BETHEL — History came alive during Crescent Park Elementary School’s annual Wax Museum program as performed by 37 fifth-grade students for kindergarten through grade four children.
But first, one had to get past Alexander the Great, Eric the Red and Marco Polo, who were guarding SAD 44’s version of the “Night at the Museum” movies. Fifth-grade teachers Heidi Bullen and Marie Keane, both of Bethel, and Kathy Conrad of Andover, had assembled an ensemble of famous people from 327 BC to 1976 for the Thursday program.
Their students picked who they wanted to portray. Then they learned how to write a biography, bibliography and timeline for the person, designed their own costumes, and tried to speak like that person while giving a presentation.
Additionally, they learned note-taking while reading information before summarizing it into their own words so they could restate it.
“Those are some of our Common Core curriculum objectives,” Conrad said. “We’re trying to accomplish as much as we can with a project. This is our social studies and language arts curriculum.”
The fifth-grade class starts the project in January and works on it for three to four weeks prior to the students’ presentation to the school during the day and to parents at night.
Students also make their own buttons like a museum would have for people to push to make the character “come alive” from a frozen pose.
“When someone pushes their button, they get activated, and then they come to life telling their story,” Conrad said. Stories usually contain the most important events, accomplishments and what they want to be remembered for.
Jacky Tse, 10, of Bethel portrayed Marco Polo, a Venetian merchant who traveled the world. Dressed in black and wearing a gray beard and mustache that kept slipping down his face as he talked, Tse kept pulling it back in place.
He told a group of younger students who gathered around him and his display to press the button on his desk. One did and he came to life, sharing Polo’s life history.
“I was born in 1254 and I didn’t get an education at all,” he said. “But my family taught me to become a merchant who traveled the world and they taught me languages, how to measure with hands, and all that stuff so I couldn’t get cheated anywhere.
“I traveled to Asia and I was the only person in my time who knew so much about China,” Tse said.
Like many of the student actors, Tse frequently referred to his tri-fold display and cue cards. After his presentation, he resumed his seat and reflected on why he liked his character and the assignment.
“I like how (people later) invented a game called Marco Polo where someone says, ‘Marco,’ and you say ‘Polo,'” he said. “He seemed really cool.”
Occasionally entering mock battle with Polo between presentations, Erik the Red, a Viking warrior and king portrayed by Jake Chiasson, 12, of Bethel, wore a gold helmet with huge horns. He also had a full black beard and wore furs over a leather vest and gray tunic.
“So I was born in 825 AC,” Chiasson said. “In 850 AC, I discovered Greenland.”
He later referred to the label as AS. When asked what AC and AS stood for, he said, “I wasn’t born before Christ.”
After being reminded that the label was called AD, he corrected his presentation without missing a beat. He said the project was “kind of fun, but it’s a lot of work.”
Chiasson said his mother’s friend made costume and he spent a week making his report.
Moving on to more well-known American people, five boys chose presidents. Harrison Connors portrayed George Washington, Nolan Fowles was Abe Lincoln, Tanner Martin was Franklin D. Roosevelt and used a wheelchair as part of his costume, Zachery Crosby portrayed John F. Kennedy in his military career, and Huntley Blair of Bethel was George H.W. Bush.
Katie Evans of Bethel portrayed Lewis of Lewis and Clark fame and Marley Ayotte of Woodstock played Clark. Together, they did a lively presentation about their expedition across the country to the Pacific Coast and exploits along the way.
Hannah Pierce portrayed Molly Pitcher, a nickname given to a woman said to have fought in the American Battle of Monmouth during the Revolutionary War. “Molly Pitcher” was a nickname for women who carried water to the troops during the war.
She wore a dress and matching bonnet that she called a “Colonial-time” dress. Asked what she liked about the project, Pierce said, “I think it’s cool to research people who did something good and I think that history is kind of interesting.”
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