April 23, 2026, Seward Folly Staff

Last Thursday, Seward Elementary students stepped into the shoes of historical and local figures for the school’s annual “Wax Museum.” In Mrs. Russell’s and Ms. Swanson’s classrooms, kids spent weeks researching their chosen characters, preparing costumes, and writing short speeches. On the day of the event, they stood “frozen” at their stations, ready to deliver their monologues to anyone who stopped by in the well-attended event.

The Wax Museum isn’t just about costumes. It’s a project that stretches beyond the classroom, connecting students with the people and places around Seward.

“It is powerful to see kids engaged in meaningful projects where they not only are learning important skills, research, close reading…students are involved within the community every step of the way for this project,” said teacher Tara Swanson.

Students visited local museums, explored historic sites, and found stories in the library archives.

“It was really fun to see kids really ‘drop’ into their characters and make the project come to life,” Swanson added.

For some, the project opened new interests.

Lilianah, who studied Russian culture in Alaska and the Seward area, said, “I like research. It’s really useful.” She also discovered something about writing: “When I write it’s like there’s part of my brain that gets activated. And when it gets activated, I become smarter.”

Ruby chose Juiro Wada, the Japanese trailblazer who helped map the original Iditarod Trail from Seward. She was impressed to learn “it took Wada 72 days to blaze the original trail.”

Not every subject was from the distant past. Ava researched Sadie Lindquist, a Moose Pass resident who ran the Iditarod this year.

“I didn’t like researching but now I decided I really like it. It was enjoyable to get to learn about her,” Ava said. She hasn’t met Sadie, but hopes to someday.

Teacher Emily Bena sees the value in sharing these stories.

“Some of the kids that have grown up here didn’t know anything about these topics,” she noted. The Wax Museum also gets younger students excited: “It’s great that they are sharing their research with the other kids. The younger kids are going to get to see the wax museum, and it’ll be something they can look forward to as they get older.”

For a day, Seward Elementary’s students brought a bit of history and a few hometown stories to life.