How to conduct a museum tour. Individual excursion text. II. Preparing a museum excursion

2.5. Excursion techniques

The effectiveness of any excursion largely depends on the technique of its implementation, the connection between the methodology and the technique of conducting it. There are a number of requirements for the technique of conducting an excursion. These include the guide’s introduction to the group, the correct placement of the group at the object, the excursionists getting off the bus and returning to the bus (other vehicle), the use of a microphone by the guide, adherence to the time allotted for the excursion as a whole and the disclosure of individual subtopics, answers to questions from tourists, etc.

The guide introduces the group. The guide, upon entering the bus, introduces himself to the group. He greets those present, states his last name, first name, patronymic, the excursion institution that he represents, introduces the excursionists to the bus driver, i.e. begins the excursion with an introduction.

It is important that from the very beginning the guide subordinates his actions to the established rules of communication with the group. He doesn't start talking right away. There is a pause that lasts ten to twenty seconds. The first acquaintance occurs; further contacts between the guide and the group largely depend on it. The tourists gradually fall silent, sit down more comfortably, and their attention turns to the guide. The excursionists figure out what the guide is capable of, what interesting things he will tell them, and the guide thinks about how to interest these people, how to rivet their attention to the topic.

With proper organization of excursion work, preparation for it should occur in advance. This is done by excursion organizers or travel agents.

The plot of the excursion must be known to the excursionist in advance. The tourist must know the topic of the excursion. It is extremely important that promotional activities and the purchase of a tour package are separated from the tour by one or two days. This is significant in the sense that during this period of time a certain psychological attitude of the tourist will take place. He will have time to think about it and get used to the plot of the excursion.

Each topic has its own introduction. If the composition of the group is different (for example, local population and visiting tourists, adults and children), the same excursion will have different introductions. The guide pays special attention to the preparation and execution of the introduction, which gives a specific instruction to the excursionists and allows them to establish contact with them.

Excursionists exit the bus (trolleybus, tram). Tourists need to prepare in advance for departure. In cases where this is not done, a significant part of the group remains sitting on the bus, without getting out to observe the monuments at their location. Thus, excursionists lose the opportunity to personally get to know the object.

At stops where the excursion group is provided to exit, the guide leaves first, showing an example to the group and determining the direction of its movement to the object. In cases where other stops are made during excursions, for example, sanitary stops or for purchasing souvenirs, the guide informs you of the exact time (hour and minutes) of the bus departure. It is necessary to require tourists to comply with the regulations for the excursion, which affects the bus schedule along the route. If the parking time on a country excursion is shortened or increased for some reason, the guide informs all excursionists about this.

Arrangement of the group at the object. When developing an excursion, as a rule, several options for accommodating a group to observe the excursion object are determined. This is done in the case when the place determined by the methodological development is occupied by another group or when the sun's rays shine into the eyes, making it difficult to examine the object. There are other reasons that prevent you from using the recommended location. In hot weather, opportunities are used to arrange groups in the shade. In case of rain, there is an option to accommodate tourists under a roof, under the canopy of trees. In some cases, the technique requires that several points be selected to examine an object: distant, if the object is shown together with the environment or other objects; near, if individual details of a building, structure, area, or natural object are analyzed. These features are reflected in the column “Organized instructions for methodological development.” Each guide carefully studies these instructions and, before leaving with the group on the route, clarifies issues related to the arrangement of the group to observe objects. It is also necessary to ensure the safety of tourists when inspecting objects and when crossing highways.

When several groups are simultaneously located at one object, such a distance must be maintained between them so that one guide does not interfere with the other with his story, so that one group does not obscure another object of observation. Known difficulties in meeting this condition are caused by the placement of groups for displaying museum exhibitions.

Movement of tourists from bus to object, from object to bus, between objects is carried out by a group. The guide's place is in the center of the group, several people walk in front, a few next to each other, and the rest behind. It is important that the group does not stretch: the distance between its head and those who come last should not exceed 5-7 meters. The guide must ensure that the integrity of the group is not compromised when moving the group along the route. If the group is extended, not everyone will hear the guide’s story, his explanations and logical transitions that are presented along the way. Experienced guides skillfully guide the movement along the route.

The pace of the group depends on the composition of the group (children, youth, middle age, elderly people), on the terrain, for example, climbing a mountain, poor road conditions, overcoming ditches hazardous areas in working workshops, etc.

On a walking tour, the pace of the tourists is slow and leisurely, since the objects on display are located next to each other.

It is more difficult to establish the required pace of movement of the group on a bus excursion. Here, after getting off the bus, the guide does not immediately start moving, especially if the object is located in the distance. He allows most of the excursionists to get off the bus and then, slowly, but not too slowly, at the head of the group heads towards the goal. Approaching the object, he begins his story not immediately, but after the whole group has gathered.

The guide guides the movement of tourists during their independent work along the route. Tourists walk around the object to read the inscription on it themselves, go inside it, and see the peculiar features of the architecture. They climb a hill to determine its height, climb a bell tower, a minaret to make sure of the unusual “step” of the steps of a steep staircase, go down into the fortress moat to determine its depth, etc. These movements of tourists enrich them with additional information and new impressions , provide an opportunity to experience the unique features of the objects, the features of the events to which the excursion is dedicated.

