THUNDER BAY -- How can you know you don't like something unless you give it a chance?
That's the question Chris Blacken has for any of his peers who say they don't like welding and fabricating.
The 13-year-old was one of 10 students busy Tuesday morning in Confederation College's welding shop as part of the Mind Over Metal summer camp.
It's the first time kids got to try their hopefully steady hand in the program, sponsored by the Canadian Welding Association as a way to get the next generation interested in the trade.
Welding coordinator Jim Dyson said with the campers ready for high school soon, they could take a dual-credit program to get them ready for a career in welding.
"We've seen them go through a class like you see today all the way to journeyman status so it's very successful," he said.
Blacken isn't ready to commit to the trade full-time yet but the program, which runs all this week, has been a great learning experience so far.
"I like to work with snow machines and stuff like that and I thought welding would be good to go along with my automotive," he said.
The students were busy working right through their morning break Tuesday trying to perfect their projects, a flower hanger.
