Fifth Grade State Float Museum continues tradition with new home at Smith

An annual opportunity for students to learn about each state in the country found a new home Friday at Smith Elementary.
Fifth grade students put their work on display for younger students and family members at the State Float and Brochure Museum exhibition.
For the last six years, Krieger Elementary held the event under the direction of fifth grade teacher Andrea Boccio. With the Elementary Reconfiguration initiative, in which Krieger is now a Pre-K to grade 2 school and Boccio is at Smith with grades 3 to 5, she brought the seventh year of the event to her new building.
Each fifth grade student in the school is responsible for researching a state, including sending a letter to their tourism department. They then create a shoebox diorama in the style of a parade float and a brochure containing key facts.
The idea, Boccio said, is for students to learn about each state in the union through interacting with their classmates and hearing about their different states. Before the exhibition, the students sang “Fifty Nifty United States” for their family in attendance.
Each project needs to include the state’s flag, seal, a notable attraction or attractions, and a postage stamp including the state bird, flower and another element. Boccio said the goal is to create elements from common items, calling it “a makers’ project,” noting the students are not supposed to simply print off the internet.
Some of the students this year incorporated lights, Lego, peanuts, rocks, figurines and fake plants. One student recreated the New Jersey Boardwalk with a popsicle stick Ferris wheel.
Each brochure needed to include summaries of a state’s history; their flag, flower, bird and other designations; five places to visit; the major contributions that came from the state; and a summary of how the student made the diorama.
Maicol Melendez’s letter to the Mississippi tourism department wasn’t so different from his classmates’ letters. He asked a variety of questions, ranging from how long the Mississippi River is, to if they have any museums, to if they have any Toys ‘R’ Us locations. And, he said he would “be grateful” if the tourism department could send something “originally from Mississippi,” like a picture of its state flower or a flag.
Several weeks later, a cube roughly 18 inches tall and wide arrived bearing Mississippi tourism slogans. Inside was a blanket, promotional material and, among other trinkets, a stuffed Kermit the Frog.
“Oh my God, it was a big surprise,” he said from behind his project that featured a popsicle cabin in a swamp bearing Kermit’s image, and a Lego Kermit. The stuffed Muppet, wearing a “Visit Mississippi” ribbon, sat in front of it. “Kermit was born in Misissippi,” Maicol explained.