Prey Taxidermy at the Whatcom Museum - Taxidermy Lab 101

Name: Prey Taxidermy at the Whatcom Museum - Taxidermy Lab 101
Start: 2024-06-01T10:00:00-07:00
End: 2024-06-01T12:30:00-07:00
Location: Whatcom Museum

Schedule

Sat Jun 01 2024 at 10:00 am to 12:30 pm

UTC-07:00

Location

Whatcom Museum | Bellingham, WA

Prey Taxidermy at the Whatcom Museum
As the home of nearly 500 taxidermied bird specimen – many dating back to the 1800s from the collection of esteemed Washington state researcher and naturalist John M. Edson – the Whatcom Museum is proud and excited to welcome Prey Taxidermy to Bellingham for two special days of events: Friday, May 31 and Saturday, June 1.
Taxidermy Lab 101 with Allis Markham and Paloma Strong
Saturday, June 1, 2024 | 10 am – 12:30 pm
Old City Hall Rotunda
121 Prospect St.
Bellingham, WA 98225
LIMITED AVAILABILITY
Welcome to Taxidermy Lab 101. This demonstration course will provide students with an on-site tutorial into the world of museum taxidermy. Students will work with acclaimed museum preservationists Allis Markham and Paloma Strong of Prey Taxidermy to discover how this ‘dead art’ is breathing life into conservation education. Classes at the Prey Taxidermy studio sell out quickly and require travel to Los Angeles, but for one weekend, Allis and Paloma will bring their expertise to Bellingham.
This is an introductory course where students will learn the basics of taxidermy through detailed presentations and demonstrations followed by a Q&A. This is not one of our hands-on workshops but is a demonstration and presentation course. While students will not participate or take home any pieces, they will be given a comprehensive overview of the craft of taxidermy. Students will also be sent a follow-up email with a PDF copy of the presentations and a list of resources discussed in the course. This is an excellent opportunity if you’ve ever wanted to learn taxidermy but didn’t know where to start, or if you’re exploring taxidermy already and have questions.
Allis was trained at the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles and has a World Title from the World Taxidermy Championships. She is joined by her long-time apprentice, Paloma Strong, who holds a degree in biology with an emphasis in ornithology. Their clients include multiple Natural History Museums around the country, The Smithsonian, The Getty Research Institute, and even brands such as Gucci.
This course is open to students of all ages. Please be aware that we will be demonstrating on actual dead specimens.
Lab Curriculum:
Welcome Slideshow – Intro to Taxidermy
Bird Skinning Demonstration
Bird Mounting Demonstration
Bird Grooming and Posing Demonstration
Touch Pieces and Q&A
Tour of the John M. Edson Hall of Birds
Do not plan to miss any moment of class; i.e., arriving late or leaving early. There will be no video allowed during this course. Photos are allowed except for specimen demonstrations.
$120/members
$135/non-members
Taxidermy Lab 101 is limited to 40 students.
Ticket cost includes admission to both Whatcom Museum exhibition buildings.
Don’t forget to join us for the award-winning film Stuffed and Allis Markham Q&A on Friday, May 31.

Come to both events and make it a weekend getaway in Bellingham with 25% off your hotel stay!
Very special thanks to our partners, Hotel Leo, and Heliotrope Hotel, for offering Prey Taxidermy guests a 25% discount on rooms from May 31 – June 2. You won’t find a better deal anywhere online. Please make a hotel reservation as soon as possible. Rooms are not being held at this reduced rate (once they’re booked, they’re gone), and the discount is only valid on reservations made before April 30, 2024. On May 1, museum guest pricing returns to standard rates. Simply click on the links above to make a reservation at the reduced rate.