COLORADO SPRINGS, COLORADO -- On Tuesday evening the lights inside STAR Academy's gym are off and a life size projection of Diego Velazquez's 1656 painting Las Meninas is featured on stage.

A minuet later there is a rumble of footsteps as students scamper across the stage to take their positions. As the lights turn on you see each student is positioned to create a live replica of the painting. From there the students bring the characters to life with a narrative they wrote based on historical facts from the Age of Enlightenment.

This is just the 5th grade class' example of what Paragon Night at STAR Academy is all about. "Every month we have a night where students show off what they've learned in their last unit through song, dance and various forms of artistic expression," explained theater, music and visual arts teacher Jesse Wilson.

Rather than just being asked to memorize historical names and dates Paragon hopes to take learning a step further and help kids not only learn about history but understand what it was like. "They get to role play and become these characters and experience what it was like in harsh slavery times or to know what it was like to be in a castle and learn a renaissance dance," said Wilson.

Other performances Tuesday night included:

First graders who dressed up as pilgrims and Indians to perform an original choreographed interpretative Native American Indian dance.

Second graders held a traditional Japanese tea ceremony with accompanying collaborative stories embracing an ancient Japanese folktale.

Third graders brought history to life with a living museum.

After studying the Colonial times the fourth grade decided to put on a mock trial complete with a defendant, judge and jury. Students wrote the script and adapted it based on historical events.

Sixth graders also wrote an original play based on the Lewis & Clark Expedition.

Though performances don't replace traditional forms of academics - meaning there still are tests-teachers said this is another way of assessing students' learning.

To learn more about STAR and its Paragon Program visit their website