Some first grade students turned the Hershey Elementary School Media Center into a museum for the fourth annual American History Museum. Visitors could learn about historical leaders, American symbols and important landmarks and monuments from Hayley Sanchez’s first grade students.

After several weeks learning about the history of our country, the students created a multimedia presentation about a topic they were interested in. Some created poster boards, others dressed in costume or created books and dioramas.

Student Owen Stonerock created the White House out of Lego bricks and shared: “The White House is more than 200 years old, it is where the President lives and important decisions are made in the White House.”

Eleanor Purple created a book about Eleanor Roosevelt: “Eleanor Roosevelt was a First Lady of the United States and wanted to help many people.”

Camden Riegle dressed like a Bald Eagle: “The bald eagle stands for freedom, it is strong and it became the national bird in 1787.”

London Campbell presented about Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.: “He was a leader, he fought for equal rights, he was brave and gave a famous speech called ‘I have a Dream.’”

Other students presented on Ruby Bridges, the Statue of Liberty, Amelia Earhart, the Washington Monument, the Lincoln Memorial and the American Flag.

“My hope is for my students to take away a sense of pride and accomplishment in the effort they put into this project,” says Sanchez. “I hope that my students take away a new understanding of what learning can look like and the joy that comes from the discovery of learning about something you are passionate about.”