of coaxing. You don’t have to ask all the questionsin this handbook; just one question can spark ananimated discussion. You’ll quickly learn whichquestions work best for different age groups and howlong you need to spend at each section.Share what you learn on your tours with fellowdocents/tour guides. Your experience may help themwith their tours. Some helpful hints on being aneffective and engaging docent/tour guide are includedon the last two pages of this handbook. While thishandbook was specifically created for BETWEEN FENCES,we hope that you’ll extend your docent skills toinitiate discussions about related exhibits, artifacts,and stories from your own community.—The <strong>Museum</strong> on Main Street Team

INTRODUCTIONBETWEEN FENCESBETWEEN FENCES is about our homesand the land on which they’re built. It’sthe story of the settling of the UnitedStates and the creation of communities.It’s about different kinds of fences, wherethey’re used, and the materials usedto make them. It’s about why people buildfences. It’s about intimacy and conflict,creativity, and industry. BETWEEN FENCESis about defining ourselves as Americans—our philosophies, our lifestyles, ourvalues and beliefs, our national ethos,and our national borders.

THINK ABOUT ITHave your visitors enter the exhibition through thepicket fence and encourage them to think aboutwhat a picket fence means to most Americans.LET’S TALK• We see all sorts of fences everywhere, everyday, butdo we ever really stop to think about them and whatthey mean? How many different types of fences haveyou seen in your neighborhood or community?• What images are conjured up when you think offences? What words come to mind when you thinkof fences? What people do you think of?• Did you have a fence around your yard when youwere a child? What kind?• Do you have a fence or fences on your propertynow? Did you build or install them yourself?• Why do you have a fence on your property?Privacy? Security? Decoration? Keeping somethingin or keeping something out?Free Lance Photographers Guild, Inc.

SECTION 1THIS LANDIS MY LANDLand is the earth that we live on. Peoplemake land into property by owningand using it. Fences help define propertyas home and community, and manyAmericans equate homes, fences, andproperty ownership with happiness.THINK ABOUT ITAsk your visitors to look at the house and fence in theVirginia countryside. Encourage them to think aboutthe terms “land” and “property” and what they mean.LET’S TALK• Why do you think the exhibit curators includedsoil samples in Between Fences? Why do you thinkthere’s a shovel next to the soil samples? Whatdo you think is the difference between “land”and “property”?• What do you think the fence around the Virginiahouse means to the homeowner? Do you think apasser-by would interpret the fence in the same way?Loudoun County, Virginia; Chicken & Egg Public Projects, Inc.

Chicken & Egg Public Projects, Inc.• In the window of pictures, can you see the coupleposing in front of their urban picket fence?What do you suppose the fence means to them?Do you think the couple and the country homeownerhave the same feelings about their fences?Do you think the fences have the same function?• How do you think fences figure into ideas of homeand happiness, property and prosperity, and livingthe American Dream?• Please read the quote from Jean Jacques Rousseau’sA Discourse on the Origin of Inequality (1754)and tell me what you think the author meant.Does anyone agree or disagree?

PROPERTYNative Americans did not use fencesto claim ownership of the land. Thispractice was quite different from thoseof European colonists who used fencesto prevent hogs from eating crops andto protect sheep from wild animals.Colonists also used fences to take landfrom Native Americans. Eventually,the destruction of forests resulted inwood shortages. Conflicting propertyclaims among colonists led to the rectangularland survey that still dominatesmuch of the American landscape.From Patrick Campbell’s Travels in the Interior Inhabited Partsof North America, 1793; Library Company of PhiladelphiaJamestown by Sidney King, 1614; National Park Service,Colonial National Historical Park

