World-renowned figures visit Walnut Creek
Thomas Miller as Hall of Fame MLB baseball player and humanitarian Roberto Clemente and Alexis Miller as famous singer Dolly Parton come to life during the Walnut Creek Elementary Third Grade Living Wax Museum.
For one day Walnut Creek Elementary was filled with a host of people famous for some of the world’s most accomplished feats, and the community was the better for it.
On Thursday, Nov. 21, the third-grade students reaped the benefits of creating the annual Third Grade Living Wax Museum.
From 9:30-10:30 a.m., parents, community members and students had a chance to bring quarters to the show and were invited to place a quarter into the box at each participant’s feet.
In doing so, the wax figures sprang to life and began sharing the facts and stories about their respective lives to each donor.
“I love this day, and so does the community,” said third-grade teacher Tonya Widder, who for years has invested heavily into this opportunity to educate her students on famous figures both present and past. “This is their day to shine, but it’s so much more than that. It’s a tremendous learning tool that allows them to be as creative as they want to be.”
Each wax figure would sit or stand still until someone placed a quarter in their receptacle. Then they would come to life and share their figure’s story. Once done, they would reassume the pose until the next quarter hit the bottom of the box.
The list of historical figures was wide-ranging, including some figures who most people may not know much about.
One such figure was Malala Yousafzai, a famous Pakistani human rights advocate and Nobel laureate played by Rayna Sommers.
“We looked through the list of characters, and my mom pointed out that Malala was a girl who wasn’t allowed to go to school, and I immediately wanted to be her,” Sommers said.
Another choice was Thomas Miller, who opted to play baseball legend Roberto Clemente, who was not only a Hall-of-Famer, but also a great humanitarian who was killed in a plane crash while helping victims of an earthquake in Nicaragua.
“I love baseball, and I asked my parents who he was and found out he was really good and cared a lot about people,” Miller said.
His father Brent Miller was proud of his son’s choice and said all the students worked hard to perfect their character.
“Thomas went from not knowing who Clemente was to realizing he was not only a great baseball player, but a great humanitarian,” Brent Miller said. “It was cool to see him connect with a great baseball player because he loves the game, but it’s equally exciting to better understand how he lived his life for others.”
While the students could use a series of cue cards to talk about their subject, Alexis Miller, who portrayed Dolly Parton, was so well versed in studying her role model that she barely even glanced at her cards while sharing the details of Parton’s life with visitors.
“I practiced my speech every day at school and every evening at home,” Miller said. “It was a fun project, and I put in a couple hours of studying every day. I’m lucky because I can remember things pretty well, so it was easy and fun for me to practice.”
The event wasn’t just fun for the kids. Parents and grandparents had the joy of coming in to see and listen to the kids perform, and there were plenty of smiles to go around as they cherished each moment and took plenty of photos.
Elvin Coblentz went to see his two granddaughters, Calista Coblentz, who portrayed entertainer Taylor Swift, and Brynn Mast, who chose to portray gymnast Simone Biles.
“They were very excited, but the nerves were pretty high last night,” Coblentz said. “One of the best things about this is that it gives these kids a chance to speak to people in public. It’s a great program that the kids have been working on for weeks.”
The event also serves as a fundraiser, and Widder said she gives her students free reign to choose where they wish to donate the funds, which are usually around $500.
She said they do talk about choosing donation spots, beginning within the classroom for students in need and spreading out to families in the community, like last year when they chose to donate to Tuscarawas Valley High School after the school went through the bus accident that claimed six lives.
By giving the students their choice among the millions of possibilities, Widder said the kids explore the details of someone they are passionate about.
“Each student picks a historical figure and reads a biography about that person,” Widder said. “Then they pull out the facts that they find to be the most interesting. They write and rehearse those facts, and then on this day, they become that person.”
The event takes all day, with the wax museum in the morning, followed by each of the students getting videotaped throughout the day.
The list of characters included Oliver Easton as Harry Styles, Avery Gause as J.K. Rowling, Elli Mast as Laura Ingles Wilder, Brooklyn Miller as Julia Child, Jackson Miller as Michael Jordan, Jamie Miller as Davey Crockett, Maggie Miller as Katie Ledecky, Jake Neuenschwander as Dale Earnhardt Jr., Keneth Ortiz as Leonardo da Vinci, Alice Raber as Sacagawea, Nayeli Ruiz as Selena Quintanilla, Julie Shetler as Clara Barton, Ben Trolio as Blackbeard and Evie Troyer as Beatrix Potter.