A wax museum is a place where life-like wax dummies are displayed. These are usually statues of famous people throughout time. In our case, it is the fourth-grade class posing as a famous person. Each student had to chose a person who has made an impact on the world and researches them. 

The wax museum has been a school event for about 8-10 years. The idea came from a former fourth-grade teacher, Mrs. Buseth. She saw that they were putting on a wax museum at her son’s school and thought it would be a great addition to ours. She was right: the wax museum has been a big hit in the last decade. 

This year, they decided to add a new element to the project. Mrs. Lamb thought that it would be a great idea to add a button on each student’s board that spectators could push to learn more about their character. “We added the button to help them practice their public speaking, which is one of the skills they need to learn,” adds fourth-grade teacher Mrs. Lamb.

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Fourth-grader Ruthie Stevens chose Ben Franklin as her person. Ruthie has always wanted to be a mailman and chose Ben Franklin because he started the first post office. It took her about two weeks to complete this project. Ruthie’s favorite part about this project was the research and getting to learn more about him. 

Ayla Blossom posed as Betsy Ross during the museum. Betsy Ross is the person who sewed the first American flag. Ayla explains why she chose Betsy as her character: “I wanted to learn more about the person who made the American flag.”  Her favorite part was getting the chance to be creative by making the board. For most of the students, you could tell that it was hard for them to sit still. “It’s boring sitting so still,” Ayla said jokingly. The great thing about this project is that each student could pick a person that really interested them and learn more about their choice. The fact that stuck out most to Ayla was Betsy was one of 16 children in her family. 

Junior Sam Kessman reflects on what she remembers from the wax museum. “I remember we were spread out in class, and we got to do our own research. It was pretty fun,” says Kessman. 

The wax museum was a memorable project that even high school students remember doing. It is a creative way to honor that historical person and learn more about them. Be sure to check this out next year with new characters and new fourth graders!