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Innovators, history makers, and change agents were once children who grew up to make indelible marks on the world.

The students of Ïã¸ÛÁùºÏ²ÊÖ±²¥¿ª½±, like those trailblazers, have the power and abilities to follow in those footsteps and forge their own paths to creating change in the world. That’s the resounding takeaway at the African American Heritage Student Created Museum, open during school hours through Friday, March 3, at FWÏã¸ÛÁùºÏ²ÊÖ±²¥¿ª½±’s Dolores Huerta Elementary School.

Now in its 33^rd year, the 2023 museum includes 30 exhibits created by Dolores Huerta Elementary students in grades pre-K through five with assistance from their teachers and families. Adorning the school walls are books, inspiring quotes, student writings, reports, illustrations, and art inspired by the African American history makers students researched to develop their exhibits.  Learn about well-known history makers like Martin Luther King Jr., Kamala Harris, and Opal Lee and unsung heroes like musician Melba Liston, inventors Valerie Thomas and Lonnie Johnson along a guided tour. View a guide from this year’s exhibits here and hear from teachers and students about the museum’s impact in this .

“The purpose of the museum is to educate our community about the contributions that African Americans have made in the United States, and it’s teaching history, but not only that, it’s also promoting literacy,” said Eddie Arellano, Dolores Huerta Elementary first-grade dual language teacher and the founder and coordinator of the Multicultural Student Created Museum project.

All the museum projects align with reading, writing, and social studies Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS) standards.  Students as young as pre-K learn about colors through their study of Garrett A. Morgan, inventor of the traffic light. Special education students learned new vocabulary words and about historical figures just like them who grew up to become the best in their respective fields, like boxer Muhammad Ali, who was dyslexic, and golfer Tiger Woods, who experienced a speech impediment as a child.  The project celebrates multicultural books and diversity, and it promotes literacy, research skills, and parent involvement.

Through a study of Langston Hughes, fifth graders learned about the craft of poetry, analyzed poems, and were inspired to write poems of their own on the meaning of freedom that is weaved into a “freedom quilt.”  

Certificates were presented to all student museum participants at a special P.T.A. Museum Night event Thursday, Feb. 23. The projects are currently being judged, and special awards will soon be presented to classroom exhibits for Most Original, Most Educational, Most Creative, and Most Informative.      

In the months leading up to the museum’s opening, students researched the contributions of African Americans in children’s literature, science, history, education, and the arts to establish ideas for their exhibits. The school librarian assisted in retrieving the best literature and grade-appropriate materials for the student research. Once the idea for the exhibit was decided on, students planned bulletin boards explaining their projects, and worked with their teachers and families in preparing materials for the exhibit.

The Multicultural Student Created Museum is open several times a year at Dolores Huerta Elementary School, including during Hispanic Heritage Month.

To schedule a tour or learn more about Dolores Huerta Elementary’s African American Heritage Student Created Museum, call 817-814-4400.