Special to the Beacon,
NEWELL—History stood frozen in place– until someone pressed the button.
Eighth graders in Mrs. Cheyenne Gepperts’ agriculture class hosted a “Wax Museum” biography presentation on Monday, September 14, from 10:15 to 11:00 a.m., transforming their classroom into a living gallery of the men and women who shaped American agriculture.
The event featured the 8th grade agriculture class, dressed and posed as historical agricultural innovators: John Deere, Cyrus McCormick, John Froelich, Rudolph Diesel, Benjamin Holt, Frederick Haynes Newell, Clarence Birdseye, Henry Ford, Madam C.J. Walker, Marie Antoinette, Temple Grandin, and Jimmy Carter. Guests included Principal Mr. Galpin, visiting kindergarten through 2nd grade classes, and family members of the presenters.
Students spent weeks researching their assigned historical figure’s early life, family background, education, and contributions to agriculture before writing a full biography and condensing it into a short first-person script. On the day of the event, students stood frozen like wax figures at their stations, some in costume, until a visitor pressed their “make-believe button,” at which point they came to life to deliver their speech before returning to their pose.
The project challenges students to research individuals who made a lasting, positive impact on agriculture — from Cyrus McCormick’s mechanical reaper to Clarence Birdseye’s quick-freezing process — while building research, writing, and public speaking skills. Presenting to younger students and community members gave the 8th graders real practice in the kind of employability and communication skills the assignment is designed to teach.
Younger students got a hands on history lesson, walking from station to station and “activating” each wax figure to hear their story, while the 8th graders practiced presenting with confidence to an audience beyond their own classmates.
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