Since the second day of second grade, Omaha, Neb. Stella Ehrhart, 8, has gone to school dressed as a different person -- sometimes fictional, mostly historical -- almost every day.
Her first costume was Laura Ingalls Wilder. Now in third grade, Stella has channeled Joan Baez, Queen Elizabeth, Billie Holiday, Georgia O’Keefe, Burmese opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi, and more for her daily outfits.
Though Stella’s costumes occasionally veer into non-historical woman territory -- she has dressed as Elvis Costello, Jan Brady, her best friend and her school principal -- the majority of her inspiration comes from the book 100 Most Important Women of the 20th Century. According to Omaha.com, Stella’s teachers have used her outfits as a jump-off point for classroom instruction:
"When she dressed as Rosa Parks, she and her classmates devised a play and designated different people as the bus driver and other bus passengers."
Stella is cosplaying history every day at school! And she’s spreading appreciation for history and creative expression while she does it. Can scientists hurry up and figure out how to clone humans, please? Every school needs a Stella Ehrhart.