AUBURN - Jay Leno was at West Middle School's Living Museum last week.

Well, not actually the NBC “Tonight Show” comedian.

Dressed in a charcoal suit and a red-checkered tie with orange silly putty taped to his chin, 12-year-old Billy Farrington, of Auburn, assumed the identity of the renowned comedian and recalled his life in a minute-long speech. The performance was part of the Auburn Enlarged City School District's annual Living Museum event put on by teachers for sixth-grade students.

The Living Museum, now in its fourth year, gives students the opportunity to portray historic or contemporary people while meeting state standards in English Language Arts. Dressed in a costume with props and other relevant artifacts, participating students sat at desks situated in the corridors of the middle school and presented to many a passerby a speech about their person.

Students were required to read a biography of their subject and do additional research into that person's life and customs in preparation for the museum. The event met state standards for reading, writing and speaking.

“Students read a biography and they are representing their character,” said Deborah Carey, principal of West Middle School. “They are showing their understanding of that person and of that individual's importance or their contribution to society in some manner. They dress as that individual ... they speak in the first person.

“That's why we call it a living history,” she continued, “It's as if these folks have come back to life.”

The hallways of West Middle School were filled with such people, from Elizabeth Cady Stanton, a pioneer in the women's suffrage movement, to Hannah Montana, the Disney Channel phenomenon, along with intrepid director Steven Spielberg and pilgrim Myles Standish.

With dirty blonde locks ironed into banana curls and tap dancing in black patent leather shoes, 11-year-old Olivia Bauso, of Auburn, represented her idol, Shirley Temple.

“I chose Shirley Temple because I like to act and dance a lot too,” said Bauso, adorned in a white puffy shirt, red jumper and white skirt.

“I think the best part is pretending to be someone that I look up to,” she later added

Coming two weeks after the state assessment tests in English Language Arts, Carey said the Living Museum reinforces with students that learning is continuous.

“It's not all about the tests,” she said.

But beyond learning, the Living Museum is a way to raise students' self-esteem and honor their achievements in an unconventional way.

“We used to talk about ways to give kids self-esteem,” she said. “The common sense folks out there and many of us who worked in student support services have recognized that self-esteem comes from accomplishment. It doesn't come from someone praising you, it comes from being recognized for your work, your effort and achievement. Not everyone's achievement is the same as everybody else's, and tonight gives kids who are more verbal than they are written skilled, focused or interested, it gives them a chance to shine.”

Zeph Schoonmaker, 11, of Auburn, has always been interested in history. Specifically, he's always enjoyed learning about the Mayflower and the Pilgrim settlement, he said.

So for him, it wasn't a stretch to represent the first commander of the Plymouth colony. And he dressed the part of a 16th century gentleman: with a brown suede jacket, beige puffy shirt, brown boots and a sword dangling from the waist.

“I have an easy time reading in front of people,” he said. “And I like learning about someone that lived in the 1500s. It teaches the history of people that lived before us.”

Staff writer Alyssa Sunkin can be reached at 253-5311 ext. 239 or alyssa.sunkin@lee.net

See it on video

Be sure to check out a video story of the Living Museum program at the multimedia section of auburnpub.com