Spanish V Living Wax Museum

In observance of Hispanic Heritage Month, Languages Department Chair Gis-Xi Nahmens wanted to help facilitate a project that would highlight historical and present day Hispanic individuals. Therefore, Spanish V Honors students put on Suffield Academy’s first “living wax museum” where they “came alive” as these figures in the Landis Student Union. 

Gis-Xi said, “In doing some research I came across the idea of doing a ‘living wax museum’ where students, dressed as famous individuals, are wax (immobile) figures, while visitors walk around and listen to them share their life story, accomplishments, and legacy with the touch of a button. Our students took ownership of the project from the first step, which was to choose who they wanted to learn about and represent. They then had to research the biography, accomplishments, and legacy for their chosen person. They wrote essays in which they shared their discoveries and then a summarized version that they then memorized. This was what they shared when the ‘museum visitors’  pressed on the button next to each character. It was a success; the students as well as the visitors enjoyed learning about these Hispanic figures in a different way. We are looking forward to all three of the world languages taught at Suffield being part of this museum experience!”

Luella Uchitel ’23 said, “It was a very fun project to prepare and participate in. It was interesting researching a Latin icon and becoming very familiar with their life and legacy. It was nice to have a creative project like this in the classroom where I was not only learning about someone new, but also improving my oral Spanish skills. Dressing up and speaking according to the button was another fun aspect.”

Morgan Maglieri ’23 said, “The event was very fun and a way for students to use their knowledge of Spanish in a different setting.”

Sara Broad ’23 said, “I thought the event went great! It was so nice to finally get to dress up and talk about our characters. Preparing for it was tough because it was hard to memorize the script at first, but everyone got the hang of it.”