Visitors to Bella Vista Elementary last month didn’t just walk into a school room, they stepped into history.

Inside the third-grade wax museum, famous figures stood silently by posters mounted to the wall. Wearing buttons that, when tapped, brought them to life — Albert Einstein adjusting his wild hair, Frederick Douglass speaking of freedom, Missy Copeland describing her dancing, Ona Judge sharing her escape and many other prominent stories.

For five weeks leading up to the event, 28 third graders in Wendie Nielsen’s class researched, read, wrote and rehearsed to become the historical figures they chose to portray.

“The students read a biography about the person they chose and took notes,” Nielsen said. 

Those notes were used in a rough draft, where they then selected the most important parts to write a copy for their prepared speech. A final draft also was required as well as a created portrait to add to the presentation board. In addition to research and writing communication, they also practiced public speaking and memorization skills. Students then could dress as the person to present their speeches. 

“They learn about people they are interested in learning about and get a chance to act so they are engaged in a project covering a lot of standards,” Nielsen said.

Third-grader Jackson Miller chose to portray Albert Einstein. He recited his love of physics, the violin and of receiving a compass from his father as well as being known for the theory of relativity and the equation, E=mc2.

“I picked him because I thought his hair was pretty cool and he’s really smart, so I could be like him when I’m older,” Jackson said. “He’s pretty cool. Plus, I only knew about his E=mc2 so I wanted to learn more about him.”

Classmate Arman Ali took on the role of Frederick Douglass.

“I was born in 1818 in Maryland as an enslaved black man,” Arman began his speech, recounting Douglass’ life in slavery, his escape and his public speaking. “I wanted to learn more about who he was, how he grew up and how Frederick dedicated his life to ending slavery.”

Third-grader Malia Falekaono represented ballerina Missy Copeland. She outlined Copeland’s rise in the dance world, including being the first African-American female principal dancer at the American Ballet Theatre. She now promotes diversity in ballet.

“I like ballet, and I’m really good at doing tippy toes so I felt Missy was a good choice for me to learn about,” Malia said. 

On her poster, she included Copeland’s inspirational quote: “I may not be there yet, but I’m closer than I was yesterday.”

“We could add something they said and I liked how she said she keeps trying in that,” Malia said.

Close by Alex Hopf portrayed Ona Judge, who escaped slavery in George Washington’s home.

“I spent most of my time in the mansion where I did all my chores all day, every day,” she said. “An interesting fact is, I ran away on May 24, 1796. I ran for freedom.”

Alex said this was the first time she had heard of Judge.

“Slavery isn’t good. People can own property like a house, but not someone,” she said.

Principal Barbra Winder said the annual event leaves a lasting impression as history speaks.

“It’s amazing to see their memorization and them getting into character,” she said. “There’s deep, deep learning involved in this and 40, 50 years, this will be something they’ll remember.”