Daniel Langlois has seen the awe and wonder in the eyes of children who have just witnessed the “mystical, magical flight of the arrow.”

“When (kids) see somebody shoot an arrow, they say ‘I want to try that,’ ” he said. “They’ve never done it, but they have this concoction in their mind of what it’s like.”

“And if they can hit the bullseye, that’s a huge thing for them,” he added. Chippewa Valley kids ages eight to 16 have that opportunity, as UW-Eau Claire is hosting a Youth Archery Workshop that spans two hour-and-a-half sessions on Feb. 15 and 22. Up to 16 participants will learn the basics of archery from National Archery in the Schools Program (NASP) instructors.

“It’s the nuts and bolts of basic archery,” Langlois said. “Kids have maybe heard about (archery) from friends or famil y… so this is the perfect opportunity to learn the sport from the basics.”

The NASP promotes student education, physical education and participation in archery as a sport. Langlois says that they have been essential in making archery a competitive high school sport, and it has become especially popular in Wisconsin schools.

Langlois said archery programs around the United States have been growing rapidly, and now there are state, regional, and national NASP competitions for hundreds of kids to compete in. Sign-up for the archery workshop takes place in the Environmental Adventure Center on the UWEC campus from 4-7pm Monday through Friday every week leading up to the event. Whether kids want to eventually be competitive or just have fun, Langlois says the goal of the workshop is just to introduce youths to the sport.

“It’s the opportunity to actually shoot the bow and learn the fundamentals,” he said. “And that might lead to enthusiasm to continue the sport along their path.”