Haines students bring history to life with annual wax museum

Haines Elementary students turned their study of history into a public exhibit when the school staged its annual wax museum on June 4, 2026, with presentations ranging from U.S. history figures to ancient civilizations. Among them was sixth grader Knox Mitchell, who chose Confucius for a spring history project and dressed for the event to share what he had learned.

The project pushed students beyond memorization and into research, writing, speaking, costume design, and visual presentation. At Haines Elementary, 400 School Street in Haines and part of Baker School District 5J, that kind of work gives families a direct view of what students can do with classroom material when they are asked to explain a historical figure in their own words and in a public setting.

That public element matters in a small community such as Haines, where the school often functions as one of the town’s most visible civic institutions. A wax museum format lets teachers show more than test scores or report cards. It shows whether students can organize facts, speak clearly, and connect a figure from the past to a live audience of classmates, parents, and neighbors.

The setting adds to that resonance. The Eastern Oregon Museum, also in historic Haines along the Elkhorn Drive Scenic Byway, occupies a former school gym and says its collections celebrate more than 150 years of upper Baker and Powder Valley history. With thousands of artifacts tied to the region, the museum underscores how deeply local history and school-based learning can overlap in a place like Haines.

For Baker County, the annual wax museum is more than a classroom exercise. It is a public demonstration that Haines Elementary is using hands-on work to show students can research, interpret, and present history, while giving the community a clear look at the instruction taking place inside the building at 400 School Street.