Return of tourists to the bus. During the group's movement, it is led by a guide. When a group boards the bus, he stands to the right of the entrance and counts the excursionists who enter the cabin. This is done unnoticed. Having made sure that all participants of the excursion have gathered, he enters the bus last and gives a conventional sign to the driver to start moving.

It is necessary to avoid counting tourists who have already taken their seats on the bus. This introduces unnecessary nervousness and sometimes causes comical situations, thereby disrupting the course of the excursion.

Guide's place. The guide on the bus should occupy a place from where he can clearly see the objects discussed on the excursion, but so that all the excursionists are in his field of vision. At the same time, sightseers must see it. Typically, this is a designated front seat next to the driver (the seat behind the driver is reserved for another driver). The guide is not allowed to stand while the bus is moving (as well as tourists) for safety reasons.

On a walking tour, the guide should be positioned halfway to the object. Displaying visually perceived objects requires that they be in front of the guide’s eyes, because he analyzes them based on his visual impressions. This is especially important on country excursions, when the guide, while the bus is moving, sitting in his seat with his back to the excursionists, looks out the front window of the bus and talks about what the excursionists are already seeing or are about to see.

Keeping time during the excursion. The methodological development indicates the exact time allocated for the disclosure of each subtopic in minutes. Everything is provided here: a demonstration of objects, a story from a guide, movement along the route to the next one, and movement of the group around the observed objects. The ability to meet the allotted time does not come to the guide right away. This requires a lot of practice, including conducting an excursion with a watch in hand: at home, at a specific object. It is necessary to ensure compliance with time when carrying out a logical transition, covering a single subtopic and main issues. It helps the guide to time the time spent on individual parts of the excursion. Based on this timing, taking into account the listener’s comments, the guide makes appropriate adjustments to his story. Everything unnecessary is removed from the excursion, which leads to time overrun. Often, for reasons beyond the guide’s control, a tour is significantly reduced in time. This is due to the group getting ready for a long time, breakfast not being served to tourists on time, the bus being late, etc. As a result, the excursion starts late. The guide has only one option - to reduce the time allotted to cover the topic. This should be done by preserving all that is important in the content of the excursion and removing the unimportant. To do this, you need to prepare in advance for a possible reduction in excursion material.

Technique for telling a story while the bus is moving. The story while driving on the bus should be conducted by the guide through a microphone. If the equipment does not function well or there is no microphone at all, it is useless for the guide to narrate the story while driving. The engine noise and shaking of the bus limit audibility, so explanations will only be heard by tourists sitting nearby. In this case, the guide gives information about the nearest section of the route before the start of the movement, and during the movement only reports the names of objects or areas. When there are important objects or settlements it is necessary to stop the bus, turn off the engine and only then give an explanation. This must be agreed upon with the driver in advance.

Answers to questions from tourists. In excursion practice, a certain classification of issues has developed. They are divided into four groups: questions from the guide, answered by excursionists; questions posed during the story, answered by the guide; rhetorical questions that are posed to activate the attention of tourists; questions asked by excursion participants on the topic. The first three groups of questions are related to the methodology of conducting excursions, and only the fourth group of questions is related to the technique of conducting excursions. Their content is different - sometimes they are connected with objects, sometimes with the lives of famous figures, and often with events that are not related to the topic of the excursion. The main rule for working with such questions is that you should not interrupt the story and give an immediate answer to them; you also do not need to answer questions at the end of each of the subtopics. This scatters attention and distracts the audience from perceiving the content of the topic being revealed, since not everyone in the group is concerned about these particular issues. Therefore, the guide should answer questions not during the tour, but after it ends. The content of the answers should not be of a debatable nature, that is, cause tourists to want to argue or continue the topic raised in the question.

When making an introduction to the topic, the guide informs his listeners about this order of answers to questions.

Pauses in the excursion. The guide should not talk continuously. There should be short breaks between individual parts of the story, the story and excursion information along the way, the logical transition and the story about the object and the events associated with it.

Pauses serve the following purposes:

The first is semantic, when people use the break time to think about what they heard from the guide and saw with their own eyes. To consolidate factual material in memory, formulate your conclusions and remember what you see. It is important that excursionists have time at each object free from showing and telling for independent inspection, preparing for the perception of what will be shown and told at the next stop;
- the second is to give short-term rest to excursionists. It does not carry any semantic load. This is especially important for those who are not yet accustomed to such an active form of cultural and educational work as an excursion.

Pauses in country excursions are combined with rest, which, in accordance with the existing procedure, is provided to the guide: 15 minutes. after each hour of work (for a guide, an hour of conducting a tour is 45 minutes). This rest can be summed up and used by the guide at the end of the excursion. There may also be pauses during excursions - free time, used for purchasing souvenirs, printed materials, quenching thirst, as well as for sanitary stops on long excursions.

