Egypt Comes to Jardine Middle School

The 6th graders in Robert Schawo's and Mike Jennings's world history classes at Jardine Middle School got the opportunity to practice their sleuthing skills as they explored the school’s newest classroom: King Tut’s tomb.

Thanks to a grant provided by Topeka Public Schools Foundation, Schawo and Jennings, and several artistically-inclined parents, have spent much of their free time this semester turning an empty room in the school’s basement into a new, fun way to learn... about history. Inspired by a similar project at Robinson Middle School, the teachers painted the room to look like King Tut’s tomb and planted color-coded clues around the chamber. The students, armed with flashlights, ventured into the tomb to collect their clues. They hoped their discoveries will help them develop theories about how the young Egyptian king may have perished. This project accompanies the content they learned about earlier in the school year.

The students had a great time working in teams, getting out of the traditional classroom atmosphere and, of course, playing with their flashlights. And perhaps, in the process, one of the students will finally be able to solve the mystery surrounding King Tut’s early demise!