BELFAST — Eighth graders from all over Waldo County explored technical skills and learned the importance of teamwork during “The Amazing Race,” hosted by Waldo County Technical Center (WCTC).

Students from regional school districts 3, 20 and 71 were in attendance to experience all the technical center has to offer during the third week in January.

The middle schoolers formed teams, complete with a group names and matching bandanas. These groups then visited each program in the school, where they had to complete an activity, which highlighted skills that could be learned within that class.

Students experienced everything from dressing a head wound in the Emergency Medical Services program to changing a spark plug on a snowblower in the Small Engines program.  

At the end of the day, the eighth graders discussed what they learned from their experience at WCTC. Many students voiced how the skills they learned could be important in real life and how much easier it is to accomplish tasks when working as a team.

The group who showed the most teamwork and proficiency during the activities won the race, thus earning each team member drawstring bags full of WCTC goodies. 

“This experience helped pique the interest of students about to enter high school who may be considering enrolling in a program in Career and Technical Education,” WCTC said in a news release.