ROWE — Community members gathered Wednesday in Rowe Elementary School’s gymnasium to talk with students about their careers, running the gamut from nature conservation to cartooning, as part of the annual “That’s a Cool Job” Day.

Molly Cantor, a local potter, brought with her a pottery wheel to let students try out throwing clay while she spoke about her love of the art.

“It makes me happier than anything and I want kids to know that it’s a thing they could do,” Cantor said.

Riley Shattuck, a first grader who wants to be a singer when she grows up, tried out the pottery wheel.

“I like that job because it’s cool,” she said.

After taking a break during the pandemic, Rowe Elementary School staff said they are excited to have “That’s a Cool Job” Day back for the second year in a row. Eleven tables were set up on Wednesday.

“We feel like kids in a remote area like this, they see what their parents do, they see what their grandparents do, and that’s about it,” Principal Bill Knittle explained. “I don’t think they have a sense for all the possibilities that exist out there. So we’re trying to bring the community into the school to connect people in the area to the school.”

The event also featured the Rowe Fire Department’s new fire truck, which was parked outside the school. Students were able to look through the rescue equipment.

One kindergartner, Ronan Tanner, exclaimed, “I wanna be a firefighter!” after being shown a stretcher.

“The job fair has been going really, really well and the kids have been really, really excited,” said physical education teacher Brittani Sprague.

Children walked enthusiastically from table to table, excited to try on the various hats in the room — both figuratively and literally, in the case of the table from the Franklin County Sheriff’s Office, where students could try on a police hat and gas mask.

Several students gathered around the table of Sarah Pirtle, a local musician and author who brought with her a variety of traditional instruments from around the world that students could try. One of the students was Walker Lane, a first grader who wants to be a carpenter like his father.

“It’s cool that everybody gets to show their jobs,” Walker said.