I was intrigued when my 11-year-old granddaughter suggested we visit The Wildlife Sports and Educational Museum in Vail Mills in the Town of Mayfield in Fulton County. “I’ve never been there before,” Lilli added, “but everyone tells me it’s really cool.”
With an endorsement like that, we had to go. Located at 3747 State Highway 30, just off Route 29, I had no idea what to expect. But as we pulled into the spacious parking lot and spied the colorful wildlife murals painted on the front wall of the old Grand Union, I sensed we were in for an adventure.
Entering the building, we found ourselves in an enormous gift shop containing everything from T-shirts and outdoorsy tin signs to locally-made leather gloves and deer head mounts. Eager to see the wildlife displays, we paid our entry fees (cash only, $10 adults, $5 ages 7-17, free to kids 6 and under), pushed through a door, and promptly found ourselves face to face with the largest whitetail deer trophy head exhibit in North America: more than 160 mounts!
All of the animals on display in the museum are works of art, created by scores of talented taxidermists who have spent years learning to skillfully prepare, preserve, and mount animals in the most lifelike way possible. Anatomical knowledge is essential to taxidermy. Not for the faint of heart, it’s a messy, time-consuming, and meticulous art.
The Wildlife Sports and Educational Museum is “dedicated to the preservation of the art, artifacts and memorabilia of the centuries’ old sporting traditions of hunting, fishing and all sports afield, and to fostering interest in these traditions for future generations.” In addition to its wildlife mounts, the museum houses extensive displays of historic hunting, trapping, and fishing gear.
In the summer of 2023, a new addition opened, nearly doubling the size of the museum to 26,000 square feet. Built by a handful of dedicated volunteers, the new section is largely devoted to African animals. One display shows seven lounging lions, two of them feasting on a downed Cape buffalo. Another scene spotlights a journey of giraffes in their natural habitat.
The original building houses the largest collection of mounted trophies in New York State, including large and small mammals, fish, birds, and snakes. Often staged in gripping battle scenes where only the fittest or luckiest will survive, these lifelike images can appear frightening. But the museum strives for realism, and within the animal kingdom, danger is ever-present.
The Wildlife Sports and Educational Museum is the brainchild of Bob Kazmierski of Johnstown, a lifelong taxidermist who has invested his life’s savings and retirement over the past 20+ years into transforming his dream for a wildlife museum into a reality.
Without State or local funding, Kazmierski has forged ahead with his plan, purchasing and renovating a rundown supermarket, acquiring and displaying hundreds of individual mounts and collections and, then, constructing a brand new addition — and purchasing even more animals to fill it!
Kazmierski’s interest in taxidermy began in childhood. “When I was eight years old, I used to watch through the window as a taxidermist neighbor across the street worked. Sometimes he’d invite me in,” Kazmierski recalls, “and I’d study how he put things together and made the animals look lifelike.”
Intrigued, the boy went to the library and took out a book on taxidermy, which his grandmother read to him. “By the time I graduated high school, I’d done a lot of mounting but I wanted to learn more, so I offered to work free of charge for a couple of local taxidermists.”
When nothing materialized locally, Kazmierski cast a wider net, applying to two nationally renowned taxidermy studios: The Jonas Brothers in Denver, CO, and D.M. Wooster Taxidermy Studios in Whitney Point, in Broome County, NY. He was thrilled when the latter company, located near Binghamton, offered him a position.
“I went down and studied Wooster’s mounts, worked with excellent taxidermists in a professional studio, and learned a lot. When their work slowed down, I returned to Johnstown and continued working on my own. I also got a job one summer at the New York State Museum in Albany. That really piqued my interest in museum work.”
Well into his golden years, this creative, industrious man could be kicking back and taking it easy. But that’s not how Bob Kazmierski is wired. In addition to working tirelessly to bring his dream of an even bigger and better Wildlife Sports Museum to life, this extraordinary octogenarian still runs his own taxidermy shop in Johnstown, makes all the leather gloves sold in the museum gift shop, and travels regularly to trade shows and fairs to promote taxidermy and outdoor sports.
The New York State Outdoorsman Hall of Fame is also located in the Museum. You can see plaques commemorating the Hall’s inductees with videos and interviews.
The guest book at Kazmierski’s museum is filled with glowing comments from visitors of all ages, and before we left that day, my family gave it a resounding thumbs-up! If you’re looking for an unforgettable adventure, check out The Wildlife Sports and Educational Museum in Vail Mills. Without a doubt, it’s worth a trip from anywhere.
To learn more, visit their website. The Wildlife Sports Museum and New York State Outdoorsman Hall of Fame are open Saturdays, from 10:30 am until 4 pm. During the summer, they open daily during the same hours. To schedule a school group tour, call (518) 762-7925.
Photos of the Wildlife Sports and Educational Museum by Wendy Hobday Haugh.
