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Pine Island students explore ancient Egypt

By Staff | Apr 28, 2009

MARIANNE PATON The third and fourth grade students in Jeff Nelson’s gifted student program recently spent several weeks studying ancient Egypt and constructed their own replicas of the great pyramids.

After having spent several weeks learning about the life and times of the ancient Egyptian civilization, Jeffrey Nelson’s gifted class at Pine Island Elementary School was instructed to build their own pyramids. The third and fourth graders took anywhere from two days to three weeks to complete their projects, which ranged in materials from wood to cardboard.

“The project was very fun. We learned a lot and living in ancient Egypt would probably be fun,” said student Katrina Horney.

While many of the students worked on their projects alone, some got a little help from parents.

“My dad helped me make my pyramid and it is a scale model,” said Stephanie Boyd. “It is 2,000 times smaller than the great pyramids in Egypt.”

Other students completed their projects with a little trial and error.

“My dad helped me with my pyramid and we started by using clay, but it cracked,” said Tessa Daniels. “We then built the pyramid using mostly wood but also some plaster and sand.”

Also incorporated in the students’ studies was learning about mummification.

“We mummified a chicken leg and after 40 days it might become a skeleton,” said Granna Gagliardi.

According to Skyler Burke, the chicken leg was mummified using a combination of salt and baking soda.

“Right now the chicken leg is in a drawer and when it’s done, we will be putting oil on it and wrapping it in linen just like they did with the mummies in Egypt,” Skyler said.

According to Nelson, the pyramids constructed by his students will be judged by a panel of teachers who will determine the best design in an anonymous vote and the winner will find the mummified chicken leg inside of his or her pyramid to announce the winner.

In addition to adorning the outside of the pyramids, several students also decorated the interiors with tombs, treasures, statues and other artifacts that would typically have been placed inside these ancient burial buildings.

With just six weeks remaining in the 2008-09 school year, this will not be the last of the studies for the gifted class. According to Nelson, the children will finish off the year by studying our country’s national monuments.