WAUSAU, Wis. (WSAU) - The first year is over at the Wausau EGL Academy, one of the district's charter schools, and students got a chance to show off their final projects.

Lead instructor Tim Fetting says this is a culmination of the Project Based Learning process at EGL. “They have projects they work on all year, they have deadlines and guidelines they have to meet.” The teachers then help students by getting the other information they need to know into lesson plans.

The final projects each have at least 50 hours of student planning and execution. Students were displaying a homebuilt automated router that was carving smiley faces and words into foam, a look at using de-humidifiers as water purification systems, and just what made gummy bears taste so good. Other projects include a homebuilt motorcycle from scrap parts, an perfectly tuned PVC percussion organ, and a look at the history of medieval biological warfare.

Fetting says they hope parents an the public get a chance to see just what their students are learning at the charter school and appreciate all the time and work they're putting in to graduate to the next year.