THINK ABOUT ITEncourage your visitors to compare John White’s1585-86 watercolor of the Indian village Secotonand the painting of Jamestown, Virginia, as it mayhave appeared in 1614. Ask them to consider theuses of the fences in each image and the impactof colonization on the landscape.LET’S TALK• John Winthrop wrote in 1629 that Native Americans“ruleth over many lands without title or property . . .they inclose no ground.” How do you think colonistsviewed this approach to the land? How do you thinkthis difference may have affected relationshipsbetween the two groups?• Take a look at the tall stakes or pales on theexhibition panel and imagine an entire fence builtfrom such stakes. How would you respond to this typeof fence? Can you find a similar fence type in theimages here? Why do you think the triangular palisade(fence of pales) at Jamestown was built?• The suburban picket fence may have had its originsin this type of defensive palisade. Do you thinkthat palisades and picket fences have the samefunction? Today, what kinds of fences serve the samefunction as palisades?• What do you think the 1734 and 1793 imagesof America’s colonial landscape tell you about theimpact of fences on the new country? (Hints: typesof fences, deforestation, definition of property,city planning, relationship between cultures.)• Rectangular land surveys, like the one in Wisconsin,have been called a “vicious mode” of dividing landand a way to achieve “neatness, order, and stability.”(Quotes are located behind the slider of Iowa farms.)Why do you think the surveys were considered“vicious”? Do you think order and neatness arebeneficial to communities? Why or why not? Do youthink that rectangular land surveys encouragedisolation or prevented conflict among neighbors?

HOME AND HAPPINESSTo early Americans, owning and farmingland represented economic and politicalindependence. Fences stood for thatindependence and sent messages aboutsocial status and wealth. Fenced front yardswere typical in 19th-century America.Even though 20th-century landscape designcalled for unobstructed lawns, manyowners kepttheir propertyfenced, defininga private andsecure familyspace. Byproclaimingownership,fences allowus to pursueSpring Yardwork by Thornton Utz, happiness andSaturday Evening Post cover,the AmericanMay 18, 1957; © 1957 SEPS: CurtisPublishing, Indianapolis, Indiana Dream.THINK ABOUT ITAsk your visitors to consider whether Spring Yardworkrepresents their idea of the American Dream.LET’S TALK• In 18th-century America, fences represented theeconomic and political independence of landowners.(Landless men weren’t allowed to vote.) Take a look atthe number and types of fences in the 1875 BooneCounty, Missouri, images. What do you think the fencessay about the owners of the property? Do you thinkfences represent economic and political independencetoday? Why or why not?• Fenced front yards were all the rage in 19th-centuryAmerica. Why do you think people kept their frontyards fenced? Passers-by could see and/or climb throughmany of these fences, so what purpose did they serve?Tradition? Esthetics? Security? Property demarcation?

• Match the sliding front-yard fences with thehouses behind them. What factors did you use todetermine how you paired each fence and house?• Why do you think a planned community, likeSeaside, Florida, requires front-yard picket fenceson all properties? What do you think the communityis trying to say about itself? Why do you thinkpicket fences have become so strongly associatedwith suburban bliss?Seaside, Florida; © Steven Brooke Studios. All rights reservedChicago, Illinois, 1955; Photo by Ken Hedrich, © ChicagoHistorical Society• What function do you think the Chicago chain-linkbackyard fence serves? What about the wooden backyardfence in Queens, New York? Security? Privacy?Decoration? What conclusions do you draw about thehomeowners when comparing these different frontyardand backyard fences? Do you see many privacyfences in your community? Are the security fences inyour community intimidating or picturesque?• In the Declaration of Independence, Jeffersonaltered the traditional English phrase “life, liberty,and property” to read “life, liberty, and the pursuitof happiness.” Why do you think he did that?Do you equate property and happiness? Do youthink landowners and homeowners are happierthan renters? Why or why not?

SECTION 2FARM ANDFENCEFences organize the rural landscape andreflect how farmers use the land. Fenceskeep livestock and crops apart, but theyrequire a substantial investment of moneyand labor. During the 1870s, the easyto-buildworm fence (also called thesplit-rail, zigzag, or Virginia fence) wasso prevalent that it became known as the“national fence.” Post-and-rail fencesrequired less material than worm fences,but more labor. The eventual adoptionof wire fences reflected an increasinglyindustrial farm life.THINK ABOUT ITAsk your visitors if The Leedom Farm looks like anyfarms they’ve seen. Encourage them to think abouthow it’s different or similar to farms they know.

