Houston County fourth grade students bring life to historical figures

The Cary W. Martin Conference Center in Warner Robins hosted this year’s annual “Day at the Museum” for Gifted and Talented Education (GTE) fourth graders on Wednesday. Children from 20 elementary schools across Houston County had two options to participate: either in a morning session, or one that was held in the afternoon.

Jan Jacobsen is the Director of Gifted Education in Houston County, and one of her mandates each year is to help to pull together specialized events such as this one. “The state of Georgia defines and promotes gifted education,” Jacobsen said. “The state, along with Houston County, has been doing this since the 1970’s. They recognized that there’s a need to further challenge those kids who have really high IQs and who are very high achievers.”

According to Jacobsen, the classifications of those in Georgia’s GTE program most often range from first to twelfth grade, but there have been times when even kindergarteners have qualified. She shared that there are different events for the different grade levels. “For example,” Jacobsen explained, “today we have this showing that is specific to fourth graders, but tomorrow and Friday of this week, at this same location, we’ll have what we call, ‘Market Day’, and it’ll be specific to GTE third graders.”

Classroom instructors for the children who actively participate in Day at the Museum find out from the students what their interests and passions are. From there, teachers then encourage them to pull together a creative way to showcase that at the specialized museum. “Sometimes the children will take a lesson that they’re currently working on in school; perhaps a historical figure that they’ve studied, and they’ll dress up like that person or they will actually build a model of that person. Others are inventive and will create something that signifies a particular thing that may not currently exist, but they’ve imagined it in their minds.”

Anna, age 10, is one who dressed up as a prominent woman in history and created a display board as a visual. Her celebrity of choice was Dr. Maya Angelou. “I chose Maya Angelou because I think she was a very amazing person,” Anna said. “She did a lot and she wrote some amazing poems like, “Still I Rise.” I just really like her, and I wanted to share some facts about her and what she did.” Regarding where she got the information about the famed poet and civil rights activist that was shared on her display board, Anna said she relied heavily on Wikipedia and other online tools.

Imani’s exhibit, where she stood dressed in full gear and striking a graceful pose as a ballet dancer, drew a large amount of attention from those who stopped by the museum. Imani’s display honored the accomplishments of Misty Copeland, a dancer for the American Ballet Theatre. “I’ve been dancing for about seven years myself,” the 10-year-old revealed, “so I can relate to her. Misty has made history and she’s won many awards. She is a remarkable dancer.” Imani added that while she isn’t sure what she’s going to be when she grows up; she knows that she, like Copeland, will continue dancing.

Braeoynn, also age 10, wanted to show her inventive skills. In doing so, she created a game that the entire family can play called the Cotton Ball Roll. The game consisted of an inclined plank that can be set up on a table whereon individual cotton balls (six all total) are released and allowed to roll to the bottom. The object of the game is to try to get as many cotton balls as possible to fall into the cup waiting at the bottom. The reward for being successful? Bubble gum. “If you get one, two, or three cotton balls in a cup, you only get one piece,” Braeoynn explained. “If you get four or five cotton balls in the cup, you get two pieces. If you get all six in the cup, you get three pieces of bubble gum.” Braeoynn said the idea of her incline game was inspired after watching people play outside games where they roll down hills and land in designated patches of grass.

“This particular event is not a competition,” Ms. Jacobsen said. “There are no winners or losers and no ribbons are given out. This is specifically for the kids and about them being allowed to independently use their skills and imaginations to create and spread their wings. It’s really extraordinary,” she concluded, “just like the children who participate.”