I agree with Mr. Schelling - it is important to encourage young collectors.
Having started out in this myself at around age 11, I found it a bit daunting
to be the only child at the New York Shell Club meetings at that time.
Everyone was extremely helpful and treated me with respect, and I was too shy
to ask too many questions that I thought I could find answers to in books.
(They have a great lending library). There were a lot of Big Name
malacologists  and collectors coming to these meetings and I learned a great
deal just listening to the adults, perhaps more than I would have if I'd
filled my time with questions.  I'll never forget the annual shell auction -
everyone wanted to be encouraging, so no-one would bid against me!  I added a
few uncommon shells to my collection that day!  My funds were very limited,
however, (about $12 as I recall) so I was unable to take unfair advantage of
this situation.
I guess in retrospect, the key factor that made this a positive experience for
me was mutual respect.  They respected me as an interested member, even if I
was a child, and I showed my respect to them by spending most of my time there
listening, observing, absorbing information and not getting in their way.
Most of what I've learned about the natural world has come through patient
observation and reading, anyway. But I don't mean to discourage questions!
I've learned a lot on this list by reading the answers to questions I never
would have thought to ask  (for example, about flying pigs.....)
-Mary in NH