Corpus Students Bring History to Life

A crowd of parents, teachers and students filled the Parish Hall at Corpus Christi School on March 12 to visit the “Wax Museum” where several dozen second-grade students transformed into famous figures.

From presidents to artists, scientists and athletes, each student stepped forward at the press of a button, dressed in extravagant costumes to recite a short bio about themselves from memory.

Abraham Lincoln (Sean Reardon) detailed his efforts to abolish slavery in the United States while Susan B. Anthony (Kelsey Macker) reminded listeners that she was a driving force behind the women’s suffrage movement. The first man on the moon, Neil Armstrong (Colt Ferrier) even brought a few samples of space ice cream for museum visitors to taste.

“I like it better than the real thing,” Ferrier said of the freeze-dried space food, adding that he chose to study Armstrong because of their shared interest in the moon.

Sacagawea, Emily Dickenson, Babe Ruth, Amelia Earhart, Dr. Seuss, Ruby Bridges and others also made appearances in the museum.

For the past six weeks, the second-grade class has been getting to know their chosen historical figures through book reports, encyclopedias and online research. Each student wrote his or her own autobiographical speech for presentation and committed it to memory.

“The students practiced so much, they are just ready and excited to present their project,” said second-grade teacher Maureen Sweeney, adding that stage fright wasn’t an issue for the well-prepared bunch. “They have worked so hard. They go all out on this project and they’re having a ball, which is the most important part.”