Mountville Elementary School fifth-graders put on a living history exhibit for visitors who attended the annual Wax Museum event on May 29.

Teacher Larry Bellew said the project is a combination of the school's social studies and English language arts curriculums. Students were instructed to choose an influential person and then write a paragraph to justify their selection.

There are four fifth-grade homerooms. Multiple students from a class are not permitted to pick the same individual. This year, two pupils wanted to portray Jackie Robinson. One student turned in his proposal a minute before the other and got to be the Major League Baseball player who broke the color barrier.

"The biggest thing is to get the students to try to understand how the person they select (had) a positive impact on society," Bellew said. "How do they influence others?"

Students' efforts to research the person carry the most weight for their grade, Bellew said. "We give them a week to read about the person and take notes. They start by organizing the topics, including the challenges they faced, how they overcame those challenges, and their impact on society."

Teachers walk through the wax museum to see how well students have remembered their speeches. Posters and costumes are also considered. "They don't have to be perfect. They just have to try," said Bellew.

He added, "I hope the biggest thing they learn is you can't do projects like this without doing the background work. You tell them at the beginning of the project, 'This will only be as good as the amount of research that you do and the kind of sources you're using to get your information.'"

Bellew was impressed with how the students responded to constructive criticism. "The good thing is when the kids come to meet with you and they think their work is ready to go, if you give them suggestions, they will go back and improve it," said Bellew.

Student Abel Steinbacher did his project on Albert Einstein. "I think his theory of relativity and his equation E=mc2 are really influential," Abel explained. "I got a lab coat because he was a scientist. I wore this wig because when he was older, he was famously known for his white hair."

Student Riley Stetler portrayed Betsy Ross. "I really like the American flag, and I like the design she made," said Riley, who added, "We learned that there are a lot of people in history who affect and influence us."

Student Kloey Appleby did her research project on swimmer Shelley Mann, who overcame polio to win a gold medal in the women's 100-meter butterfly event at the 1956 Olympics in Australia.

Kloey is also a swimmer and has a medal of her own she earned in a 100-meter butterfly race. "I did some research on famous swimmers, and I found Shelley Mann," she said. "One of my races is the 100 butterfly, and when I saw she did it, I wanted to learn more."

Kloey said she learned that polio paralyzed Mann's right leg at the age of 6. After winning Olympic gold, Mann graduated from Cornell University and taught swimming to blind children.