LET’S TALK• Does The Leedom Farm look like a real farmto you? Why or why not? It was painted in 1849by American artist Edward Hicks (1780-1849).Why do you suppose he chose to depict the farmin this idealized way?• How many different types of fences can you seein this painting? How do you think homesteadfences and field fences differed? How were theyalike? How do they differ now?• Take a look at theworm fence model.Why do you think itwas so prevalentin the 1870s? Aspopulations movedwest, do you think thisfence style went, too?Why or why not?West Virginia, 1938; Photo by MarionPost Wolcott. Library of Congress• In the late-19th century, a farmer needed to invest$2 in fences for every $1 in land. Do you think mostfarmers viewed fences as worth the expense? Whatare the risks to crops and animals without fences?• If you were establishing a farmstead, how would youdecide between a worm fence and a post-and-railfence? Which fence would be more labor intensiveto build? Which fence would use more materials?The Leedom Farm by Edward Hicks, 1849; © Abby AldrichRockefeller Folk Art Center, Colonial Williamsburg Foundation

FENCE CRISISBy the mid-1800s, Americans had nearlyobliterated their forests, and a fence crisisgripped the country. Westward expansionover a woodless prairie also required newfencing alternatives. A solution to thesecrises came in the form of wire fences.Like post-and-rail fence building, wirefenceconstruction included digging holesand installing posts. But mountingand stretching the fence fabric tightlybetween the posts was newto the process. Afterinstallation, the woodfrom the old fenceswas often used forfirewood.THINK ABOUT ITAsk your visitors tolook at the cut-outof Abraham Lincolnand consider why hisimage as a rail splitterwas so effectiveduring his political life.Encourage them to thinkabout the impact ofLincoln’s Homestead Actof 1862, which gave160 acres of land tofamilies who remainedon the land for five years.

Rail pile near Circleville, Ohio, 1950; Library of CongressLET’S TALK• Why do you think the image of Lincoln as a railsplitter was beneficial to his political campaignsand career?• What effect do you think excessive rail splittinghad on the landscape?• What materials do you think homesteaders on theplains used to build their fences? What naturalresources were available to them?• Take a look at the woven-wire fencing on the exhibit.Do you think it would protect the woman in theadvertisement from the rampaging bison? What doyou think were some of the benefits of woven-wirefencing? What about drawbacks? What do you thinkfarmers did with the wood from their old fences?J.L.G. Ferris, 1909; © F.A. Schneider

PRODUCTIONFarmers needed strong, durable, affordablefences. Recognizing their need,inventors filed more than 1,200 newfence patents between 1801 and 1881.In 1900, rapidly produced steel postsjoined wooden posts as the fencebuilder’s stock in trade. Mass-productionmachinery enabled barbed wire, wovenwire, and chain link to shape Americanlife and landscape. This mass productiontechnology accompanied the increasingindustrialization of farming.Coils of wire stacked atAmerican Steel & WireCompany, Worcester,Massachusetts, about 1934;Baker Library, HarvardBusiness School

THINK ABOUT ITAsk your visitors to look at the coils of fence wire atthe American Steel and Wire Company and to thinkabout how mass-production technology changed fencebuilding and the American landscape.Woven-wire fence machine; Baker Library, Harvard Business SchoolLET’S TALK• What impact do you think industrialization andmass production had on a farmer’s working style?Income? What about its effect on the landscape?What effects could it have had on farm employment?• The fence crisis inspired more than 1,200 new fencepatents in the 1800s. How many different kindsor styles of fences do you see today? Do youremember any fences styles that are obsolete today?• Around 1900, steel fence posts began to replacewooden ones. What do you think are someof the advantages of steel posts? Can you thinkof any disadvantages?

SECTION 3DON’TFENCE ME INFence cutting reenactment, Nebraska, 1900; Photo by Solomon D.Butcher, Nebraska State Historical Society [nbhips 11967]Barbed wire was a tool for taking andusing land. With it, farmers and rancherscould quickly and cheaply fence millionsof acres. By fencing animals in or out,by destroying or maintaining these fences,individuals proclaimed their beliefs inhow land should be used. Between 1870and 1920, opposing beliefs led toconflicts among farmers, ranchers,sheepherders, and homesteaders. Oftenheightened by ethnic biases, these rangewars involved fence destruction andphysical violence. Range laws determinedthe opportunities available to peopleof all circumstances and ethnicities.

THINK ABOUT ITEncourage your visitors to examine the image of areenactment of an illegal fence cutting and thinkabout the kinds of disputes that fences caused.LET’S TALK• Who do you think may have objected to fenceson the prairie? Why do you think cattlemenand farmers disagreed about fences? How wouldyou answer the question, “Livestock—fenced in or fenced out?” Why? Why doyou think ranchers and homesteadersdisagreed about fences? What aboutranchers and sheepherders?• Barbed wire was used to quickly and cheaplyclaim land. Take a look at the samplesof barbed wire and tell me what you think weresome of the benefits of barbed wire. What aboutthe drawbacks? Do you know how inventorsanswered the need for safe fencing?• How do you think ethnicity may have factoredinto the fence wars of the late-19th andearly-20th centuries?• Does anyone know what a “forty” is? Do youhave any idea how much barbed wire it wouldtake to fence a “forty?” (Answer: 12 spoolsor 15,840 feet.)• Do any of the tools or the images behind themlook familiar to you? Has anyone in thegroup ever used any of these tools? Describehow you used them.

