When Diliah Espinosa attended West Penn Elementary School, her teachers would use a large painted map on the playground to help teach the 50 states.

Over the summer, Espinosa, now a high school senior, helped the next generation of students by repainting the map, which had faded over the years.

“Having the map revamped really brought me back to times when I was in school,” she said.

Tamaqua Area High School spent two weeks this summer painting on the playgrounds at West Penn Elementary School and Tamaqua Elementary School.

At West Penn they refreshed an existing map. At Tamaqua Elementary they painted a new scene of the solar system.

The idea of the project was to give the younger kids something fun and educational.

“Kids can go out and play on it but they can also learn,” said Abby Shumgart, Tamaqua Area High School art teacher.

The students volunteered their summer days to work in hot conditions. And while the opportunity to showcase their work was nice, most of their motivation came from doing something for the district’s younger students.

“They’re just really genuine students who put the best interests of others first,” Shumgart said.