It may be a once-in-a-lifetime occurrence.

Imagine George Washington standing alongside Jane Goodall, JK Rowling, Helen Keller, Neil Armstrong and Lionel Messi—an extraordinary collection of influential figures throughout history. This remarkable moment was brought to life by the third-grade students at Quail Hollow Elementary, each embodying a historical figure for their wax museum project.

“We got to pick who we wanted to learn about,” said third-grader Jamison Thomas who portrayed Jackie Robinson. “I like baseball and learned as the first African American to play major league baseball he played in six all-star games and also was the first athlete at UCLA to letter in four sports.”

Classmate Ellie Salmon researched Sally Ride.

“She was the first American woman in space and she also built a robotic arm and was the first woman to operate it for satellites in orbit,” she said.

Third-grader Eva Rlose portrayed Phoebe Snetsinger, an ornithologist who documented more than 8,000 different species.

“She documented more than anyone else in history at that time, including some rare species,” she said. 

Classmate Bentley Castleton focused on Lane Frost, who was just 10 years old when he won at his first rodeo.

“I want to be a miniature bull rider this year,” he said. “Lane Frost was the toughest rider. He died from a bull who charged him and so the bull-riding vest was created in his honor.”

Indica Osness chose to learn about Australian wrestler Rhea Ripley, a two-time women’s world champion.

“She’s my favorite wrestler,” the third grader said. “She’s really strong, and I want to be like her when I grow up.”

Classmate Millie Clegg read the book, “Who is Chloe Kim?” to prepare for the wax museum.

“At age 18, she was the youngest female gold medalist in snowboarding and she also set a record for the fastest-selling cereal box in Kellogg’s history,” she said. “She worked hard for her dream and believed anything is possible. I love snowboarding; I want to win like her.”

Millie said the wax museum taught her more than just about her heroine.

“I learned how to write and to speak with expression,” she said.

This hands-on learning experience aimed to engage the 75 third-grade students in more than dressing as their historic figures.

“They read a book on someone they're interested in learning about,” third-grade teacher Amy Ebert said. “We sticklers that it has to be a book. They can't just Google it. They have to read the information which gives them an opportunity to read different kinds of texts. We do encourage them to get books at their level so they can read by themselves.”

After reading the books, students completed a questionnaire about their famous person, she said.

“Then, they create a poster with interesting facts, questions they may have if they got the chance to meet them and a drawing of the famous person,” Ebert said. “At the wax museum, they dress up as that person. We push a button and they share facts they learned about their research. It’s a fun event that ties in with our third-grade standards.”

This is the first year Quail Hollow has had a drama teacher thanks to the Beverley Taylor Sorenson grant program. With the help of specialist Nicole Lopez, the students rehearsed their greetings and facts, gaining confidence to present themselves.

“They practiced the facts on their note cards with me with each other, boosting their confidence, and learning about good, clear speaking skills,” she said. “Some of them did it in character and had a lot of fun with it. A lot of them memorized their cards. It helps with their public speaking skills in state standards and also with the four key theater standards — create, respond, perform and connect. They're connecting to something personal to them; they're responding to each other when they watch each other's performances; and they are creating their characters for their performance.”

Third-grade teacher Natalie Day said through this project, students gain an understanding of people who have impacted society.

“They’ve learned to feel comfortable in their own skin, not just learning to research, write and present,” she said. “We’ve had students highlight some different people through the years and it’s really cool to see people who we necessarily wouldn’t study. It’s good for them to focus on someone who's made a positive impact and it’s just not our classes learning about them, we invite every class to walk through the wax museum — and families and the community.”

Ebert said it’s a memorable learning project because siblings, cousins and friends remember who they highlighted and what they learned in previous years.

“It’s good they explore what qualities they admire about that person and how they helped the world,” she said.

Day added: “They can be proud of what they accomplished.”

Third-grader Iver Prax learned about decorated World War II combat soldier Audie Murphy, who received the Medal of Honor and France’s highest military award, The Legion of Honour.

“My mom told me about him, so I wanted to learn more,” he said. “He was brave, saved a bunch of lives. I want to be a Navy SEAL.” λ