Technique for using the "tour guide's briefcase". The contents of the “guide’s portfolio”, its meaning and role in the use of methodological techniques of demonstration are related to the methodology of preparing and conducting the excursion. Each exhibit - photograph, drawing, reproduction of a painting, portrait, drawing, copy of a document - has its own serial number. This determines the sequence of demonstration of this exhibit to tourists.

The exhibit can be shown by the guide from his workplace, handed over to the tourists in rows for more detailed acquaintance.

Sometimes, in accordance with the methodological development, the guide organizes the playback of tape and video recordings. It is important to check in advance the serviceability of the equipment, the availability of the necessary recordings, and ensure audibility for all participants in the excursion. The guide must be able to use this equipment.

During excursions, elements of ritual (a ceremony developed by folk customs) are used. Sightseers at burial sites and memorials honor the memory of the dead with a minute of silence, are present at the changing of the guard of honor, participate in processions and rallies, and listen to mourning melodies. The guide needs to know the procedure for laying flowers, the passage of tourists at the locations of mass graves and obelisks, participation in the guard of honor, a minute of silence, the rules of conduct at the Eternal Flame and at the burial sites of heroes of the Civil War, the Great Patriotic War (1941-1945) and others. wars. Before the start of the excursion, the guide informs you about everything, emphasizing the importance of observing the ritual when visiting historical places.

conclusions

The importance of issues related to the technique of conducting excursions is difficult to overestimate. Neither a fascinating story about objects, nor methodological techniques for displaying monuments will give the necessary effect if all aspects of its implementation are not seriously thought out, if conditions for observing objects are not created.

Control questions

1. The concept of “techniques for conducting excursions”.
2. Contents of the column “Organizational instructions”.
3. Organizing the work of the guide with the group.
4. Skillful use of excursion techniques.
5. Skills in using excursion techniques.
6. The pace of movement of the group, its significance.
7. Using a microphone. Work in the absence of a microphone.
8. Establishing the necessary order in the group.
9. Use of free time during the excursion.
10. Answers to questions from tourists.
11. Techniques for using visual aids.


* The calculations use average data for Russia

49,000 ₽

Starting investments

121,500 RUR

81,000 ₽

Net profit

2 months

Payback period

City walking tours are a leisure activity that allows you to delve deeper into the history of the streets. In the business plan, we will consider excursions with elements of a performance that can bring in from 80 thousand rubles.

1. PROJECT SUMMARY

This business plan discusses a project to implement walking tours in a city with a population of more than 1 million people. The project is an event in the “excursion + street performance” format. The financial resources required to start the project will amount to 49 thousand rubles. and will be used to purchase excursion equipment, create presentation materials, purchase costumes for actors and stage attributes.

The projected volume of revenue per month with one excursion per week and the participation of 15 excursionists in it will be 121.5 thousand rubles, net profit 81.5 thousand rubles. The financial plan is designed for a three-year period of activity. After this, it is planned to expand the types of excursions and update the program of events. The project will require a preparatory phase of 3 months, necessary for writing a script, conducting test excursions and rehearsals, as well as creating advertising products and pre-filling social networks.

Table 1. Key project indicators


2. DESCRIPTION OF THE INDUSTRY AND COMPANY

City walking tours are an increasingly popular type of excursion that allows participants to delve deeper into the history of the streets, explore objects and imagine themselves as participants in past events. Unlike bus excursions they allow for more maneuverable routes and give participants a logical and consistent visual sequence. The length of such routes usually does not exceed 6 kilometers, and the duration is no more than 3 hours.

From the point of view of organization, walking excursions require much less financial and time expenditure, since there is no need to enter into an agreement with a transport company, coordinate the travel time with the driver and adjust the excursion route to the rules traffic. At the same time creation walking route requires a more thoughtful script. Display objects should be fairly close to each other. Excursionists are required to be physically prepared, and the guide is required to be able to keep the pace and catch up on time with those lagging behind the group. Feature excursion business V largest cities such as Moscow and St. Petersburg is high level competition. In other million-plus cities and regional centers with a population of less than a million inhabitants, the competition is not so significant, but it is quite difficult to immediately stand out from the existing proposals.


This project proposes the organization of events, the format of which will combine an excursion with a thematic performance on the history of the city. The choice of this format was due to high competition among excursion organizers. On the one hand, such an event will require large amounts of time and money to organize, on the other hand, if positioned well, it will attract public attention and can become one of the landmark cultural events in the city. The project will be implemented on its own based on the organizer’s knowledge of the history of the city and interest in local history, the presence of some skills in this area, a certificate of completion of courses for guides, as well as personal connections with creative personalities of the city who will be involved in the performance in as partners.

3. DESCRIPTION OF GOODS AND SERVICES

At the initial stage, two excursion scenarios will be developed, each of which will include a short 30-minute street performance on the theme of the excursion. The duration of one of the events will be 3 hours, the other - 2 hours 30 minutes. The cost of participation will be divided for children and adults (see Table 2). The cost was determined taking into account the analysis of competitors' proposals. Thus, the cost of a regular walking tour in the regions varies from 400 to 650 rubles, the cost of bus excursions or excursions with any additional services, including a quest, coffee break, etc. ranged from 1100 to 1500 rubles. Thus, 800-950 rubles is, on the one hand, a more expensive option compared to regular excursions, but at the same time more profitable compared to similar offers.

