Mt. Ararat Middle School students got their hands dirty Tuesday, using a car show as an opportunity for some hands-on learning.

The school’s Sheepscot team focuses on project-based learning for students in the seventh and eighth grades. This was the second year the car show took place in the Mt. Ararat Middle School parking lot, and the iconic L.L. Bean Bootmobile made an first appearance at the event.

A Mt. Ararat Middle School student observes the antique, orange-and-white Ford pick-up truck during the project-based learning car show on Tuesday, Oct. 15. Paul Bagnall / The Times Record

“It’s a project-based team; we teach science and social studies,” said John Hawley, Mt. Ararat Middle School Sheepscot Team teacher. “Same curriculum as the other science and social studies, but it’s hands-on, project-based learning.”

It is Hawley’s eighth year teaching project-based learning for Alternative Education at Mt. Ararat. Last year, he was awarded the 2024 Maine Alternative Education Association of Maine Educator of the Year Award.

According to Hawley, unlike vocational learning, which focuses on career training, project-based learning involves taking the regular science and social studies curriculum and bending it around a hands-on project centered on life skills.

The main focus of the car show wasn’t so much on the cars as it was on practicing the research skills needed to find information about each vehicle, such as comparing horsepower, towing capacity, payload capacity, seating and top speed. The students gathered all the numbers and compiled them into a rubric, which scored each car from the best to the worst.

“The internet is huge, and you have to be a good consumer of information, [like] is this a valid source, a real source or just TikTok,” Hawley said.

Hawley said it is good for young students to have research skills to help them navigate the internet and find answers. One example Hawley remembers was a student who found an unrealistic towing capacity figure for a certain vehicle.

“We get to do stuff like [the car show]. We get to learn a lot of stuff about aquaponics like last year in seventh grade,” said Mt. Ararat eighth-grade student Gabriel Pelletier. “It’s more of a chance for us to learn more stuff hands-on for later on in life.”

Before the car show, each student researched one of the cars. Most of the cars used in the show belonged to teachers and staff of Mt. Ararat Middle School.

A 1971 Ranchero was among the muscle cars that showed up, along with some more modern Mustangs, Challengers and Camaros.

“[Science and social studies] lend themselves a lot to hands-on projects,” said Huey Sheffler, co-teacher for the Sheepscot project-based learning team. “For example, like in social studies, we will not only have the kids study the Civil War, we will have them cook a soldier’s meal.”

Sheffler said the next hands-on project the Sheepscot Team will work on is creating weather in a jar and international studies, cooking a menu from the country the students choose.