Fifty-three students participated with their presentations

ATASCADERO — Fifth-grade classes at Monterey Road Elementary participated in the school’s 2nd Annual Wax Museum on Friday, Dec. 6. The museum featured historical figures chosen by the students for their final assignment in their informational writing unit. 

“The students have worked for a month on this project, researching historical figures from the 1950s and earlier,” said fifth-grade teacher Kelly Clinite. “They could pick anyone they wanted from actors and actresses to presidents to war heroes, novelists, artists, anyone that piqued their interest that had an impact on American history.” 

The wax museum comes at the end of a three-part process that includes a five-paragraph essay featuring the chosen historical figure’s early life and education, their accomplishments and major life events, and their impact on history as we know it. They then created a poster board and a speech. All of which were used during the wax museum portion.

“They go through all of the different dynamics of a research project and then the presentation of it,” stated fifth-grade teacher Melanie Asaro.

The student’s hard work was on display, and for extra credit, they could dress up as their historical figure, bringing them to life even more as living wax figures. Though some did not dress up, others went all out on their costumes.

“It’s really satisfying seeing the kids become more engaged when they are going to step into the shoes of the historical figure that they’ve chosen,” Asaro said. “It’s not just a report, but they’re going to breathe life into this person from the past. It really feels like they have more ownership over it, and in doing it that way, we see much more engagement and much more effort in the project and a product that they’re really proud of.”

Each student had a button in front of them as well as their poster board, and parents and students from other grades would push them to bring the figures to life to tell you about their lives. One such student was Kayley White, who chose baseball legend Jackie Robinson.

“I picked Jackie Robinson because I really like sports, and I wanted to do somebody who was involved in sports, and Jackie Robinson’s such an icon,” Kayley said. “It was really fun. I learned a lot more about baseball, about what he did, civil rights, and all that stuff.”

Student Nora Madson chose Martha Stewart as her American icon to study.

“She’s an amazing person, I think,” Nora said. “Even though she did go to jail, I really do think that she went to sewing classes and art classes while she was in jail, so she still got crafty in jail. She’s a super nice person. I think it’s really funny that she’s best friends with Snoop Dogg.”

Adam Hartig portrayed Albert Einstein and lit up as he spilled the fun fact that Einstein’s FBI file was 1,427 pages long. Sierra Betz told Atascadero News that she was inspired by Jane Goodall spending 60 years with chimpanzees, and Layla Keiper said that the fact that Susan B. Anthony helped with women’s rights and voting was really cool to her. 

Of course, that was just the tip of the iceberg, as there were 53 students who participated in the wax museum. On top of learning about their historical figures, the students also got to practice public speaking in a one-on-one atmosphere as they engaged with students from kindergarten to fouth grade and their parents. 

“It’s really fun to see the other kids from the other grades come and learn from them. So, they become the teachers,” added Asaro.

Asaro added that the project would not have been the same without the help of North County Orthodontics, which donated $120 worth of foam poster boards for the student’s historical figure project.

Featured Image: Adam Hartig as Albert Einstein at the Monterey Road Elementary Wax Museum. Photo by Christianna Marks