OSWEGO, NY – Student engagement is always a major factor in learning.

Recently, Frederick Leighton Elementary School fifth grade teacher Tom Wiegand continued his tradition of creating a wax museum in his classroom.

George Lucas - Alexander North

Promoting his event Weigand wrote, “WiegandAir is having a unique open-ticket experience and is inviting you to take part. For no fee at all, you are invited to attend this special event. WiegandAir will be landing at Leighton International Airfield on October 30, 2009. Even though our WiegandAir Luxury Jet will not be taking off with passengers, it will be parked at Gate 320. Onboard the A1 Superjet, there are several wax statues, collected from various connecting cities for your viewing pleasure.”

Mexican General Emilio Zapatas - Martin Orta

Upon arriving at the “boarding gate” a ticket counter was in place along with a luggage rack.

Captain Weigand greeted all of his passengers and the visitors quickly boarded and enjoyed a view of spectacular “wax” figures.

Wiegand explained, “The wax museum project has become quite popular. Students research a historical figure, don that person’s dress, and provide a ‘wax figure’ for the students of Leighton to see.”

Continuing he said, “We have been doing this for several years and as always it was fun and educational. It is actually surprising how you could get fifth graders to stand still, not move and hold a position for a lengthy period of time.”

Flight Captain Tom Wiegand

However, he continued, “This was a great learning experience. The students learned quite a bit about people they admired and conducted substantial research. The literacy part of reading and then organizing their thoughts to prepare a concise one page overview of who they were was very important.”

On board were Elizabeth Blackwell (Crystal Brooks), Theodore Rossevelt (Derrick Cahill), Abner Doubleday (James Carpentier), Christopher Columbus (Aaric Celeste), Queen Elizabeth I (Olivia DeLorenzo), Pocahontas (Brandy Ermini), Queen Liliuokalani (Gabriel Favata), Michelangelo (Kyle Freberg), Charles Lindberg (Samuel Gilbert) and Walt Disney (Darian James).

Girl Scout Founder Juliette Low - Desiree Myers

Other figures included Helen Keller (Mariahlee James), Cleopatra (Taylor Knopp), Martin Luther King Jr. (Evan Lewis), Henry Ford (Timothy Mateer), Mary Walker (Courtney McDermott), India slave-freer Jahanara Begum Sahib (Autumn McHenry), Girl Scout founder Juliette Low (Desiree Myers), George Lucas (Alexander North), Emilio Zapatas (Martin Orta), John Deere (James Roach), Harry Houdini (Nathan Schultzkie), Davey Crockett (Connor Stone), Susan B. Anthony (Paige Thomas) and Julius Casear (Tyler Tobin-Fantom).

Davey Crockett - Connor Stone

As visitors walked past they were not only able to view the “wax figure” but were able read about them as each had a student written biography to explain the exhibit.

Kindergartners through sixth graders as well as adult visitors were quite impressed at the poise of the fifth graders as the students not only looked, but also read about the exploits and experiences of each “figure.”

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