If you've walked through the WMS lobby this month, you may have noticed a special exhibit on the display wall about heroes. It showcases stories about everyday heroes, most of whose names you may not recognize, and tribute artwork or poetry created in their honor. 

At the beginning of November, our middle-schoolers visited the National Liberty Museum in Philadelphia for a program about the California Grape Workers strike and the Freedom Riders, as part of their focus on movement. But they came away with much more after finding inspiration from an exhibit about ordinary people who have done extraordinary things. Each student chose a person from this exhibit to further research and write about, and created a commemorative art piece in honor of his or her chosen hero.

If you haven't stopped by to take a closer look at this display, please take some time to learn about the eight heroes the middle-schoolers have commemorated. You'll learn about people like Liviu Librescu, a Virginia Tech University professor who blocked the door of his classroom during the deadly shooting on April 16, 2007, Wesley Autrey, a bystander who jumped onto the tracks as a commuter train was approaching to save a student's life, and Jeremy Hernandez, who saved more than 50 children when the I-35W Mississippi River bridge collapsed in Minneapolis in 2007.  

The hero exhibit will be on display through mid-February.