Wax Museum Allows Fifth Graders To Shine as Famous People
The annual Fifth Grade Wax Museum happened the week before Memorial Day Weekend at McNary Heights Elementary. This project is a favorite of many students and teachers. The concept is that fifth grade students choose a historical figure, do research about the person, dress up as the person and then “become” that person to present to the class. After that, all the fifth graders gather so other students can see them.
On Tuesday, May 23rd, several students presented their characters in Christine Estrella’s classroom. Max became “Benjamin Franklin,” complete with an awesome wig and a parchment copy of the Declaration of Independence. Max said he chose this character because Franklin had a hard time and he was really smart, things Max could connect with. Among Franklin’s many inventions were of course the story everyone knows of the key and the kite which led to inventing the lightning rod, but Max said he also invented a stove that many people had in their homes.
Neil Armstrong was the chosen character for student Alizay, who described him as the first person in the decade to walk on the moon. Decked out in a very detailed astronaut costume, Alizay said she chose Armstrong because she really likes learning about astronauts, her mom learned about him and she wanted to do the same.
Arely, dressed in a simple black skirt and jacket with a white blouse, portrayed Rosa Parks, the civil rights activist who refused to vacate her bus seat for a white passenger. “I loved learning what she has done in the past for us and helping us learn about segregation,” said Arely.
Other students in Estrella’s classroom became Michael Jackson, Martin Luther King, Jr. and Princess Diana, sharing a great variety of historical figures to their classmates.
The school-wide Wax Museum was on Friday, May 26th.