Table 2. Description of goods and services


We also note that at the start of the project it is planned to conduct two or three free excursions to attract attention to the project when excursionists themselves determine the level of remuneration for the guide. In addition, excursionists will have free access to audio and photographic materials offered by the guide during the excursion, as well as incentive prizes for activity during the excursion (badges, souvenirs, keychains, etc.).

4.SALES AND MARKETING

The target audience of the project will be, on the one hand, an age audience actively interested in the history of the city (mainly women aged 35-40 years), on the other hand - creative youth from 18 to 30 years old, as well as tourists and guests of the city. The process of organizing sales and advertising will require the implementation of several stages.

    Preparatory stage. At this stage, two months before the start of sales, pages are created in in social networks“VKontakte”, “Odnoklassniki” and Instagram, which are planned to be used as generators of the main flow during the main period of work. Communities are filled with thematic content on the history of the city, a preliminary set of target audiences is made, and advertising messages are published about a set of free trial excursions. A one-page website is being created with basic information about the cost, time of excursions, route and contacts for pre-registration. Advertising templates are created and advertisements are printed.

    First stage. Two or three free excursions are conducted, during which photographs are taken, feedback from participants is collected, and gaps in the organization that arise along the way are eliminated. Whenever possible, the attention of online media and television is attracted. Further advertising posts are published in popular groups cities on social networks. There is an active distribution of advertisements in places visited by tourists.

    Main stage. Ongoing advertising activities using all available channels to reach the target audience. At the same time, contacts are being established with the heads of museums, cultural and entertainment institutions, anti-cafes, who can place advertisements on their own sites, and advertisements are being distributed. The following can also be used as additional channels for attracting customers:

    a guide's own blog on the history of the city;

    partnerships with travel companies with the transfer of clients for a percentage;

    partnership with tourist information centers (transfer of clients for a percentage, placement of advertising or business cards).


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Table 3 shows approximate expenses for advertising purposes during the main period of work. Filling groups on social networks with content and updating information on the website is planned to be organized on our own. Applications for participation in the excursion will be accepted by telephone, payment will be collected by the organizer before the start of the event. In the future, it is planned to use special services (timepad and others).

5. PRODUCTION PLAN

At the initial stage, it is planned to organize excursions and performances once a week - on Saturdays or Sundays, during the daytime. To create performances, you will need to hire actors from among the volunteers of the acting circle at one of the city’s universities. The cast will include five regular actors and three people playing either episodic roles or substitutions. To get started, you will need to purchase the necessary stage and excursion equipment. Expenses for these purposes will amount to about 39.2 thousand rubles.

Table 4. List of necessary equipment and inventory

When conducting one excursion per week, taking into account the participation of 10 adult tourists with an average bill of 900 rubles, monthly revenue will be 81 thousand rubles. This plan is planned to be followed during the first year of operation. The plan for the second year of operation will be 15 participants per excursion, i.e. 121.5 thousand rubles per month. In the future, with an increase in the number of participants and the organization of two excursions per week, the planned revenue can be increased by one and a half to two times.

6. ORGANIZATIONAL PLAN

The project will require a preparatory period of 3 months, during which an excursion route, performance scripts are created, rehearsals are organized, actors are selected, etc. Unlike many countries in the world, in Russia a license to provide excursion services is not required. In order for activities to be carried out within the legal framework, only registration of an individual entrepreneur is necessary. OKVED activity codes:

  • 79.90.2 Activities for the provision of excursion tourism services
  • 79.90.22 Activities of independent tour guides and tour guides in the provision of excursion tourism services.

The processing time for registration of individual entrepreneurs will be 3 days. State duty - 800 rubles. The most appropriate taxation system for this type of business is a simplified one, where the object of taxation is income of 6%.

Documents for business on walking tours:

Here is a list of documents required to conduct activities within the right field:

    contract for services, where all excursion offers, its obligations and those points for which the company is not responsible will be indicated;

    job description for employees. It describes in detail the job responsibilities for each position and the action plan in case of an emergency;

    agreements with employees. Not necessarily according to the Labor Code, but the contractual basis must be fixed;

    for employees (preferably) - a document that confirms the status of a teacher of history/culture/philology, etc. or the right to engage in tourism business.


Additionally, it is necessary to draw up a memo for clients, rules for safe behavior on the route and a list of possible sources of dangers that may be encountered. Also, in some cases, tour guides require accreditation. For example, to conduct excursions, foreigners need a special state permit.

The project team

The project team will include two organizers and at the same time performers of the project in the person of a guide and the head of the theater troupe, as well as the actors themselves.

    Guide. This is a person with a historical or philological education, who knows English language, who is interested in local history and the history of the city, has a certificate of completion of guide courses from a specialized training center, training personnel for the tourism industry. Personal qualities: communication skills, competent speech, articulate voice, creativity and resourcefulness, talent as a teacher and psychologist, patience.

