Natural History Seems to Be a Natural at Altadena Boys’ Home

Nine-year-old Bobby had never seen much wildlife and had never been to a museum. With a mixture of curiosity and excitement, he regarded the life-sized stuffed animals, touched the deer antlers and wrapped the fox fur around his neck.

Last week, volunteers from the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County took their show on the road to reach about 40 kids like Bobby--abused, abandoned and emotionally disturbed boys who live and attend school at The Sycamores in Altadena.

The official purpose of the museum volunteers’ visit was to provide children who are unable to visit museums an opportunity to learn about subjects like mammals and dinosaurs. But for many of the boys, it was much more than that.

Getting the boys to participate was no problem. With each question asked, they raised their arms eagerly, competing to answer first.

They patted coyote and grizzly bear furs and bison horns and howled when they were asked to identify a picture of a wolf. One boy volunteered to place the largest fur in the exhibit over his body and crawl about the floor, imitating a black bear.

Museum volunteers not only answered questions from the boys, but also used a story board to teach them about mammal wildlife and took them on an imaginary journey through animal habitats.

“It looks like it’s still real,” Bobby said while touching a stuffed prairie dog.

Bobby, wearing a yellow T-shirt, blue jeans and tennis shoes, then picked up a coyote fur, wrapped it around his head, and said, “It’s neat.”

Bobby is one of 60 residents at The Sycamores. They range in age from 6 to 14 and are referred by the Los Angeles County Departments of Mental Health and Children’s Services, public schools and occasionally by area families.

Cecille Rasmussen, a volunteer docent for the museum, started off the 45-minute class by asking her group of 8- to 11-year-old boys, “What is a mammal?”

A boy, wearing a cap, a Batman T-shirt and jeans, eagerly raised his hand and answered, “Mammals are warm-blooded animals that reproduce.”

At the same time, a group of older boys, aged 11 to 13, were learning about dinosaurs in another room. They handled dinosaur models, snake skins, fossils, plants and dinosaur teeth.

A 12-year-old boy from North Pasadena said he enjoyed the program because “it was real educational.” The youth touched furs and horns for the first time during the presentation.

“You normally wouldn’t get to touch the horns of buffaloes,” he said. “It’s sad to see how they are all getting extinct.”

The youth, who has lived at The Sycamores for more than a year, said he had grown socially and academically at the home.

“I like reading and writing. I want to be a writer. I like to write rap (songs),” he said.

Last week’s program was the first time volunteers from the museum’s Special Educational Outreach Program visited the boys’ home, said Michael Schaller, principal and director of educational services.

Outside regular classroom activities, there have been speakers and other educational programs provided for the boys, he said.

“We’ve gone out to the Huntington Library to have botany classes. We’ve had people from the sheriff’s and fire department come out, too,” Schaller said.

The boys are encouraged not to limit themselves academically.

“Some of these boys will graduate from college,” he said. “We try to show them that they have to apply themselves to work hard. We want them to work up to their potential. We try to make them feel like they have control over their own lives.”

The Sycamores was founded by a group of concerned women in 1902 as a home and training school for neglected, homeless, orphaned and abandoned children. It was called the Pasadena Children’s Training Society until the institution moved to Altadena in the 1960s, she said.

Today, three cottages house 14 boys each, and three group homes house six boys each.

Although the education they get is important, the main benefit for boys at The Sycamores is that they have a safe and stable home environment, said Rebecca Chapman, director of development and public relations.

“They learn trust and problem-solving,” Chapman said. “These kids get bounced around enough as it is. Our goal is to keep them as long as we can do them some good and then move them to better homes.”