“INFINITE HOGGES”European colonists in America allowedtheir animals to run free “in heardsall over the woods.” Eventually, lawsdictated landowners’ fence specificationsto protect crops and their legal rightto sue for damages from roving animals.By the 1830s, laws were enactedto contain livestock in order to protectothers’ property. But disputes over whoshould build and maintain fencescontinued for years.THINK ABOUT ITTake a look at the court decisions that offer glimpsesinto the debates surrounding people, their cropsand animals, and their fences. Think about if thesedecisions seem fair to you.Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, 1938; Photo by Sheldon Dick.Library of Congress

LET’S TALK• In 1860, only seven states required ownersto fence in their animals. What consequencesof free-roaming animals might lead to conflictbetween farmers and ranchers?• Does your state have range laws on the books?Do you know what they are? As a countyofficial, how would you decide who isresponsible for building fences in yourcommunity—farmers or ranchers?• Take a look at the legal decisions handed downbetween 1829 and 1952. Which decision bestreflects your point of view? Why? Do youremember any such disputes in your communitytoday? How are they resolved?USDA

FENCE ME IN?Fence questions continue to structureAmerican life. Answers to these questionswill shape land, water, and wildlifeprotection; issues of public health andenvironmental quality; and thepreservation of natural resources foryears to come. Fences help define howdiverse activities can co-exist on onepiece of land in the 21st century.THINK ABOUT ITRemind your visitors that fence issues are nota thing of the past and ask them if they knowof any fence disputes in their community thatinfluenced public policy.LET’S TALK• What kind of fence disputes do you recall fromyour own community? Who or what did theresolutions affect? Did the disputes and resolutionschange your community? Did they have aninfluence on public policy?• How do you feel about public access to waterfrontproperty? Do you think homeowners of beachfrontproperty have the right to fence out the publicfrom the coastline?

• Do you think livestock should have accessto streams if they threaten the quality of the water?How to you think ranchers feel about legislationthat mandates livestock enclosure and no accessto streams? Do you think the enclosureof livestock to preserve water sources for plantsand fish is fair to ranchers? To environmentalistsand future generations?• Government-sponsored activities such as coal-bedmethane extraction can have damaging effectson private property and the environment.In circumstances like this, whose position do youthink should prevail? How would you prioritizethe needs of each group?• More Americans who are neither farmers norranchers now live in rural and remote areas.What problems do you think this increasein population and urban and suburban sprawlcause for ranchers and farmers? What about theimpact of sprawl on open spaces? Who isresponsible for keeping livestock out of gardens?Who has the right of way—cars or cows?© Corbis

SECTION 4GOOD FENCESMAKE GOODNEIGHBORSWith fences, Americans definethemselves, their neighborhoods, andtheir country . . . beginning with theirown yards. Fences can create orderand cause conflict; they can includeand exclude. They can build unityand be tools of intolerance.THINK ABOUT ITIn his poem “Mending Wall,” Robert Frost wrote,“Good fences make good neighbors.” Ask yourvisitors to think about what Frost meant andwhether they view fences as creators of orderor creators of conflict.Laurium, Michigan, 1941; Photo by John Vachon.Library of Congress

LET’S TALK• What do you think “Good fences make goodneighbors” means? What other meaningsor interpretations could it have?• Take a look at the photographs of neighbors andtheir fences. How do you think a fencecould cause conflict between neighbors? Howcould a fence create harmony? Have you everexperienced a fence problem with a neighbor?How was it resolved?• Notice that our exhibition “tree” is plantedon the left side of the fence and the apple sits onthe fence. Who owns the apple? Who is responsiblefor the leaves and apples that fall on the right sideof the fence? Do you know the laws that regulatethis type of issue in your community?• Take a look at the Hannabalson v. Sessions case.Do you think that extending an arm over a fenceis grounds for a lawsuit? Do you agree with thejudge that the intrusion is considered trespassing?What do you think is a legitimate fence concernbetween neighbors?• Do you have stone fences in your community?Do they use mortar or are they stacked-stonefences? Do you think stone fences are moreeffective than wooden or wire fences? Why mightyou choose to build a stone fence instead of awooden or wire one?