    Director of a theater troupe. He has experience as a director in a student theater, a talent as an organizer, advertiser, and designer.

    Actors. A group of eight actors (five regular actors, three substitutes), participants in major theater competitions, city performances, a student theater troupe. The actors will be paid 500 rubles per performance. Based on the experience of similar projects, it is recommended to select a reserve troupe for all roles (in case of illness of the actors, absence from rehearsals/performance for family or other reasons, etc.).

7. FINANCIAL PLAN

The financial plan takes into account all income and expenses of the project. The initial investment in the project will be 49 thousand rubles. The expenses of the main period of work will include wages for the actors - 22,500 rubles, expenses for advertising and promotion of the project. A detailed financial plan for the project, taking into account tax deductions, is given in Appendix 1.

Table 5. Investment costs of the project

NAME

AMOUNT, rub.

Equipment and inventory

Equipment for excursions

Equipment for performances

Intangible assets

Registration of individual entrepreneur

Flyer printing

Funds for paying actors (for the first 2 excursions)

Table 6. Main period expenses







8. EVALUATION OF EFFECTIVENESS

Thanks to minimal investments, the project can pay for itself within the second month from the start of excursion sales. The annual turnover of the project in the first year will be 972 thousand rubles, net profit - 521.8 thousand rubles. Profitability - 53%. Annual turnover in the second year is 1,458 thousand rubles, net profit is 978.2 thousand rubles, profitability is 67%.

9. RISKS AND GUARANTEES

The project will require minimal investment in opening, there are no costs for rent and connection to any real estate and material assets (the product is intellectual and acting work), in connection with which all financial risks are minimal. Most of the possible difficulties can be associated with internal problems - errors in the organization, incorrect promotion, incorrect presentation of information by excursionists, etc. These risks are prevented, firstly, through careful preparatory work, which should include writing a high-quality script for the excursion and performance, and their test run. Secondly, a competent market analysis is important: monitoring of all current offers in the field, analysis of the pricing and advertising policies of competitors, their methods of smoothing out the seasonality factor, etc. The key factor for the main period will be work to improve the quality of services, expand the list of services, provide feedback to clients and advertise.

There are also external risk factors - competition, an unfavorable situation in the country’s economy, which affects the solvency of the population and forces them to give up leisure, etc. To minimize these factors, it is necessary to carry out high-quality promotion from the first days of the project’s existence, and in the future, to gain status and recognition of the event as a significant cultural event of the city, which is visited by representatives of medium and large companies and which is actively recommended to tourists and guests of the city.

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State cultural institution

4. organization of the inspection

5. availability of a route

TO features museum excursions should include greater mobility and frequent changes of topics and routes due to the constant development of the exhibition (introduction of new topics, exhibits, partial reexpositions, etc.). The museum tour is limited by the space of the exhibition room. The guide cannot pause during the excursion; its ability to relax and prepare the group to perceive new material is limited. Often, exhibits that appear before tourists in variety and multitude scatter the group’s attention, and the guide has to put a lot of skill and effort into organizing and directing the audience’s attention to the desired exhibit.

All of the above should be taken into account when preparing and conducting a tour of the museum.

Depending on the breadth of the topic and the depth of its disclosure, excursions are divided into overview and thematic. Also in some cases there are cyclic excursions.

The most common type of excursion is sightseeing tour .

Its purpose is to give the visitor a general idea of ​​the museum, its collections, and the exhibition as a whole.

Thematic excursion is a tour of one specific topic. It sets the task of a complete and deep disclosure of the topic while using the maximum of relevant material presented in the exhibition.

Thematic excursions are not possible in all non-state museums. Their presence depends on the profile of the museum, the nature of its main theme, exhibition space, the number of sections and topics, and most importantly, on the variety and richness of museum material.

Cycle excursions For non-state museums, this is a rare phenomenon, since they require combining excursions with a single theme, working with the same group of visitors in a certain sequence for a certain time.

II. Preparing a museum excursion

1. The beginning of work on a new excursion is determination of the topic, purpose, range of issues that need to be covered.

All these components of the initial stage of work depend, first of all, on the profile of the museum, the collections that are presented in the exhibition, as well as the demand of visitors.

IV. Guided tour methodology

The main methods and techniques for conducting an excursion are outlined in the process of developing its content. However, they receive specific forms and a complete character only after special testing at the exhibition, in conditions as close as possible to an excursion. The guide must, in practice, choose the most successful methodological techniques for a given exhibition.

The following are distinguished: general techniques conducting the excursion:

2. story

In practice, they all act in interconnection, ultimately forming a single excursion method. Its main requirement is an organic connection between the show and the story, but, as a rule, in the process of conducting an excursion, the show precedes the story. Displaying an exhibit is not a simple demonstration of an object. Each material presented in the exhibition carries certain information and plays a certain role. The guide’s task is to convey this to the tourists.

