Carpentry instructor Brian. Bisson is always looking for unique and interesting projects for his students to do in shop. Last year, he had some of the Class of 2009 students build a canoe which they tested on the Connecticut River. Having covered a mode of transportation for water, this year Bisson has some of the Class of 2011 students taking on the building of a land-based form of transportation.

"I wanted to build soapbox cars to race on field day," said Bisson. They started with a picture of a Wombat which is a miniature Humvee on a VW chassis. They also got a donation of sheets of plywood from the Connecticut Lottery. Next, they completed a material list with all of the individual parts for the vehicle. Then, they used the shop machinery to manufacture the parts from plywood and dowels and attached everything together with glue and deck screws.

Jeremy Tetrault accomplished most of the assembly. Gino Cardella helped Jeremy with the painting (School colors of course.) The tires and wheels should be attached by field day. Bisson said that he is very pleased with the work done by his students. "We'll see how fast it can be pushed. Next year we hope to get some of the other shops involved for a steering system and a motor."

Jeremy Tetrault and Gino Cardella with the Wombat they Built