About Spark

S park is a virtual workshop where people who develop exhibits and other interpretive media can learn, share information, and exchange ideas.  Spark is also the online home of the Interpretive Media Section of the National Association for Interpretation (NAI).

Web team

Editor: Maraya Cornell
Writer and Exhibit Developer
The Nature of Story
maraya@natureofstory.com

Managing Editor: Cheryl Ford
Program Director
White Mountain Nature Center
caf@torreon.com

Site Designer: Jaime Whitlock
Graphic Designer
Provision Graphics
jaime@provisiongraphics.com

Acknowledgments

Spark was created in early 2009 in response to Interpretive Media Section members’ request for a way to connect with one another online.  As the concept for the site evolved, many people donated time, thought, creativity, and encouragement without which the Spark would never have happened.

Thanks to Glenda Franich, Graphic Designer at the Fish and Wildlife Service, and to Joshua Hammari, Art and Design Instructor at the University of Minnesota Duluth, for providing critical feedback and design insight during the initial stages of planning the site.  Designer Jaime Whitlock invented the name Spark and created its sparky header, though everyone in the IM Section participated in many brainstorming sessions.  Additional thanks are due to Jaime for collecting and saving member feedback over the years, and to Josh for writing the site’s first comment. Marc Blackburn, the IM Section Chair, worked on many of the pages in the site, and has provided endless encouragement.

We’re grateful to the folks at the NAI National Office for repeatedly answering the same questions as we got ourselves organized, particularly Lisa Brochu, Associate Director; Jaime King, Membership Manager; and Paul Caputo, Graphic Designer. Russell Dickerson, Creative Technologies Director, graciously lent his technical expertise from start to finish, and helped get the site launched.

Thanks also to Thomas Hartman of IQ Magic for ideas, insightful criticism, and the term ‘Cookbook,’ which we’re using to identify how-to articles on the site.

Last, but not least, Spark could not have launched without the generous work of our first contributors: Tom Richter, Chief of Interpretation and Education for the
Midwest Region of NPS; Ranger Judy Joy Lively of the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area; Visitor Experience Consultant Stephanie Weaver; and Kacie Carlson, Naturalist at Lake Carlos State Park in Minnesota.