When conducting a specific excursion, show and tell methods are implemented through a number of techniques, such as:

1. verbal or mental reconstruction (recreation of an event based on the materials presented in the exhibition)

2. comparison

3. quoting the exhibited documents (the excerpts read out should be skillfully combined with the display of the exhibit itself, helping to reveal the topic)

Conversation is an integral part of any excursion. First of all, these are the introductory and final parts of the excursion, which were discussed above. Certain elements of the conversation are introduced into the main part of the excursion, having thought through questions for the excursionists in advance.

In addition to showing, telling and talking, which form the basis of the excursion methodology, additional techniques are often used in museum excursions: listening to sound recordings of the memories of participants in the events discussed in the excursion, watching videos, filmstrips, etc. It should be noted that resorting to such methods should be used only in cases where this material is bright, emotional, and rich in information. The duration of such “inserts” should not exceed 4-5 minutes. Otherwise, the attention of tourists will be scattered, and interest in continuing the excursion will decrease.

For a more complete disclosure of the topic, with a small number of exhibits, you can resort to the use of additional, auxiliary material not included in the exhibition: photographs, reproductions, copies, diagrams, maps, drawings, etc. (the so-called “tour guide’s briefcase”).

V. Some rules for conducting an excursion

The success of the excursion depends on many factors. The guide is required to:

Knowledge of the material

Correct speech

Impeccable look

Ability to establish contact with a group, etc.

During the excursion, the guide must arrange the group in such a way that the excursionists, without exception, can see the exhibition material with which this moment work is underway. The guide's place is between the group (1.5 m from it) and the stand. When showing this or that material with a pointer (unless a document is being read out or certain features of the exhibit are indicated), the guide should be addressed to the group and observe its reaction. The guide's indifference to the behavior of the audience, as well as his display of a bad mood, are not acceptable. The guide is a kind of actor. And the success of both the entire work of preparing the excursion and conducting it for a specific excursion group largely depends on how he prepares his role and plays it in public.

VI. Improving the excursion

Before going out with a prepared excursion to a group, the guide must present it to a more experienced and knowledgeable employee for audition, and then the excursion is officially accepted by a commission, which may include representatives of the museum administration, staff members, and members of the Museum Council.

But even after the commission accepts the excursion, the work on it is not considered completed.

It is necessary to continue studying the chosen topic - get acquainted with new publications, clarify information about the exhibits, listen to tours of other guides, analyze the reaction of visitors.

This will make it possible to constantly improve the excursion, make it more relevant and attractive for tourists, and, consequently, increase interest in the museum as a whole.

Photo: Official portal of the Mayor and Government of Moscow

How to see among skyscrapers and cars ancient city? Where is the utopian house located? Who comes up with city tours and who goes on them? How to plan a route correctly and make a person listen carefully? The leading guide of the City Tour Bureau of the Museum of Moscow, Larisa Skrypnik, spoke to the site about the pros and cons of being a guide, about the mysteries of Moscow and the best excursionists.

— It seems that everything about Moscow has already been told, all the city labyrinths and nooks and crannies have been traversed, and suddenly new route, new excursion- how is this possible?

— The Moscow Museum, where I work, celebrates its 120th anniversary this year. And all these years, the museum staff has been studying the city, its history, monitoring all the changes that are taking place in the metropolis. Our collection contains thousands of documents, books, photographs that are still being researched. This alone already gives many reasons for a new look at even the most trivial excursions.

There is, of course, a mandatory block of excursions. As a rule, this is a sightseeing tour of Moscow, Red Square, historical center, which are intended specifically for the first acquaintance with the city - for those who want to learn about the city in which they live. There are quite a few of them - as experience shows, Muscovites often don’t know the city well. It seems to a person: I’m here, I’ll have time to do everything - and he passes by interesting places without paying attention to them. But when interest is shown, a person, as a rule, becomes our regular client. That is, someone who came once begins to come constantly. It is very happy to see how the popularity of walking and bus tours is increasing year after year: more and more citizens want to learn as much as possible about the capital.

But there is another block of routes - those that we come up with ourselves. These are always unusual walks where we show the city from a new side. They can be thematic, dedicated to certain dates, events. So, we are constantly developing new routes through unexplored Moscow. We really want to show our favorite city from different sides; I want the participants of the walks to fall in love with Moscow just like us. And such excursions are usually in great demand.

— Can you tell us more about such routes?

— There was an interesting story during the celebration of the anniversary of Nikolai Vasilyevich Gogol. We were approached with a request to come up with a walking tour of Gogol’s places. Moreover, they asked to show not only the monuments to the writer, which are located at a distance of 400 meters from each other, not only the temple of Simeon the Stylite, of which Gogol was a parishioner, but something else unusual. This is a challenge in a sense, I really love such things. It was necessary to do a walking tour and tell a lot, a lot about Gogol. As a result, with great interest for myself, I discovered more than 20 places associated with Nikolai Vasilyevich on Arbat. Not in Moscow as a whole, but only on Arbat. Exclusive excursions are born, for example, from such an offer - to help someone with a topic.