THE PURSUIT OFHAPPINESSFences of all sizes and types play centralroles in neighbor relations. Spite fencesblock views, light, and air and annoy thenext-door neighbors. Gated communities(for retirees and golfers, for example)promote particular lifestyles and, withtheir extra security, suggest exclusivityand elevated social status. Racialattitudes have shaped environments thatreinforce divisions in American society.Fences, railroad tracks, and highwaysserve as barriers to equal opportunity.

Spite fence, Lanesboro, Minnesota, about 1906–10;Photo by Gilbert B. Ellestad. Minnesota Historical SocietyTHINK ABOUT ITAsk visitors to think what the old saying “the grass isalways greener on the other side of the fence” meansto them and if it ever crosses their minds when theysee fences or gated walls on private property.LET’S TALK• Do you ever think of the saying “the grass is alwaysgreener on the other side of the fence” when youpass a chain link fence? A picket fence? A brick wallwith wrought-iron gates? A gated community?A country club? What does fence type tell us aboutthe people or the property on the other side?Naples, Florida; Courtesy Gate Packages Unlimited, Sebring, Florida• Do you think that privacy is a status symbol? Canyou think of a “status” fence in your community?What does the fence do? Who or what does itinclude and exclude? Can you think of other waysthat people seek privacy on their own property?• Why would you build a privacy fence like the one inthe exhibition? Take a look in the peepholes. Did youfind any familiar reasons for building a privacy fence?• Take a look at the old farmhouse in Minnesota.What do you think the fence’s function is? Whodo you think installed the fence: the homeowneror the next-door neighbor?• Can you think of any examples of fences motivatedby negative attitudes toward race or ethnicity inyour community or in your experience? In additionto fences, can you think of other types of physicalbarriers to equal opportunity and access?Concrete wall to keep black Americans out of a white neighborhoodin Detroit, 1941; Photo by John Vachon. Library of Congress

SECTION 5BUILDINGBORDERSAmericans’ perceptions of their countryand others are reflected in the constructionof their boundaries. Politics, theeconomy, and beliefs about who andwhat is “foreign” determine how webuild our borders. America’s border withCanada is known as the “longest undefendedborder in the world” while itsborder with Mexico is characterized byareas of steel fence and chain link. Thissection considers America’s borders withits neighbors to the north and south.BUILDING THENORTHERN BORDERThe border between Canada and theUnited States, two nations of comparablesocial and economic character, is definedby 22 treaties and a 20-foot-widecorridor marked by obelisks. The 647-mile-long portion of the border at the49th Parallel is the world’s longeststraight-line international boundary.In spite of economic competitionand heightened security due to threatsof terrorism, there are few fencesbetween the two countries.49th Parallel; International Border Commission,United States and Canada

THINK ABOUT ITAs they explore both sides of Building Borders,ask your visitors to think about how bordersdefine who and what we are and how they definewho and what “others” are.LET’S TALK• A cleared swath of land and obelisks of a varietyof materials mark much of the 5,526-mileU.S.-Canada border. What is your reactionto this type of national border? What circumstancesmight change its rather low-tech,quaint appearance?• In this post-9/11 era, do you think the U.S.-Canada border needs to be reconsidered?What steps would you take to protect theUnited States from possible terrorist threatscoming through Canada?• How would you go about inspecting thisnational border? How often do you thinkinspection would be necessary? Why?• Take a look at the obelisk in front of the whitehouse. Do you think the house is in Franklin,Quebec, or in Churubusco, New York?

BUILDING THESOUTHERN BORDEROriginally made of stone markers andcast-iron obelisks, the 2,000-mile U.S.-Mexico border runs from the PacificOcean to the Gulf of Mexico. In 1935,about 90 miles of fence, both chainlink and barbed wire, were built westof El Paso, Texas. In 2005, a steel fencedefines a portion of SouthernCalifornia’s border with Mexico. Therest of the southern line is markedby obelisks and by barbed-wire fencesthat contain cattle. Much of thesouthern line runs through the forbiddingSonoran desert and is activelymonitored by U.S. border patrol agents.THINK ABOUT ITHave visitors look at the chain-link fence and theobelisk beyond it. Ask them to think about whatthey know about border issues with Mexico andCanada and how those issues are reflected inAmerica’s borders with these neighbors.

