Northeast Metro Tech Students Help Renovate Revere Museum

WAKEFIELD, MA — Students at Northeast Metropolitan Regional Vocational Technical High School in Wakefield have recently taken their talents to Revere to help renovate a more than 120-year-old museum.

Northeast Metro Tech Superintendent David DiBarri announced the program this week. The partnership is seeing students in Northeast Metro Tech's electrical pathway help replace wiring in the Revere History Museum.

The museum building, located at 108 Beach St. in Revere, dates back to 1901. It took its current form as a museum in the 1980s through a land swap between the city of Revere and the Immaculate Conception Church, as noted in DiBarri’s announcement.

Though the museum has remained open and functioning over the years, old wiring in its walls has kept Revere from launching certain energy efficiency renovations, according to DiBarri.

Northeast Metro Tech students are working to help clear that hurdle, helping modernize the museum’s electrical system.

"This project gives our students a chance to use their skills in a controlled environment with instructors watching over them to ensure the work is done properly, and in accordance with what students have already learned in the classroom," Northeast Metro Tech Assistant Principal Jack O'Brien said in an statement from the school this week.

Revere officials, meanwhile, have thanked Northeast Metro Tech students.

"Everyone at Northeast Metro Tech has been wonderful and the students are really learning a lot from the experience," Revere’s Elle Baker said this week.

Baker, who serves as the city’s Open Space and Environmental Planner said ongoing rewiring work poses an additional challenge to students, who have to work with historical preservation in mind.

“It's been an excellent experience for us to work with students, and it's a great opportunity for the City to have this work done so we can make this building more energy efficient,” Baker said.

Northeast Metro Tech enrolls students from communities including Chelsea, Malden, Melrose, North Reading, Reading, Revere, Saugus, Stoneham, Wakefield, Winchester, Winthrop and Woburn.