Whether it meant wearing a gray wig, a mustache, a baseball glove, or holding a prop, Middle Gate Elementary School fourth graders paid attention to details for this year’s Living Biographies project.

All Middle Gate fourth grade students participated in the project, and classrooms were transformed into museum-like spaces on May 24, when family members and fellow students were invited to tour the projects.

For the Living Biographies project, the fourth grade students at Middle Gate are annually challenged to study a famous person with a connection to Connecticut, from the past or present. The students then create a presentation based on their research, and they portray that person for visitors. Students stood at their desks on May 24, patiently waiting for someone to tap them on the shoulder to bring their character to “life.”

Once tapped on the shoulder, students began reciting speeches about the person they studied, like Amelia Guzy, who studied Charles Stratton, aka Tom Thumb.

“His life was really interesting,” Amelia said.

Fourth grader Cameron Heard said he wanted to study Marcus Camby, based on his interest in basketball.

While wearing a curled gray wig, fourth grader Hudson Wheat said he was inspired to learn about Nathan Hale because, “I read lots of books about him in the past.”

Calling this year’s crop of projects “awesome,” fourth grade teacher Heidi Beauty said, “I’m always so proud of them, every year.”

In her classroom, fourth grade teacher Linda Baron welcomed a group of visitors, saying, “History comes to life again.”