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Dobbins Wax Museum brings historical figures to life
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All of those speeches took the energy out of spaceman John Glenn, or Dobbins student Blake Wilson.
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Jake Bacon portrayed Apple Computers founder Steve Jobs during the event. Bacon brought a prop with him that was appropriate to his biography subject- he made a Lego version of the first computer Jobs made, the Apple I.
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Bria Sban wore her best witch costume to portray J.K. Rowling, the famous author of books about witches and wizards.
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Neighbors | Sarah Foor .During the Dobbins Elementary Wax Museum event, Ava Izenour portrayed the historical figure Molly Pitcher. Pitcher was important to American history because she was said to have fought in the Revolutionary War.
By SARAH FOOR
The all-purpose room of Dobbins Elementary looked a lot like Madame Tussaud’s Wax Museum. Instead of wax, however, the famous historical figures crowding the space were actually real-live third-graders.
The April 15 “Wax Museum” event was the students’ final assignment on their biography unit, where they studied persons who have had an impact on American history. Third-grade teachers Debbie Patsko and Marlene Booher helped their students with the projects.
“This event really puts together a lot of what we’re learning in third grade,” explained Patsko. “Our students read nonfiction or a biography on an important person and then prepare a speech on the life of their subject. They work on public speaking and writing, along with things like capitalization, punctuation and sentence structure. They’re learning a lot.”
After preparing and memorizing their speeches, the students dressed as their subject and pinned a yellow button to their clothing. Family and friends at the event had to push the yellow button to bring the wax figures to life and hear their speech.
Guests to the event that day met celebrities and historical figures like Steve Jobs, Elvis Presley, Martha Washington, Oprah Winfrey and John Glenn.
Bria Zban portrayed J.K. Rowling for her project. Out of character for only a few moments, she shared what she liked about her subject.
“Stories are all about making stuff up in your head, and I really like what J.K. Rowling makes up,” she explained. “That, and I really like owls. She puts lots of owls in her stories.”
Teacher Marlene Booher was simply happy to see growth in the students.
“There were so many students who were scared at the beginning of the project, but are really proud of themselves today. I can see their self-esteem growing with each new person they talk to, and I love that,” Booher shared.