Meadowlark fifth graders present American History through Wax Museum
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Before the start of the recent wax museum at Meadowlark Elementary, Mohammed Ali (Oliver Standiford) and Dale Earnhardt (Trevin Warburton) have an informal chat. Ali was the world heavy weight boxing champion in 1964 and Earnhardt seven Winston Cup championships on the NASCAR circuit. The theme of this year's wax museum was "Heroes and Heroines." Thirty-five fifth graders researched and shared historical information about famous people who "had an impact on America.
Thirty-five fifth graders from Meadowlark Elementary hosted their annual wax museum. Each student selects a character from American History which they learn about and represent for the project. This year's theme was "Heroes and Heroines." Fifth grade teachers Lesa MacLeod and Megan Hinebauch said the historical figures were "people who had an impact on the U.S. in politics, sports, entertainment or scientific endeavors." The program has been ongoing at Meadowlark since the fall of 1992. But, there have been some changes and interruptions over the years.
A brief history of Meadowlark's wax museum
Shirley MacKenzie organized the first wax museum with her sixth grade class in the fall of 1992. She said, "I remember the year because it was also the year that the addition to Meadowlark was completed. The wax museum was supposed to be a one time event to coincide with the completion of the new wing at Meadowlark." She added, "The wax museum was a big hit with parents, students and the community. We decided to continue the wax museum on an annual basis."
Several changes occurred over the years. MacKenzie said, "One of the first changes was to move it from the fall to the spring. In order to learn some research skills and have time to do justice to the project, the spring seemed to work better." Once the preparation is done, students do an in-class presentation so their fellow students learn about all the historical figures. In the afternoon everything is moved to the school gym where a public showing is done. For many years the public event was in the evening.
Another change was how the students present their spoken information about their character. Originally the sixth graders each spoke their short speech about their character as guests walked around the gym and stopped at each character. This year each student came before the entire assembled group and presented their spoken information about their character. Guests then walked around to the individual exhibits while the characters remained motionless and silent, like a wax museum.
Retired teacher Shirley MacKenzie recalled, "After a few years we began to repeat historical characters so we created new themes-like heroes and heroines, decades and famous Montanans." The year they did famous Montanans a student wanted to portray Mike Tilleman, the former NFL professional who grew up in Blaine County. MacKenzie smiled as she told, "My husband and I knew Mike pretty well and invited him to come to visit the wax museum, but we didn't tell the students. When Mike walked in the kids were wild with excitement. He gave each of them one of his sports cards he had signed. That was a big hit."
MacKenzie said that when students could chose a character from a decade, the 1960's were very popular. She explained, "There was something about that era that still excited the students. Many of them, because of their research, knew more about the 60's than I did and I lived through them." She laughed. There was a short period, after MacKenzie retired in 2012, when the wax museum project waned.
The wax museum became a fifth grade
project two years ago
According to teachers MacLeod and Hinebauch, this is the second year for the fifth grade to do the wax museum. They are both very enthusiastic about the project as a learning experience. They described how they start the project about six weeks before the public performance. Students chose a character, then do research and write a paper about the figure. For the public event, they prepare and speak a short description about their character. They make a display, for the public event, with information they feel is important to understand their figure. Finally, and this usually involves some help from parents, they create a costume to showcase the character.
The teachers chose an overall theme, then give students lists of names that might provide an historical character to study and perform. MacLeod said, "We give them suggestions but the students each select the character they want." This year's characters ranged from famous American politicians, notably George Washington and Abe Lincoln, to more obscure sports figures like Helen Bates, (who trained Secretariat, the 1973 Triple Crown winner) to Bethany Hamilton (the surfer who lost an arm during a shark attack and became a best-selling author).
Most of the research is done during class time at school. But, parents do get involved. After the presentation I was speaking with some parents of the fifth graders. Linae Jensen's daughter, Ashlynn, portrayed Eleanor Roosevelt. I said, "Weren't Eleanor and Franklin (her husband and U.S. President) cousins?" Linae answered, "Yes, they were fifth cousins, once removed. I heard Ashlynn practicing her speech until I actually memorized it myself."
Lucille Ball, famed TV personality, was portrayed by fifth grader Hannah Schoen at Meadowlark's recent wax museum. Other entertainment figures chosen for portrayal this year included Katharine Hepburn, Marilyn Monroe, Shirley Temple, Elvis Presley, Reba McEntire and Michael Jackson. Students do research about an historical figure, then write a paper about the character, prepare and do a short public speech and create a costume to represent the person they studied
Heather and Scott DePriest's fifth grader, Dentin, portrayed Louis Braille who devised the system that allows visually impaired people to read and write. Heather shared she was in Mrs. MacKenzie's class when the first wax museum occurred. Heather said, "I was very excited that Dentin was doing the wax museum. His character, Louis Braille, was a red head. We got up before school to dye his hair red." I noticed Dentin's hair was still clearly dark brown. Heather said, "Something didn't work. All I have is red stained hands and a stained sink at home." Teachers MacLeod and Hinebauch said as far as they know parents seem to enjoy helping the kids with the costuming.
After speaking with Heather DePriest and learning she was a parent who had also done the wax museum as a student, I wondered how many other current fifth grade parents had also been part of the wax museum. Then I got to thinking, "Shirley MacKenzie did the wax museum for 20 years. That means there are several hundred other parents who did the wax museum and now many helping their own kids."
Funny how one of those school projects becomes a legacy and those who participated are now helping their own kids with the project. It's actually very cool. Thank you Mrs. MacKenzie for starting the idea. And thanks to all those current and future students and parents who will keep history alive through the wax museum.