Or, for example, an excursion dedicated to 1612 in Moscow. She was not particularly in demand; no one ever asked to take her to these places. But when the request finally appeared, it turned out that it was really very interesting excursion. Of course, excursions are also born because you yourself really like something. I love architecture, and of course I came up with a walking tour of Art Nouveau. Routes may appear after you have read an interesting book. Now there are a lot of memoirs coming out, all sorts of works by pre-revolutionary Moscow scholars, which we did not know before. You read - and suddenly you see the area completely different, not the way you imagined it, and you get the idea to take a tour of this place and show Moscow from some, perhaps unexpected side.







- How does this happen? How is the excursion prepared?

— First, the search for material begins: reading specialized literature, diaries, going to libraries and, of course, studying the very area you are going to talk about. Sometimes, when you walk the streets, enter alleys, courtyards, you discover absolutely incredible treasures that people have never seen. For example, Nikitsky Boulevard is such a front street. But one time, when I was preparing a tour there, I saw a metal gate with a door, behind which it was written that there was a shoe repair shop or some kind of hardware there. In general, the door is completely unpresentable-looking. But when I entered this gateway, I realized that this was a whole city with labyrinths. Who would have thought that this could happen? People are always very interested in this. It’s as if you are immersed in the past, and you can imagine how you would feel if you lived in this house and your windows looked out onto this courtyard….

— You said that you have developed a tour of Art Nouveau, but this is not exactly Moscow style, what are you showing?

— Since this is a walking tour, it takes place between Ostozhenka, Prechistenka and in the side streets. This is both Isakov Kekushevsky’s apartment building and the architect Kekushev’s own house. This is the apartment house of the peasant Loskov. We had such wonderful peasants who could invite the best architects and build houses in the northern modern style. There are really not enough of them in Moscow; this style is mainly widespread in St. Petersburg.

— It seems to me that the most difficult thing in your work is to make people listen; not all guides and not always succeed in this.

— You just need to know and understand: people cannot endlessly listen to a set of some facts, even if they are quite interesting, they still need some kind of release. But it’s important not to just giggle about something, but to have it tied to the topic. And by the way, on excursions sometimes the participants themselves help to find such relaxing moments. I once had a wonderful girl about seven years old on a tour of Arbat and Arbat lanes. On Arbat, every building has a story, and you want to tell about everything. I started talking about the house with knights opposite Tetra Vakhtangov and said that, unfortunately, not all the knights had survived, and this girl told me: “But I can tell where this knight went.” I ask: where? She says: “The fact is that he fell in love with this princess,” and there is a “Princess Turandot” fountain near the Vakhtangov Theater, “he fell in love, went downstairs, bought her jewelry, but she did not accept the gift. So the knight got upset and left.” This is so lovely! Now I always tell this, such a vivid perception by a child of Moscow and its history.

— How long does it take to prepare the excursion?

- It depends on the topic. There are those on which a huge amount of literature has been written, and here you just need to select what interests you. There are topics that require serious preparation, maybe even requests, meetings with some people who have information on a particular area. The residents themselves tell interesting things. It's always a lot of work.

Selecting material is one of the most exciting moments, and here it is important to control yourself. You search, read, and it’s so captivating that by three o’clock in the morning you can find yourself somewhere on the other side of Moscow. Because when you are preparing material, one fact clings to another: but the last name slipped through, shouldn’t I clarify... It’s very difficult, but it’s even more difficult to choose something when you’ve collected great amount material and you understand that it is impossible to tell everything - it is always a shame to remove part of the information.

Then comes another very important point: you must connect all the objects... It’s clear that if the excursion is thematic, for example our “Moscow Embassy”, then everything is more or less clear. And if this is a tour along the street and there are absolutely dissimilar buildings, absolutely different stories, but you have to somehow connect them with each other, you have to get a story.

I had a wonderful excursion, I led her along Volkhonka, and one of the excursionists, as an intelligent person, warned me in advance that she needed to pick up her child from kindergarten, so in 50 minutes she would leave quietly in English. And I’m leading a tour and I understand that 50 minutes have already passed, an hour has passed, and the woman is still with us. And I tell her: “Please excuse me, but it seems you need to pick up your child from kindergarten.” She says: “You understand, I can’t leave. You finish telling the story and the next thing is so catchy that we will now see further that I just can’t leave.” This was the right excursion, since it happened like this.

There are also purely technical, special aspects that also need to be taken into account: how to stand correctly so that everyone can hear you, so that you can react to the expression of your face, eyes, so that you can see tourists and at the same time do not interfere with their vision of objects; how to stand to show the object as much as possible; how to stand up so that you can talk about several objects without leaving your place. When you prepare an excursion, it takes extra time. For example, I’m walking down the street and, to the surprise of passers-by, I begin to run from one place to another, cross the street, come back, in order to understand where it’s better for me to put the group. And here you need to show your imagination.

There are many other nuances. For example, you need to take into account the location of pedestrian crossings: where are they located, is it convenient for you to cross from this side to the opposite side, so as not to return to this crossing through another crossing, to somehow go further along the route, because people are not interested in the same thing place to go back and forth. In general, this is actually a very big job.

