VIRTUAL INTERPRETATION IN A PANDEMIC-RIDDEN WORLD: ONLINE GEOSCIENCES EDUCATION AND ENGAGEMENT AT MAKOSHIKA STATE PARK, MT, USA

The arrival of the COVID-19 pandemic in March deeply impacted informal geoscience education in museums and public parks. Makoshika State Park (Glendive, MT) responded to the shift away from in-person interpretation with twice-weekly interpretive videos on the park’s Facebook page. Due to our small staff, it was critical that we develop an effective, flexible system for producing engaging, quality content in a timely manner. Each week we created one in-depth interpretive video focusing on a topic related to the park’s natural resources, and one simpler video in a Q&A format addressing questions from the comments of the previous video. Content goals for the interpretive videos included a script with a clear introduction, body, and conclusion, an informal presentation style, engaging visuals, and subtitles, all within a 3-4 minute run time. Footage was recorded on a standard DSLR camera, voiceover narration was recorded on an inexpensive USB microphone, and Adobe Premiere Pro was used to edit the videos. During the weeks following the release of the first video, the number of people following Makoshika State Park’s Facebook page increased by approximately 50%, and continued to climb as more videos were released. Beside the obvious benefit of improving our online platform, bringing the park to the public through online interpretation has also increased our accessibility. Even during non-pandemic circumstances, many people are unable to travel to parks or museums in person. Physical disabilities and other factors may also limit peoples’ ability to explore or attend interpretive events. Online interpretation helps institutions like Makoshika reach a more diverse audience and achieve their missions of public service and engagement.