Hillis “Wax Museum” Breathes Life into History Lessons
An earlier generation was dismayed to learn that there were perhaps as many as six Lassies. And of course there are legions earning a living impersonating Elvis. But who knew how many Houdinis and Cleopatras and Ben Franklins there were? Several incarnations of them and other luminaries showed up last Friday at the Hillis Elementary wax museum.
For several years now the Hillis 5th graders have been “breathing life into biographies,” according to the program that “Madame” Tammy Fastenau was handing out outside her classroom as parents entered to see their kids in character as famous, inspirational figures – past and present. She may have thought she was Rosa Parks’ teacher but her colleagues, Kelli Tu and Heidi Slinker, might lay the same claim.
Not surprisingly, founding fathers were popular choices and so were athletes. But aviators were everywhere too, everyone from Wilbur and Orville Wright to Amelia Earhart to Charles Lindbergh to Neil Armstrong. Good to see so many kids with their heads and their dreams in the clouds.
One of a kinds included George Ferris, who invented a still popular amusement park attraction, a right-hand hitting Babe Ruth, and Juliette Gordon Low, founder of the Girl Scouts, who was passing out cookies to inquiring minds that stopped as they made the rounds.
Each student was in costume in front of a display board filled with highlights from their subject’s life. If someone stopped and pushed the button on their board they came to life and explained themselves. In between button-pushings they were supposed to freeze in a pose. They did as good a job at that as one can reasonably expect of a real, live ten year-old near the end of a Friday in April.
Besides Lassie there was another popular old TV show called To Tell the Truth. A trio of people would all claim to be the same person, some apparently ordinary person with a remarkable story to tell. Two were impostors. Contestants quizzed them all and then tried to guess who wasn’t lying. At Hillis today everybody had their bios down so well it was tough to tell the icons from the 5th graders. Maybe there really were three Sacagaweas!
