The Sprout Scouts from the Albert S. Hall School in Waterville recently took a field trip to Mid Maine Technical Center in Waterville, according to a news release from the group’s advisor Emily Dufford, FoodCorps AmeriCorps service member at the Hall School.

The elementary school students meet after school once a week, fourth-graders on Thursdays and fifth-graders on Tuesdays, to learn about cooking and gardening. Approximately 15 students participate in each group.

According to Dufford, a total of 28 students attended. Each group of students, fourth grade in one group and fifth in another. They learned about the tech center, worked with high school mentors to make pico de gallo, and sampled fresh salsa with homemade tortilla chips made by culinary students at the center. Students were able to work with high school students.

“As an educator, I am so excited to see students getting opportunities to demonstrate the skills we learn together and learn new ones from high school mentors. They get to see how our knife skills and cooking knowledge could be used in a future career or in their day to day life. I’m so grateful to have MMTC in the community and that they are so willing to invite our students to visit and have hands on experiences,” said Dufford, in the release.

The field trip was made possible with the help of Chef Bill Robertson and  Peter Hallen, director at MMTC.