INTERVIEW WITH RANGER

In this step, you will reach out and interview a ranger from your National Historic Park/Site

Keep in mind their hours of operation and any time zone differences.

Before you dive into your questions ask to make sure they have a few minutes to talk to you. The interview should take around 5-10 minutes typically unless you get someone with a lot of knowledge then it could take longer.

1. Provide an introduction
   • Tell them your name
   • Let them know that you are a student at Salt Lake Community College in Utah
   • Let them know that you are taking a class called "Economic History of the US" and that you are doing your major term project on their park and would appreciate some assistance.
2. If the person answering the phone is not a ranger, ask if you can speak to one.
3. Explain that this is your major term project (explain what the project is) and that one of the pieces is that you need to interview a park ranger for the National Historic Park/Site you have chosen.
4. Ask the ranger for their full name so that you can site the interview correctly.
5. You may want to ask them if it would be OK to audio record the conversation, ifso,you could use a clip from your interview as part of your Prezi presentation (it would count as one type of multi-media).
6. You will want to be able to write down or post the audio recording (make sure it is understandable) of your interview for this assignment.
7. Ask for an email address so that you may send them a thank you note and a copy of your presentation once you have completed the project.
8. Remember to also ask them for a copy of the park brochure, Jr Ranger program, and any other free literature that they would be willing to send you to help you on this project. Ask if you can complete the Jr Ranger program and ifso,you can earn extra credit also you may need to explain that the reason that you want a copy of their JR Ranger is that this is what the park feels is important for someone visiting to learn about.

Start early to allow for snail mail to get to you!

In a word document please summarize the interview that you had with your park ranger. One of the easiest ways to do this is to ask a pre-determined question and write down the response. Some example questions you might want to ask (feel free to ask others as well):

1. What/who was the event or person that Abraham Lincoln Birthplace Park focuses on. Why was it so important that the US government thought that this place should be made into a National Historic Park/Site?

2. If someone was to visit the Abraham Lincoln Birthplace Park "back in the day" what would they have found at this park originally vs what would you find there today?

3. Why do you think I should care about Abraham Lincoln's Birthplace Park in particular?

4. What was economically significant about the event or person that Abraham Lincoln Birthplace Park is about. This is a question that typically stumps many rangers, but it is one that you should ask because it is part of what you need to answer.

5. If the ranger could pass on only 1 piece of information about Abraham Lincoln Birthplace Park to you and your audience, what would it be?