Hardyston third graders host wax museum

The third grade class from Hardyston Elementary School hosted a wax museum event located in Franklin, New Jersey on April 12th.

The event was held outdoors and it was the first time since the pandemic that the parents were able to attend. Jill Brown, one of the third-grade teachers, said there are 60 students in third-grade and that each student had family members attend, whether it was their mom, dad, aunt, uncle, grandmother or grandfather. There were a total of 200 people that attended the event.

Jennifer Cimaglia, Principal of Hardyston Elementary School explained to the Advertiser that a few weeks before the event, Mrs. Healy, one of the third grade teachers, presented a project for the students’ biography unit which would provide the students with an opportunity to implement, evaluate, and develop a real-world applied study.

The students researched a famous person and had to dress like them. Each student had a red button on their sleeve, and when you pressed it they recited a speech discussing the famous person and their successes. Cimaglia said it was great practice for the students to memorize their speeches and present them to the audience.

“I am so proud of the students’ efforts. They dressed the part, memorized their speeches, and stayed in character as families and their classmates visited the wax museum,” Cimaglia said. She also said “the kids did a wonderful job. All were impressed and I am incredibly thankful for the teachers who organized it. I have a feeling this may become a new Hardyston tradition.”

Third grade teacher Jill Brown also said that the third-grade team of teachers decided that this would be a great project for the students to do. Brown explained that she and some of the other third grade teachers had their children participate in this event in the past, and they had so much fun doing the project they decided to try it this year. The teachers added their own personal touches to the project. The students got to choose a person they were interested in researching and dressed up as that person.The students chose celebrities, historical figures, athletes, and musical performers. Brown said the children really enjoyed doing the research for their person, creating their poster board with all the correct information, learning about public speaking and presenting it all at the wax museum event.

“We (the third grade team) felt the students did an amazing job!,” Brown said. “It was an incredible feeling to watch the students get lined up and ready for the parents to come in to see each presentation. We would like to thank each family for their support throughout the time of leading up to the day of the event. It was a cooperative effort on both sides, between school and family.”