<p>[A</a> girl, the Internet, and her Pontiac Fiero - CNN.com](<a href=“http://www.cnn.com/2012/10/24/tech/girl-builds-fiero/index.html?hpt=te_t1]A”>http://www.cnn.com/2012/10/24/tech/girl-builds-fiero/index.html?hpt=te_t1)</p>
<p>This is such a cool story. It’s another example of the value of hands on experiences outside of the classroom. I love this story because I can totally relate to this girl. Growing up, my neighborhood friends and I used to make most of our “toys”. We would pick up junk at the dump and transform it into things like forts, homemade skateboards, gravity powered go carts, etc. Sure, the final product was the goal, but the real fun came from the building process. </p>
<p>Here’s a clip from the story:</p>
<p>A couple years ago, Jerry DiMaria signed up for an online forum and started a new thread: “A few months ago,” he wrote, “our 12 year old DAUGHTER came in and said, ‘Dad, Mom, can we talk for a minute?’”
Kathryn had a proposition for them: She wanted to build a car, a Pontiac Fiero.</p>
<p>They live in Michigan. Her dad is a Corvette guy, and the Fiero wasn’t produced in her lifetime, but she’d seen the little sports car at an auto show, and knew it was the one for her. She could buy it with her babysitting money, she said. She’d have four years to restore it, to learn how to budget and build – and drive – before she was 16. It’d get good gas mileage. They’d never fear a breakdown or a crooked mechanic. She’d do it all herself.</p>