Sam Adams 5th Grade UGRR Wax Museum 2021
"Wax Museum In A Box" grew out of the UGRR Wax Museum presented at the Bonine House annually since 2012 by local students as an after school, volunteer program. In 2019 the program was made part of the 5th Grade Social Studies curriculum at Sam Adams Elementary School in Cassopolis. URSCC created a step by step guide for teachers, and included in one plastic bin, all the information needed to allow students to research their character, write a one minute speech, and present their story in the Bonine House.
The Bonine House Library and Wax Museum In A Box join two other URSCC listings on the Network to Freedom. In 2020 the Stephen Bogue House on Crooked Creek and M-60, Cassopolis, MI, a well known UGRR station, was listed on NTF, as well as the URSCC 20-site self guided UGRR Driving Tour. The Driving Tour can be downloaded here or maps are available in Milo Barnes Park M-60 in Vandalia, MI.
The Bonine House UGRR Research Library and the "Wax Museum In A Box" program have been listed on the NTF. The Bonine House UGRR Research Library tells the story of the Underground Railroad in Cass County, MI through the collections of six historians, as well as extensive URSCC research gathered over the past ten years. The Library can be accessed on the URSCC website or visited in person during the tour season June-September.
In 2020 due to Covid, we weren't able to have the Cassopolis Sam Adams or Portage Lake Centre UGRR Wax Museums at all. This year we weren't able to present in the Bonine House, but Sam Adams 5th grade students chose a character, wrote and memorized a one minute speech, adopted a costume, and recorded themselves on You Tube. Thank you Sam Adams 5th graders and teachers for sharing these characters and this story with the world. In 2022 both Sam Adams and Lake Centre will be back live in the Bonine House! Click The link above to hear each performance. Enjoy, URSCC