This year, like many projects, the Fourth Grade Wax Museum went virtual.

The Wax Museum project is what Fourth Grade Teacher Laura Doyle describes as a “passion project.” Students are able to pick a person they’re interested in learning more about, from any part of history or any part of the world, and mimic them in likeness, affect, and mind, much like a ‘wax’ replica you would find in a museum.

The project requires research, reading, writing, and finally presenting to a crowd. Typically, the culminating element of the project, its namesake, gathers students, family, and friends in the Nance Room in upper school, where they get to visit the ‘Wax Museum.’ As guests peruse the exhibit hall, at the push of a button, they’re able to hear more about any particular figure. This year the final presentations were recorded from the mask-less comfort of home, which afforded students a bit of additional creativity with regard to their backdrop and props (yes we see Davy Crockett wielding a hatchet!).

This year, the project concluded with a viewing party in the greenhouse, where costumed students shared heard classmates’ presentations. In addition to celebrating their hard work, they spent time thinking about the lives of people in their own communities - family, friends, towns, sports, etc. - and about what inspires them and their accomplishments.