Tyler and her fourth-grade classmates have been working on their wax museum projects since early December. Last week, they were ready to open their museum to family members and share what they had learned.
Each student was either assigned or selected someone who has made an impact in the world. For some it was a famous person in history, a sports figure from the recent past, inventors, scientists, doctors or accomplished writers including George Washington, Albert Einstein, Laura Ingalls Wilder, J.K. Rowlings, Neil Armstrong, Derek Jeeter, Simone Biles, Walt Disney, Shaun White, Jackie Robinson and many more.
Parents and family members were invited to visit the museum as students portrayed the person they researched, made a poster about that person, and wrote and prepared a speech. Each time their “button” on their poster was pushed by a guest, students came alive playing their roles in history and reciting interesting facts.
“I loved doing this. It was so amazing and I got to learn about someone I didn’t know a lot about before. She (Harriet Tubman) helped free a lot of people from slavery,” said Tyler.
Classmate Piper Dirkse portrayed Rosa Parks. “I just wanted to know more about her life and how she was treated unfairly,” said Dirkse.
“I loved everything about this project. I especially liked reading the biography. The hardest part was giving the speech because it makes me nervous,” said Emma Osburn.
Osburn said one thing she learned that was especially interesting about Marie Curie was that she never gave up on her dreams.
Teacher Lindsey Meredith said this project has become a favorite for all the fourth-grade classes. “I’m so proud of all the students. They do a lot of work researching and writing. They create their posters and then they write a speech and memorize it to give as they portray the person in the wax museum. It’s a lot of work but they are all so proud of what they’ve done. And they love having family members come in.”
“It’s all about learning about important people in history who were just ordinary people who made a difference in their world. It teaches students how they can make a positive difference in their own world and it teaches them to never give up on their dreams,” said Meredith.