Taxidermies, Minions, Gadgets and Gizmos: Owasso High School Teachers’ Collections

By Isaac Krueger

Each teacher has their own personality, and they project that into their rooms. Teachers try to create an environment where students feel welcome. Zamor’s minions, Mr. Smith's gadgets and even Mrs. Chatwin’s taxidermies help students become more immersed in their work. 

Mrs. Zamor pictured next to her table of minions. Photo taken by Isaac Krueger.

Mrs. Zamor’s room is an explosion of yellow. Minions of different sizes and shapes, along with every “Despicable Me” themed item imaginable, line the walls and fill every corner. The stresses of schoolwork start to alleviate as Kevin, Bob and Stuart cheer on students solving derivatives. 

Mrs. Zamor comments on her minion collection saying, “I like things that make people happy, and these [minions] make people happy.” 

Mr. Smith’s collection, like Mrs. Zamor’s, spreads throughout the entire room. The gizmos and gadgets in his room reflect his wacky and fun style. However, these random objects have uses other than decoration. After falling down many rabbit holes created during lecture, there is an apparatus for every topic and question. 

Mr. Smith next to one of his cabinets of gadgets.

Mr. Smith elaborates, “A lot of the devices have a physics demonstration related to them.”

Each item has had its own unique origin. Even students can add their own items to the collection as a way to mark their personalities and pay tribute to the teacher before leaving his class. 

He continues on, “There’s definitely a story behind all of them, all of the random things.”

These seemingly random things scattering the desks and walls of teacher’s classrooms bring smiles to not only the teachers, but the many students passing from class to class throughout the day. It’s collections like these that make our days in class memorable and bring a little personality to the monotonous school day.