Mt. Lebanon Montessori students portray famous Americans
Harry Funk / The Almanac
Noahm Green, left, portrays Robert Fulton (1765-1815), the Pennsylvania native who developed the first commercially successful steamboat. Kirk Magleby-Lambert is Alexander Hamilton (1757-1804).
Harry Funk / The Almanac
Arjun Raj portrays George Herman “Babe” Ruth (1895-1948), the greatest of baseball greats.
Harry Funk / The Almanac
Arianna Kumpf portrays Mary Stevenson Cassatt (1844-1926), an American painter and printmaker who was born in Pennsylvania.
Harry Funk / The Almanac
Ellis Bekman portrays Carl Sagan (1934-96), astronomer, cosmologist, astrophysicist, astrobiologist and author.
Harry Funk / The Almanac
Ellsie Short portrays Harry Truman (1888-1972), the 33rd president of the United States.
Harry Funk / The Almanac
Enrico Falcione portays Dian Fossey (1932-85), an American primatologist and conservationist known for undertaking an extensive study of mountain gorilla groups.
Harry Funk / The Almanac
Eshal Ahmad portrays author Samuel Langhorne Clemens (1835-1910), better known by his pen name, Mark Twain.
Harry Funk / The Almanac
Kennedy Steen portrays Clara Barton (1821-1912), the nurse who nurse who founded the American Red Cross.
Harry Funk / The Almanac
Kiley Price portrays Sally Ride (1951-2012), an astronaut who in 1983 became the first American woman in space.
Harry Funk / The Almanac
Lola Armfield portrays Rosa Parks (1913-2005), complete with her bus seat.
In the month of their birth, George Washington and Abraham Lincoln greeted visitors to Mt. Lebanon Montessori School and Academy.
And even though they aren’t quite the poster people for Presidents Day, so did John Quincy Adams, William Howard Taft and, of course, Millard Fillmore.
Harry Funk / The Almanac
Harry Funk / The Almanac
Ariya Nahata portrays Elizabeth Blackwell (1821-1910), the first woman to receive a medical degree in the United States.
The occasion was the school’s 2018 Expo, with the theme “Night at the U.S. History Wax Museum,” featuring students portraying an assortment of famous Americans from Sacagawea to Sally Ride.
“This is an engaging way for the children to get involved, and they’re really inspired,” academy director Megan Steen said. “When they’re telling each other about it, it makes them passionate about what they’re learning.”
Students wore red-and-white patches representing the types of buttons that patrons of actual wax museums would push to hear biographical narratives. When so prompted, the youngsters delivered accordingly.
And they certainly knew their stuff.
“They all did research papers,” Steen explained. “They had to have book sources, and they had to have Internet sources.”
The historical figures portrayed by the students were divided into three time frames: 1750 to 1850, 1850 to 1920, and 1920 to 2000. President Washington, who was born in 1732, represented the earliest of the personalities.
Harry Funk / The Almanac
Harry Funk / The Almanac
Will Messerly rocks the Elvis Presley (1935-77) look.
The latest-born was Samantha Smith (1972-85), who gained a measure of fame at age 10 by writing a letter to Soviet leader Yuri Andropov and, in turn, accepting his subsequent offer to visit the Soviet Union.
“They had free choice as far as what characters they were going to be,” Steen said about the students’ selections. “With Montessori, children are really allowed to follow their passions, and when they have something they’re interested in, they can really dive into that a little more deeply.”
Also contributing to the night’s success were the convincing period costumes worn by the students.
“Some of the parents are very creative,” Steen acknowledged. “So we’re lucky.”