Youth Wildlife Conservation Experience
The Youth Wildlife Conservation Experience (YWCE) takes place annually at WSF’s premiere fundraising event and convention, The Sheep Show, in Reno, Nevada. This program, run by WSF Youth Education Coordinator Dr. Ryan Brock, has seen attendance grow annually.
This year's Youth Wildlife Conservation Experience (YWCE) will take place at the Reno-Sparks Convention Center on January 16-18, 2025. School groups will attend a private experience on January 18th and 19th which will include wildlife conservation presentations, outdoor career seminars, and hands-on educational inspiration for encouraging youth to get outside through taking up or furthering their knowledge and skills in a variety of outdoor hobbies. On January 18, we open the YWCE to the public, for FREE. The goal is simple, to excite and inspire the next generation of outdoor enthusiasts.Register ahead of time and then bring your family down to Hall 5 of the Reno-Sparks Convention Center on January 18th for hours of educational fun. Event runs from 10 am to 4 pm. This is the youth component of the Sheep Show, which occurs just down the hallway. A parent who brings a youth to the YWCE can receive a wristband to get into the Sheep Show exhibit hall for free.
Over 40 hands-on stations for youth, including: kayak pool, duck calling, hover archery, trap archery, 3D archery, stick-it archery, BB gun range, Laser Shot, rock climbing wall, soil tunnel, nature crafts, CSI Wildlife, hands-on hides/skulls, taxidermy, science of darting wild sheep, make plaster tracks, telemetry, fly tying, Operation Game Thief trailer, tour amazing bass fishing boats, casting challenges, learn to fletch arrows, entomology (try eating bugs), and more!
YWCE Opens to the Public
Location: Reno-Sparks Convention Center (Hall 5)Do NOT go the Sheep Show registration and pay to get in, simply head to Hall 5.
Time: Saturday, January 18th from 10 am- 4 pm
Free youth raffle: Youth receive free raffle tickets for the youth raffles at registration.
Tracks Program: There is even more for youth ages 12-17, the Tracks Program. Youth pick up a “Tracks Program Card” at YWCE registration that is taken into the Sheep Show exhibit hall. Follow the sheep tracks on the ground to seven participating exhibitors who further educate on conservation, wildlife, or the outdoors. The card is punched at each station. The card is then deposited into a special raffle bin at the Wild Sheep Foundation’s Membership Booth in the exhibit hall. The raffle then takes place back in YWCE youth area at 3:00 for special prizes from Leica, Sitka, Kenetrek Boots, and Stone Glacier. Must be present to win.
Hands-On Learning Experiences in YWCE: There may be more, but at this time we youth can learn about the outdoors and wildlife conservation from a variety of hands-on stations, including: rock climbing wall, fly tying, wild sheep conservation, target archery, trap archery, hover archery, stick-it archery, 3D archery “mini course”, Operation Game Thief, pellet gun range, BB gun range, duck calling, make nature cards, make arrowhead/bear claw necklaces, learn to fletch arrows by making an arrow pen, falconers, mini-hunter safety Laser Shot, bird identification, and more.
2025 YWCE SPONSORS
THIS YEAR’S PARTICIPATING ORGANIZATIONS
HANDS-ON STATIONS
- Wild Sheep Foundation
- Nevada Department of Wildlife
- National Bighorn Sheep Center
- Bureau of Land Management
- Lahontan Audubon Society
- Jack Creek Preserve
- Scheel’s
- UNR Cooperative Extension
- Capital City Gun Club Youth Shotgun Shooting Academy
- Galena High School Rifle Team
- Boy Scout of America
- National Resources Conservation District
- Nevada Department of Agriculture
- Nevada S3DA
- Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation
- Polestar Outdoors
- University of Wyoming
- High Desert Archery
- Truckee River Fly Fishers
- Carson Valley All About Youth, Inc.
- Maison T Ortiz Youth Outdoor Skills Camp
- First Hunt Foundation
- Nevada Outdoor School
- Operation Game Thief
- Local falconer group
- Great Basin Bassers
- High Sierra Fly Casters
- And a huge amount of solo volunteers!
TRACKS PROGRAM
- Leica
- Sitka
- Bear Trust, International
- Nevada Department of Wildlife
- Northern Nevada Safari Club International
- Kenetrek Boots
ORGANIZATIONS GIVING CAREER SEMINARS TO SCHOOL GROUPS
- Wonrate Gear
- Bureau of Land Management
- National Bighorn Sheep Center
- Nevada Department of Wildlife
- Azyre
- Great Basin Bassers
- Imperial Western Products
- Jack Creek Preserve
- Nevada Falconers
For more information, or to volunteer at the YWCE, contact Ryan Brock at Rbrock@wildsheepfoundation.org.