Juniors

One of the best things about collecting is having fun and part of that can be the sharing of your collection with others by making displays. Junior members (attending school) are encouraged to display their collections at club open days and shows, in an environment of mutual respect and support. Often the collection of contemporary items is appealing to junior members and displays do not have to be of 'old' items, although some junior members may have a keen interest in and knowledge of true antiques.

Have you ever found an unusual coin or stamp? Or looked for old treasures in your attic? Visit Kids Collecting and explore the Smithsonian’s collections, learn how to start your own collection, and see what kinds of things other kids collect. Collectables can be anything we are drawn to, love looking at, or playing with. Remember keeping the items and any associated boxes or packaging in good condition is likely to be as important in the future as it is now.

You don't need lots of money to collect, people collect almost everything, see wiki list of popular collectables here and the pictures lower down on this page. Collectable items are often included as incentives to buy more of the same or related products, but as time goes by, some of these items start to be sold separately, instead of being used as marketing tools. The things junior members collect today are very likely to be highly desired and valued in the future. Generally, popular culture items become most collectible about 30 years after their peak popularity, when the children who grew up with the items are old enough to feel nostalgic and have the money to buy them all over again.

Not only can collecting be fun, but a lot can be learnt from the process. Collecting often leads to research and learning about the things you collect, and some collectors learn so much about the things they collect that they can become world experts! Careful observation of and critical thinking about the items being collected can go hand in hand with development of the ability to compare, contrast, identify, classify and describe objects. Collecting is also associated with increased responsibility as well as developing skills associated with organisation, mathematics, reading, socialising and budgeting.

Recommended reading (maybe of more interest to the parent or guardian):

How to start your kids collecting as a hobby: Ten great ways to spend real quality time with your children collecting stuff together, by Chris Barnardo, August 2007, may be downloaded from the www.dadcando.com website here.

Coin Collecting For Kids (a guide for beginners).

Discovering new worlds, one postage stamp at a time, by Barb Valentin, July, 2012, Special to Tribune Newspapers.

Stamp collecting for children: how do I start a stamp collection?

Children Who Collect A World of Their Own, by Kimberly Stevens, November, 1998, The New York Times.

Learn about marbles and marble collecting

Collecting: A Connection between Playing and Learning. Playful collecting in childhood exercises imaginative and cognitive skills, by Michele and Robert Root-Bernstein, 2011 in Imagine That!

Starting a Collection: What Kids Learn, by Jeannette Moninger from Parents Magazine

Some collectables

Some collectable items displayed by club members.