Taxidermy programs prepare people to create lifelike models of wildlife and fish. Students learn how to select materials from dead animals and how to use artificial resources such as glass, wax, and foam. They study methods to create needed parts and care for models. In addition, they learn to manage a business and advertise their services.

The Swiss sculptor Alberto Giacometti once said that "the object of art is not to reproduce reality, but to create a reality of the same intensity." As an art form, taxidermy does exactly this.

Contrary to popular belief, taxidermists do not take dead animals and stuff them for display. Although this practice used to exist, most taxidermists would frown upon this mere attempt to "reproduce reality." Instead, taxidermists are artists who re-create "a reality of the same intensity" by using a combination of artificial resources and natural materials from animal corpses.

If you've ever been to a museum of natural history or science, you may have seen the work of a taxidermist. You might have seen the form of an antelope's head mounted on wood or a lifelike representation of a jackrabbit in a setting crafted to look like a forest clearing.

As a taxidermist, you help to preserve the memory of animals. Just as other artists do, you pay close attention to details that others might not notice. You look at color, texture, expression, and muscle movement. You combine crafts such as carpentry, woodworking, tanning, and molding and casting to give renewed life to these details. You also use the artistic talent required for drawing, sculpting, and painting.

You might show your work at competitions, in shops and museums, or in the private homes of your customers.

In taxidermy programs, you learn to build frames and forms to substitute for animal skulls and skeletons. You study the techniques for sculpting clay heads or bodies and finishing models with painting and preservation. You also learn to preserve animal components such as skin, feathers, and fur.

Proprietary schools and some community colleges offer taxidermy programs. You can typically earn a certificate which takes anywhere from a few weeks to a year of full-time study after high school.

In some programs, you may be able to specialize in a particular kind of animal, such as fish, birds, snakes, or mammals. Some students specialize by size or type of mammal.