Postcard of the border between Sonora, Mexico,and Nogales, ArizonaLET’S TALK• Take a look at the image showing the borderbetween Sonora, Mexico, and Nogales, Arizona.Historically, what do you think was the majorissue concerning the Mexican border? (Answer: fearof cattle disease.) What about today?• How do think the fenced areas of the border affectthe relationship between the United States andMexico? Do you think the relationship is differentin areas where the border is marked with onlyobelisks or stone markers? Why or why not?• Do you think installing a fence along the entireborder, as proposed in 1947, is reasonable?Do you think there are other ways to handle illegalimmigration, trade and agriculture issues, illegaldrug problems, and possible terrorist threats?How would you advise the federal governmentto approach these border issues?• How would go about inspecting this national border?How often do you think inspection would benecessary? Who do you think should be responsiblefor monitoring the border? The government?Security companies? Private citizens?Mexican border; International Boundary and Water Commission,United States and Mexico, U.S. Section

OBELISK:HOW DO YOU BUILDYOUR FENCES?From picket fences surrounding a yardand gates enclosing a neighborhood, towalls bounding a nation, fences expressthe values of communities. They reflecthow we feel about our next-door neighborsas well as our national neighbors.Fences help define who and what we are.Mexican-American boundary monument maintenance, about 1893;National Archives and Records AdministrationTHINK ABOUT ITAsk your visitors to think about what European, Asian,or African guests to America might assume if theycompared the country’s northern and southern borders.Have them consider what the impact of those assumptionsmay be on Americans, Canadians, and Mexicans.Chicken & Egg Public Projects, Inc.

Photographs from Farm and Fence <strong>Handbook</strong> by Henry Giese,about 1938; Republic Steel Corporation, AgriculturalExtension BureauLET’S TALK• On the image of the Sonora/Nogales border,we saw a quote by Martin Heidegger: “Aboundary is not that at which something stops,but . . . that at which something begins”(from “Building Dwelling Thinking,” 1954).What do you think that means?• How do you build your fences? What kindsof fences do you build? Property markers?Farm enclosures? Security? Privacy? Social?Personal? Emotional? Why do you build them?• What do your fences say about you?

TIPS FOR BEING ANINFORMED ANDEFFECTIVE DOCENT• Introduce yourself and make sure each visitorin your tour group feels welcome.• Tell visitors that BETWEEN FENCES is an exhibitioncreated by an innovative partnership that bringsSmithsonian exhibitions to rural communities.It was specifically designed to be small, flexible, andeasily transportable.• Orient your visitors to the exhibition and give thema starting point from which you’ll begin their tour.If your visitors prefer a self-guided tour, providea few highlights of the exhibition and make sure theyknow you are available to answer questions.• Give your visitors an idea of what they can expecton the tour—how long the tour will last (45 minutesis a good average), whether there are seating areasalong the way, etc.• Be familiar with the exhibition and the informationprovided in your docent handbook. Feel freeto carry your handbook on your tours, but avoidreading directly from it. Aim for comfortable andconversational exchanges with your visitors.• Encourage visitors to ask questions. Don’t be afraidto say, “I don’t know,” but try to find out the answerbefore the visitors leave.• Avoid asking questions that can be answered with“yes” or “no.” Ask open-ended questions like: “Whatdo you think . . . ?” or “How do you feel about . . . ?”• Give visitors time to think about and answer questions.Usually someone will speak up in about 10 seconds.• Be sure to practice your tour with museum staff, otherdocents and volunteers, and your family and friends.• Remember, if you’re relaxed and having a good time,your visitors will enjoy themselves too. Have fun!

As representatives of the museum, docents are oftenasked all sorts of questions.BE PREPARED!• Know the museum’s name, address, phone number,hours of operation, and the locations of the giftshop, restrooms, water fountains, pay phones, andseating areas.• Know the disabled access information for themuseum or exhibition space.• Be familiar with dates and times of special eventsassociated with BETWEEN FENCES.• Be familiar with other exhibitions in the museumor exhibition space.Written by Ann C. EasterlingDesigned by Hall Smyth, Chicken & Egg Public Projects, Inc.© 2005 Smithsonian InstitutionThis publication may be reproduced for educational purposes.www.museumonmainstreet.org