ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — What are some of the best ways to make a kid dream big?

If you ask one local group, that answer is exposure and representation.

The Shirley Proctor Puller Foundation is an education organization aiming to close the education gap for minority students.

What You Need To Know

  • The Shirley Proctor Puller Foundation is an education organization aiming to advance reading, math, and science literacy to help close the achievement gap for minority children in St. Petersburg

  • SPPF M.A.S.T.R. Kids programs serve around 200 children each year

  •  Kids who participated in the wax museum dressed up as Black leaders in serveral fields including politicians, scientists and entertainers

The foundation’s M.A.S.T.R. Kids after-school program hosted their first-ever wax museum called Blacks In Wax, A Walk Into History.

The kids dressed up as Black leaders, entertainers and inventors. Leaders for the foundation say this wax museum was meant to inspire and get kids excited about learning.

“Them seeing people who not only look like them, but things they’ve dreamed and aspired to be,” said Kesha Snead, M.A.S.T.R. Kids Academic Program Director. “So now this person is a marine biologist, and they look just like me and they grew up in St. Petersburg or the Bronx or somewhere that has a culture we’re similar to.”

Each child gave a one-page summary about the person who they dressed up as for the program.

The exercise was part of the M.A.S.T.R. Kids after school’s Black History Month programming, but the foundation is pledging to make sure the kids get this kind of education year-round.