Gracie, right, lines up her car Thursday at the start of the Solar Derby in the parking lot of the Maine Museum of Innovation, Learning and Labor in Lewiston. Campers in the Lewiston Recreation Department’s program for sixth to eighth grades. Andree Kehn/Sun Journal

LEWISTON — Miniature solar-powered cars jolt across the parking lot followed closely by smiling children.

“Mine’s running away” one hollers.

“Mine hates me!” adds another, as his car races away from him.

The drivers are piloting a part of the Maine Museum of Innovation, Learning and Labor Innovation Kit, a curriculum designed to teach students about energy, how it is converted and the history of hydroelectric power in Lewiston and Auburn.

According to Mary MacVicar, educator and community outreach manager, the development of large water turbines in the 1850s allowed residents to harness the power of the Androscoggin River to power large machinery in factories, including the former textile factory where the museum is located.

“If you’re looking at the history of what happened here, hydropower is so key to the functioning of this building. And certainly, even the geography of the city that we live in changed because of the need for hydropower in this area,” MacVicar said. “They dug the canals, they built these enormous buildings.”

The museum is at 35 Canal St. in the Bates Mill Historic District. It features gallery exhibits, programming, salvaged manufacturing machinery and artifacts, archival photographs and oral histories that explore how life, labor and culture shape the present and influence the future.

Liam checks for sun Thursday during the Solar Derby in the parking lot of the Maine Museum of Innovation, Learning and Labor in Lewiston. The small cars, which Lewiston Recreation Department’s program for sixth to eighth-graders assembled from kits, need full sun to operate. Andree Kehn/Sun Journal

The Innovation Kit is a two-week curriculum with lesson plans that include how to introduce the activity, historical context associated with the lesson and all of the physical materials to complete the lessons.

The lessons are based on the Maine Next Generation Science Standards and were developed over the past year in partnership with educators and ReVision Energy.

ReVision is committed to environmentalism and according to its Electricians Will Save the World campaign, the United States will need to develop one million electricians in the next 10 years.

“Without intervention, we’re gonna be about 600,000 short,” Stacy Brown, climate educator for ReVision, said.

According to Brown, the company is “trying to do work with young people to inspire them to become an electrician.”

During the curriculum, students will have the opportunity to create their own model water wheel, complete circuitry and a solar car. There is also a jigsaw activity to teach students about the different kinds of energy used today. Additionally, the kit includes digital components such as educational videos and graphic materials.

Thursday was the first opportunity for the museum to pilot one of the interactive components of the Innovation Kit. Participants in the Lewiston Recreation Department’s program for sixth, seventh and eighth grades toured the museum to learn about the history of hydropower in Lewiston and Auburn. They worked with Brown to learn how to build a circuit and power their solar cars. Afterward, they took their cars to the parking lot to test them and race in an informal derby.

MacVicar could tell the event was a success by the reactions of the kids when their cars started moving.

“You may not remember those experiences that were day-to-day in your classroom,” MacVicar said. “But then you have something extraordinary that even as an adult you think, ‘we did this really cool car thing in eighth grade.’ And that’s exactly the type of experience we want for these kids.”

The pilot program to teach about energy will officially launch this fall in five schools in Androscoggin County and the curriculum will be finalized based on feedback in January.

According to the museum’s executive director, Rachel Ferrante, they are hoping their curriculum will spread across the state.

Gracie works with her car Thursday during the Solar Derby in the parking lot of the Maine Museum of Innovation, Learning and Labor in Lewiston. Campers in the Lewiston Recreation Department’s program for sixth to eighth graders built the cars from a kit and learned about electric charges before racing them. Behind her, Stacy Brown, the climate educator for ReVision, troubleshoots a car. Andree Kehn/Sun Journal

“We’re really hoping that this is going to be an entry point for teachers, school groups (and) home school groups to the museum who might not otherwise be able to come here,” Ferrante said. “I think that this is relevant to basically everybody who’s learning.”

The mission of the Maine Museum of Innovation, Learning and Labor, Maine MILL, is to provide exhibits, programming and events that tell stories of industry and innovation in Central Maine. During COVID, the museum adapted its work to offer resources that teachers could check out to supplement their lesson plans. They offer a Child Labor Travel Trunk lending program to grades three through six. The trunk can be reserved for two weeks at no cost.

The success of this program inspired MacVicar and Ferrante to develop the Innovation Kit. According to MacVicar, teachers can check out as much or as little of the kit as they want.

“Our goal really is to meet teachers where they are and what it is that we can best support them in their classrooms,” MacVicar said. “So, if they already have a great program developed on their own on energy, but gosh, they would love to borrow our solar car kit, we would be able to accommodate just the borrowing of that.”

The kits can be borrowed for two weeks at a time for no cost. There are two kits available and interested educators can find more information online at mainemill.org.

Eleanor, left, and Eva laugh Thursday as they repair their solar car Thursday in the parking lot of the Maine Museum of Innovation, Learning and Labor. The informal derby featured sixth, seventh and eighth graders from Lewiston Recreation Department. Andree Kehn/Sun Journal