Soni Persaud stepped into the gym at PS 191 in Floral Park, Queens, on Dec. 2 and was astonished by the eerie sight of some 70 “wax” figures arrayed before her. When she stood in front of any one of them, each would come alive, offer a fascinating autobiographical tidbit and then fall silent and still again. “I felt like we had all gone on a field trip to a wonderful museum in Manhattan,” said Persaud, whose daughter Neelam was among the school’s 4th-graders who had transformed themselves into the famous, the fabulous, the historic and the heroic from time gone by. It was 4th-grade teacher Janine Pennisi’s brainchild to breathe life into this year’s parent involvement day by creating a wax museum that celebrated the wonder of writing. The students read biographies and chose a person they wanted to portray. Then they researched that person’s place in history, talent, family, quirks and clothing and wrote an essay about the person. Then everyone — from the art teacher who helped build and paint backdrops, to the school custodians who moved the creations, to the parents who transformed their progeny so realistically that Madame Tussaud would approve — played their supporting parts. “Every child shone,” said Pennisi. “They were excited and so very motivated. They liked getting to choose who they wanted to be and to perform for the parents and later for the younger students.” From Elvis Presley to Babe Ruth to Cleopatra to Rosa Parks, the gym became a red carpet for historic and cultural icons. Naleem Persaud was Mexican-born artist Frida Kahlo’s doppelgänger, her lustrous dark hair severely parted in the middle and coiled into braids on either side of her head. “Before Frida Kahlo, little girls in Mexico never even knew they could grow up to become famous painters!” Naleem said proudly.