Down the stairs in the shop room at Boothbay Region High School, nine kids are busy over fret boards, carefully soldering wires while teacher Chip Schwehm observes and assists.

These kids are in musical instruments class, and are creating their own electric guitars. They have to do every step of the build (save for cutting out the wood for the body and neck), including all the wiring inside the guitars. The last month of the class the kids will learn how to play, and perform in front of the school.

“I play the guitar a lot,” said senior Ben Betts, who plans to go into music as a career after graduation. “I'm having a lot of fun using my knowledge of guitars to help me actually build one.”

“I've never done anything this interesting before,” Senior Chelsea Morton said. “I took shop class in seventh and eighth grade, but this is the most fun I've had. Mr. Schwehm is a great teacher; he helps us out individually and calls us together when we need to learn something important.”

This is an elective class, part of the STEM program (Science Technology Engineering and Math). Students who take STEM classes and complete a special project can get special certification on their diplomas, showing prospective employers they have strong skills in science and math.

“I went to a course in Pennsylvania where I learned how to build these electric guitars,” Schwehm said. “I wanted to bring this project to the kids, but it was expensive. The equipment necessary to do it properly adds up quickly: a $75 press here, a $50 straight-edge there. The kits to build the guitars are $175 each.”

Schwehm was talking with Cathy Sherrill at the Opera House about his desire to bring this course to his students, and she told him about the grant available from the Music Doing Good Foundation run by Marie Bosarge. The foundation's goal is to promote kids playing music, so Schwehm wrote a letter to them explaining the program. He received a $2,700 grant for the class.

“I am so thankful to the foundation and to Cathy for their help,” Schwehm said. “We were able to use the money for this year's class and some of next year’s and it's meant no extra charge for the students to participate.”

Senior Austin Crocker is looking forward to learning how to play.

“I own a guitar, but I don't know how to play,” he said. “I really want to learn now, because this is a guitar I actually made myself. It's a lot of fun you just have to be careful and not mess up. The soldering iron gets really hot and you have to solder these wires correctly or they fray sideways and you don't get the full volume when playing.

“I am enjoying this class 100 percent,” Crocker said.

“One of the best things about the class is problem-solving,” Schwehm said. “A couple of students had part of the guitar neck break off when they were installing the nut (a small strip of material when the head of the guitar meets the neck) and we worked together to find a solution.”

“I found a sliver of similar material and was able to glue it down and fix it,” said sophomore Angela Machon, one of the students who had the issue with her guitar. “This class is a lot of fun and I've learned a lot. Mr. Schwehm is a really great teacher. He's helpful and gives lots of input when you're stuck.”

“These kids are really engaged in this project,” Schwehm said. “It's a grown-up project that takes real dedication and concentration, and they rose to the occasion. Maybe it's because they get to keep the guitars they make, the stakes are a little higher for them. It's a great group.”