Icons come to life at Hinckley-Big Rock Elementary School

HINCKLEY – Elvis, Taylor Swift, Patrick Mahomes, Wayne Gretzky, David Beckham and other celebrities were all at a DeKalb County elementary school this month. At least that’s what the school’s third-grade class wanted you to think.

As part of a classwide project, dozens of Hinckley-Big Rock Elementary School third graders donned costumes and cosplayed as a famous person of their choosing March 13.

Third-grade teacher Katie Claypool said it was the 10th year Hinckley-Big Rock third graders took their annual biography assignment and turned it into what they called a living wax museum.

“Third grade historically has done a biography research project, where parents were invited into classrooms,” Claypool said. “The year I switched to third grade, my teaching team decided why not open it up in the gym? And that way the whole community can come and see it.”

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Third grader Chris Roche, who is portraying Elvis, gives his presentation during the Hinckley Big Rock Elementary School Wax Museum Thursday, March 13, 2025, at the school in Hinckley. (Mark Busch)

No longer contained to school hours, what happened Thursday night was the result of community support and intense preparation from students who are just beginning to learn how to write nonfiction.

The students were asked to pick a famous person of their choosing, research their life and use their findings to write a multi-paragraph essay from their subject’s perspective.

They were then asked to memorize their prose and perform it, as if they were a Disney animatronic or a wax figurine that had come to life in a museum.

“When you see that they have overcome such hardships and challenges, yet they’re so successful today – that’s the piece I want the kids to realize.”

—  Katie Claypool, third-grade teacher

Hinckley Big-Rock Elementary School Principal Deborah Hervey said she knew about the annual third-grade project before she took the job leading the school three years ago.

“I think it’s amazing,” Hervey said. “The students work so hard and put so much time and effort into all of their research and their reading and their writing, and preparing their speeches.”

Although students had a copy of their script on hand, many of the students had their script memorized. That was important because more than 100 members of the community paraded into their school’s gymnasium at 6 p.m. like hushed museum connoisseurs entering the Smithsonian’s newest exhibit.

Those museumgoers walked into a room of more than 50 motionless figurines. When they stepped on a sticker made to resemble an analog button, they could bring a famous person to life. Students jumped into their roles eagerly.

“Just watching the joy on their faces as they do their presentations and the confidence they show is incredible,” Hervey said.

To make the living wax museum come to life, the school’s third-grade teachers helped the students organize their research into paragraphs that focused on their subject’s early life, what they’re most known for, and how they’ll be remembered.

“I think the main positive is we notice that with every single person that they pick, from Simone Biles to Dwayne Johnson, every one of those people have shown grit and resiliency,” Claypool said. “Their life stories are incredible.”

Although there’s lots that can be said about the pedagogy of taking a simple biography research assignment and turning it into a community event, Claypool said it’s important to teach her students that few people achieve unparalleled success without dizzying defeats along the way.

“When you see that they have overcome such hardships and challenges, yet they’re so successful today – that’s the piece I want the kids to realize,” Claypool said. “It didn’t come easy to them. They had to work extremely hard, and if they can do it, so can you.”