— Let's try to name the pros and cons of your profession.

— I was asked this question on excursions... But it turns out that the disadvantages turn into advantages. Of course, this is a job that requires a lot of physical activity, because you need to move a lot both in the preparation process and during the excursion. And they sometimes last two or three hours, and sometimes six or seven.

Weather that we do not choose, and our Moscow weather is not pleasing, let’s say, most of the year. Next is that you are always working, because you must be on the topic of modern Moscow, know everything new that appears, new books about Moscow, new information, new objects. There is so much material that you will never be able to master it completely, but you always strive for it. As a result, you constantly train your memory, your mind, you are always on the move and constantly in the fresh air.

And people are different, and you make a lot of effort to keep attention. When this works out, I feel a tremendous moral uplift because I give my energy to people, and they give theirs in return. After an excursion I always feel emotionally charged. Everything is interconnected here, and if you like it, then you enjoy it more.

The city excursion bureau has currently developed more than 80 topics dedicated to the history and modernity of Moscow and its famous citizens.

I drink coffee and stick cloves into oranges - getting ready for the excursion..

The aromas of citrus and cloves remind others of winter. People passing by my table smile. Orange-clove therapy also works for me: I joyfully run out into the street, and there is snow... the first of this year.

Hello, Christmas excursion! No, today is my birthday. Children are wonderful and parents are amazing!

I am often offered to lead excursions for children, considering it something quite difficult. In my opinion, a children's excursion is an amazing thing, simple and complex at the same time, but it is important that you immediately feel dedication, gratitude and love from the children.

What is the most important thing in a children's excursion?

A few tips for moms, dads, grandparents who walk around St. Petersburg with their children and want their children to listen and hear your historical stories:

1. Think in vivid images that children understand.

First, you yourself must see the image of what you are talking about. The picture should be colorful, detailed and evoke feelings for you personally.

For example, the gardener Eliseev grew strawberries in the greenhouse for Count Sheremetyev at Christmas. The guests are in amazement, the count exclaims in excitement: “Ask for what you want!”

I imagine everything very vividly: the count’s doublet, the wicker basket, the snow outside the window, frost down to -40 and the aroma of strawberries. So it's easy to tell. And questions arise naturally for the children: “What happened next, what do you think?” If the picture is bright, then the guys can easily come up with ideas and immerse themselves in the story. Where did the Eliseevs go when they became free? What did you start doing? Was it easy for them in St. Petersburg? What would you do in their place if you had 100 rubles? And here it would be good to move from words to action.

2. Find a thing, a detail that characterizes your hero, story.

It’s easier, of course, to use an illustration, picture, photograph. But the best thing is to find a thing that you can touch, smell, and guess the riddle associated with it. For example, with the Eliseev merchants, I give the guys an orange, with the letters of their surname written in carnations on it. The letters are scattered and you need to form a word from them (Eliseev began selling oranges on Nevsky Prospekt).

When talking about Peter I, I like to give children a map of the area of ​​St. Petersburg in the 18th century and suggest drawing a rough plan of the city (this is for older children, of course). When we go to the Photo Salon, I give a photograph and suggest that you find the point from which it was taken. IN Summer Garden I invite the children to sculpt some of the sculptures themselves. Everything that the children touched and made an effort to solve will be remembered by them for a long time.

It’s not easy to find something that hits the mark, as they say, but the process itself is worth it! For me personally, this is the most interesting thing about the excursion: the process of searching for that very historical detail.

3. Less is better, but better.

Children do not remember dates, especially when they are standing, listening even to the most interesting stories 5-7 minutes at most. Therefore, the entire historical story should be packed into 15-20 minutes, and the entire excursion into 1.5 hours maximum.

And after such an immersion, leave children with a desire to learn more, but on their own. It’s not like “I told you everything, but now I remember, listen to me carefully.” No! Fill your communication with dialogue, searching, jogging, photographing and discovering places.

4. Encouragement, prize, snack at the end of the historical walk.

After the excursion we go to lunch, dinner or afternoon snack. It will be great if the food you offer the guys is related to today's walk. Maybe not all of it, but again the detail will be remembered for a long time and will make the meal “historical” and exciting. And even if you feel like the kids are tired of historical information, you can just say that this is what our hero loved.

If you have boys and you have visited the Suvorov Museum, then eating buckwheat porridge and cabbage soup in bread is a must. And if your heroes are emperors, take with you a lace napkin and a couple of porcelain plates. Even during military campaigns, emperors ate simply, but always with silver and on porcelain. And this day will be special.

5. And the last thing, my favorite: it’s easy to forget everything they tell you and everything they show you, but we will never forget the atmosphere when we feel good.

Be surprised, play, discover history with your children! The love for the city is inside us, and the child feels and understands everything, we just need to talk about this love creatively. I have approximately the same approach to adult excursions. And even if colleagues in the workshop do not always understand this, awakening the inner child in a serious adult is very exciting!

On the screensaver is a fragment of the photo jasoncedit/Flickr/CC BY-NC-ND 2.0