All it took was an idea, and roughly 1,500 Legos later, it came to fruition as a display of 12 Chinese animal zodiac figurines located at Sharp Elementary School.
All it took was an idea, and roughly 1,500 Legos later, it came to fruition as a display of 12 Chinese animal zodiac figurines located at Joseph D. Sharp Elementary School. Colorful Lego models were lined up against the display case in the entryway of the school, depicting each animal of the Chinese zodiac.
The exhibit was orchestrated by Gary Yu from Rosa International Middle School, Joshua Lin from Richard Stockton Elementary School, various other students from Joseph D. Sharp Elementary School and PTA parents to bring an understanding of a new culture to the halls of Sharp Elementary.
Although many ideas have floated around, the school decided to bring in the New Year with a never before seen way.
“They came up with an idea, like a winter wonderland which would be a wonderful theme to look at,” Sharp Elementary Principal Ric Miscioscia said. “But this one really tied into an experience where all the kids can learn more about themselves, about others and other cultures as well.”
The Chinese New Year, which kicks off celebrations on Feb. 16, is an important holiday in Chinese culture based on the lunisolar Chinese calendar and Chinese zodiac.
“The Chinese zodiac is a repeating cycle of 12 years, with each year being assigned to an animal. These animals include (by order): Rat, Ox, Tiger, Rabbit, Loong, Snake, Horse, Goat, Monkey, Rooster, Dog and Pig,” explained Jinglin Fu, assistant professor in chemistry at Rutgers University-Camden and a parent with the school. “It is very popular in many East Asian and Southeast Asian countries. Each person is born with an animal logo based on his or her birthday.”
The Sharp exhibit encompasses each of these animals all designed and built by the students, using approximately 1,500 Legos and some Duplos. Located near the front of the school, it will remain on display for a few weeks. The display has animals lined up in a colorful and creative way with an explanation of how the Chinese New Year works, courtesy of the parents helping.
Since 2018 is the Year of the Dog, a large Lego bulldog model is the central element of the school exhibit, which is fitting considering the school’s mascot is a bulldog. The dog is constructed of about 600 Legos, according to Sharp PTA member Ting Zhang.
The students had fun creating the exhibit. Sophia Wei, a third-grade student at Sharp, weighed in on the Chinese New Year display case.
“I love building it and making it because I like designing,” Wei said.
She added her favorite animal in the display is the rat.
“I like the rat,” Wei said. “It is very cute and has big eyes.”
Miscioscia encourages both students and parents to come to him with ideas of other themes that could be displayed at Sharp Elementary.
