Can I run 10.6.4 and the new ML?

Hi, I'm running 10.7.4 right now and would like to get the new Mountain Lion. However I have a little problem. I need to run some software (Earobics) that unfortunately is only compatible through 10.6.x, if you can imagine. I read in some other threads people mentioning partitions. Is there some way for me to make this work, where I can go back to 10.6.4 (I still have the disks) AND get the new ML? Would I then be able to bounce back and forth somehow, so I could run the Earobics software in the 10.6.4 and run everything else in ML? I use separate user accounts on my imac. Is that how I'd get between the two OS??

Just explain it in really plain english, as it's all new to me.

Cool, partitions sound straightforward enough. I have a 120GB SSD and a 2TB hd internally on my mac. So my OS is on the SSD and pics, that sort of thing are on the hd. I'd be partitioning the SSD, right? And then how do I actually access those partitions and go back and forth?

And then, once I have some partitions, should I actually have 3: one for 10.6.4, one for my current, and one for ML? Wow, that sounds crazy. How do you go about getting the OS off that section of the hd that becomes partitioned? Or you don't have to because it does that when you partition it? (like it picks a blank spot to partition off?)

I'll go google and try to learn more about partitions.

OK, I'm reading more and the partitions thing makes sense. How do I do a *clean install* of ML as part of this? Guess that's the next thing to figure out. And how I go back and forth between the two OS. Haven't figured that out yet.

Would bootpicker be a good way for me to handle this?

Ok, I just tried it out, and booting with the option key to get to the OS/partition selector is easy peasy. So cool, I think I'm in business. Now I just need to find out about the clean install of ML, as I don't know how to do that. I think when I installed 10.7 I just let it upgrade. Might be lazy, but sometimes you wanna be idiot-proof, sigh.