NORTH BRUNSWICK – Judd Elementary School received a very special visit from the likes of Amelia Earhart, Helen Keller, former President John F. Kennedy Jr. and Walt Disney.
No, the Ghosts of Christmas Past did not descend upon the North Brunswick school. Instead, 100 fourth graders took part in the third annual wax museum event, bringing past and present historical figures to life on Dec. 15.
“It’s hands on. It lets them get into the character’s life. It gets them more excited,” teacher Stacie Oliveri said of the final project related to the biography unit.
The purpose of the hands on activity was to bridge the gap between book learning and absorbing the material. Each student chose their own hero, did research in school, wrote a speech with facts and a timeline and then created the “look” with accessories to actually become their idol. Supposed to be made of wax, each figure was “activated” when a parent or fellow student stepped on a button in front of their display.
Elijah Simmons was one of several children who mimicked the lives of different politicians. As former President Abraham Lincoln, the 10-year-old spoke about “one of the best presidents” who fought in the war and helped to end slavery.
“People today can learn from him. They can read books about what he did for us,” Elijah said. “What he did, I feel like I could to that too, as president.”
Khadija Moro, 9, portrayed Maya Angelou.
“I thought she was a good role model and I thought she was kind,” Khadija said of the famous poet. “She helped with civil rights. She was also a friend of Oprah Winfrey.”
Khrushi Patel wore a beautiful pink dress from a cruise formal to become Queen Elizabeth.
“I saw she loved to read and write and I love to write so I wanted to be her,” she said of her connection to royalty.
She said she learned that her sister put her in jail because she hated her.
“Her mom died so she had to work very hard,” Khrushi said.
Atharvan Deshmukh very seriously told the tales of Marco Polo, a Venetian explorer during the height of the Mongol Empire.
“He’s a good man. He was an explorer. He went to China and bought their silk and spices,” he said.
Atharvan said that his father is an artist, so he helped him draw a map of Polo’s explorations.
“I’m the person but I’m wearing a costume – don’t be afraid of me,” the 10-year-old said.
Billy Shimp borrowed his brother’s viola to portray Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.
In his own life, the 10-year-old plays the piano, recorder, cello and saxophone and sings, so acting as a musician came naturally to him.
“I really think it’s amazing [Mozart] composed at such a young age,” Billy said, noting that his favorite piece is “A Little Night Music.” “And I like the fact he moved to Vienna.”
Dressed in a red curly wig and dress bought off the internet, and in a homemade apron, Sarah Levine embodied the persona of Lucille Ball.
“I watch her show. It made me really excited that one of the books [in class] was about her,” she said. “She’s really funny. She makes people laugh.”
She studied the life of “Lucy,” learning about her struggles with the stage, her marriage and giving up her dreams.
“Even if you can’t find a job or try out something and you can’t reach a goal, keep trying until you get it right,” Sarah said she learned from studying Ball’s life.
“This is truly one of my favorite days of the year,” Judd Principal Joseph Schmidt said during the event. “It’s great when kids are having fun learning – they don’t even realize how much they’re learning.”
Though young, the students absorbed enough from the lessons to echo those exact sentiments.
“I get to learn about other people and I get to learn about myself and I get to teach other people,” Khadija said.
“When we become who we were, we got to search on the computer and read books just focusing on the person you have to be,” Billy said.
Contact Jennifer Amato at jamato@newspapermediagroup.com.
