Panther Valley School District fifth graders stripped electrical wires, hammered nails and worked with robots alongside students and instructors from the Carbon Career and Technical Institute Monday morning.

The fifth graders moved through four stations inside the Panther Valley Intermediate School learning about different trades and course offerings at the technical school in Jim Thorpe.

Represented were electrical, carpentry, automotive trades as well as new course in pre-engineering, where students can learn about different areas of engineering as well as electronics, computers and robotics.

But the school has 14 technical areas for students to pursue, said interim administrative director David Reinbold.

Monday’s program was part of a pilot program geared to having students learn more about the technical school at a younger age, he said. Panther Valley was the district chosen for this pilot, Reinbold said.

CCTI already brings in eighth grade students from all of Carbon County’s high schools to tour its facility, he said.

The school also plans to bring back a program in which ninth graders can spend a year rotating through three different programs before deciding which track is right for them, Reinbold said.

Without that opportunity, many students ended up wanting to switch to different trades program when they came in 10th grade, he said. So, the school decided to bring back the rotations, Reinbold said.

The Panther Valley students got some hands-on experience in the four trade areas as they moved through each of the stations working with the CCTI instructions and students from their own district, he said.

The younger students also listened to and watched a presentation in their cafeteria on CCTI, which could become their high school.

One of the questions asked was could they still play sports, if they chose CCTI for a trade. Michele Klock, cooperative education and school improvement coordinator, told fifth graders that they could still play sports or participate in band in their home district.

Panther Valley Intermediate School Principal Lisa Mace said that she remembers older students being introduced to the technical school as an option, but not the younger ones.

“This is the first time we’re doing it with the fifth graders,” she said