A classroom on wheels is delivering science lessons to kids in Addison County. Mount Abraham Unified School District's Extended Learning Program is using a converted mini school bus as a mobile makerspace that travels between elementary schools each week in the rural district. Dubbed MILO — which stands for My Innovative Learning Opportunity — the bus provides hands-on workshops to students after the school day has ended. Jodi Pierce, who calls herself Ms. Jedi Frizzle in honor of the beloved science teacher in the Magic School Bus series, is the traveling educator behind the lessons. A recent one on density had students create lava lamps with baking soda, vegetable oil and vinegar. Another lesson, on the electromagnetic spectrum, used prisms to demonstrate that white light is made up of all the colors of the rainbow. MILO is modeled after another visionary vehicle, EMMA (Everyone May Make Anywhere), a van-turned-makerspace launched by Northeast Kingdom tech educator Lucie deLaBruere in 2015. She inspired two Mount Abe educators in 2018 to renovate an out-of-commission mini bus that the school district owned. Using federal grant money, Expanded Learning Program director Mandy Chesley Park and assistant superintendent Catrina DiNapoli led a project to revamp the inside with the help of several area automotive centers and a local carpenter. The seats were replaced with two booths that each fit four students. There's also a long countertop and plenty of storage space. The pandemic put plans for MILO on hold. But last school year, it started making trips every six weeks to Starksboro, a community in which 71 percent of students qualify for free and reduced lunch, to provide counseling services, mentoring, free meals and seasonal activities such as apple cider making. The afterschool science lessons began this school year. And starting in December, the district will partner with Brooklyn-based artist Tom Pnini to teach students how to use cardboard to create art, from self-portraits to monster sculptures. Pierce said that when she pulls the bright green bus into a school parking lot, students often can't contain their excitement. "It's MILO!" she said they yell. "We're getting MILO today!" The original print version of this article was headlined "Go Science" …