Rangers Kelly VandenBerg and Melissa Senac have been honored as the best Park Service interpreters for 2014/NPS

Interpretation sounds like such an easy job in the National Park System, for you're surrounded with natural and cultural wonders. All you'd have to do is describe them to your audience, right?

It sounds easy, but the job requires you not only to have a deep knowledge of the natural and cultural aspects of your specific park, but to feel at ease talking to groups, and be able to relate to, and connect with, young and old alike. Park Service interpreters that can pull that off are among the most important of park staff, for they bring their parks to life, so to speak, and provide an incredible educational role.

Each year the National Park Service honors its best interpreters with Freeman Tilden awards, which are named after the author of The National Parks, What They Mean to You and Me, and Interpreting Our Heritage. Tilden's writings have had considerable influence on National Park Service interpretation and education programs.

Along with regional award winners, the Park Service honors the best of the best with the national Freeman Tilden Award. And this year the honorees are two rangers from Glacier Bay National Park -- Kelly VandenBerg and Melissa Senac -- who were honored for the story they built around the 45-foot-long skeleton of a humpback whale that long plied the park's waters.

Sightings of whales, sea lions, seals, and sea otters thrill visitors to Glacier Bay, and Snow, aka humpback whale #68, was a fan favorite for years. After death, Snow continues to fascinate visitors through the efforts of Rangers VandenBerg and Senac, who created exhibits that feature the whale's skeleton and the skeleton of a juvenile orca whale. The exhibits showcase the size and anatomy of the whales while evoking empathy and respect for them and appreciation for their protection.

"Kelly and Melissa's exhibits provide a glimpse into the underwater world of Glacier Bay," said Park Service Director Jonathan B. Jarvis. "They illustrate how national parks are classrooms without walls '“where story and place combine to make life-long learning exciting."

Snow's skeleton is the largest humpback whale skeleton on display in the United States, according to the Park Service. Rangers VandenBerg and Senac had no comparative project to emulate or blueprint to follow as they prepared to place Snow on display in an outside, open-air exhibit at Gustavus. Every aspect of the project delved into unchartered waters. The rangers had to decide on shelter design, bone consolidation, finishing options, skeletal pose, structural supports, and informational sign design and location.

Snow's skeleton on display/NPS

The two rangers also involved the Gustavus community, especially school children, in the projects. Students helped clean, prepare, and assemble the two skeletons. Earlier this year, both whale skeletons were unveiled during ceremonies that included multiple speakers, youth activities, educational carnivals, and special Tlingit presentations. Tlingit elders provided meaningful cultural blessings, speeches, and spirit songs and gave each whale a Tlingit native name that forever unites them to their homeland '“Tsalxáan Tayée Yaay, (Whale beneath Mount Fairweather) and Keet'k (Little Whale). The orca skeleton was placed in the town's library where it now swims above the reading area.

Rangers VandenBerg and Senac also produced social media posts and online resources for the project including project blogs, videos, time lines, photo galleries, and teacher curriculum. This year, more than 500 students and 40 teachers took part in 33 on-site educational programs. Due to the skill and creativity of the two rangers, both whales will long continue to provide visitors, both in-person and online, with a peek into the life of these magnificent species and their physiology, traits, and challenges.