LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — Students are cracking into a new field of study and putting a special meaning to 'hands-on' learning in Little Rock.
Taught outside the classroom with the lesson plan titled 'Crawfish Show and Tail', the President of Eat My Catfish Travis Hester explained that it's all about exposure.
“What we found is when we get in seventh and eighth, they're not quite as adventurous as these third, fourth, and fifth graders are. So we want to catch them early, where they get to hold one not scared of it, and then also get to eat one because it's intimidating eating one for the first time," said Hester.
Hester, who's taking a tour around Central Arkansas with his little mudbug friends, recently made a stop at Christ of King Catholic School in Little Rock.
For some, it was their first time learning about the crustaceans, and for others, their first time pausing before taking a bite.
“I liked looking at the crawfish and like how they react to different things. Like the different ways you could hold them," student, Molly Hand said. "[We] got to try it first and then you got to see what they were actually like and what you were eating.”
At the top of the year, there were concerns if there would even be a decent crawfish season.
“Last summer, there was an extreme drought, it killed a lot of the broad stock in these and we thought man who knows what this season's going to be like. But, it's turned out to be one of the best seasons in a very long time and we still have a lot of crawfish to get through," Hester said.
Hester added that students learned about the art of crawfish farming and the journey it takes to get your plate.
“I think it's cool having to farm, but it's hard for them and pretty tough with the weather but that's pretty cool," student, Jackson Garrett said.
To learn more about Eat My Catfish and how you can schedule a tour, click here.
"We want to create the future business leaders of the community. But, we believe that we're part of that by getting out and just showing that business and science and all can be fun together," Hester said.
