Summer Program for kids We get more calls than you would think asking if we had programs for younger children...I have received calls about children as young as 8 years old. Just yesterday I had a message from a Mother in South Florida with a child turning 10 that had been asking for months to learn taxidermy. Of course that is far to young to participate in anything like what we typically do here in any of our courses. The youngest student we had here was 14 which is at least 2 years younger than what had been our minimum age at the time. I was concerned that he might not have the attention span needed to really focus on the process and might become restless and uninterested. I also know that most kids dont know from one day to the next what they want to do in life and interests like taxidermy could be short lived, potentially costing the parent a lot of money. Parents making decisions to invest into something like this should do so with careful consideration. With our youngest Alumni...he was a wise investment for his folks. He did well in his course and has done remarkably well since he left here. It is almost certain however that he is an exception to the rule. So what do we do for the younger kids that seem to really have a persistent interest in taxidermy? I think often about what might have happened had our own Chloe Smiths parents not allowed her to pursue her interests at 10 or 11 years old. What if they had not supported her or given her the latitude to experiment and cultivate her interests into something bigger? They might have easily dissuaded her and led her in another direction...but they did not and as it has turned out that was potentially a defining moment in her life. I remember thinking when I first met her how I was torn between not wanting to take on an untrained employee, apprentice or intern...but knowing that this was someone with supportive parents that deserved an opportunity...someone determined who might actually contribute. What if this is the person that fundamentally changes something in our industry...that puts back more than what she found when she arrives at her full potential? With that in mind, I asked Chloe to help me to develop a summer camp type of program....not a week or overnighters or anything like that but perhaps a day or two at the most with individual and team projects, demonstrations and other activities for those who appear to have that "persistent interest" in Taxidermy. It would be educational and fun and might even afford us and the parents the opportunity to assess and select those who might do well in future programs. And there is no one better to lead that effort than Chloe...because she was there once, and not too long ago. As always I am interested in your opinion and we would love to hear from anyone who would like top be a part of this program. We are very excited about the opportunity to share what we do with our youngest generation.
