National History Day projects from Westerville’s Genoa Middle School competed at Otterbein University on March 23 against students from Delaware, Fairfield, Fayette, Franklin, Knox, Licking, Madison, Perry, Pickaway, and Union counties. Three Genoa projects advanced from the district contest to the state finals, which will be held on April 27 at the Ohio Union on the campus of The Ohio State University. From state finals being held all around the country, around 50 projects will be selected to compete at National History Day from June 9-13 at the University of Maryland. This year’s theme is “Turning Points in History.” Genoa projects moving on to the State competition are:
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The Little Rock Nine: A Turning Point for Educational Equality,” by Madison Seabury (Junior Individual Web Site);
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“Hindenburg: The Day of May 6, 1937,” by Ian Dickens and Brant Henson (Junior Group Web Site);
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“The Tunguska Event: A Mystery Throughout the Ages,” by Michael Qi (Junior Paper);
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“Alice Paul: Turning Point in Woman’s Suffrage,: by Elisabeth Steele and Amber Hockstok (Junior Group Exhibit).
National History Day (NHD) is a highly regarded academic program for elementary and secondary school students. Each year, more than half a million pupils, encouraged by thousands of teachers nationwide, participate in the contest. Students choose historical topics related to a theme and conduct extensive primary and secondary research through libraries, archives, museums, oral history interviews and historic sites. After analyzing and interpreting their sources and drawing conclusions about their topics’ significance in history, students present their work in original papers, websites, exhibits, performances and documentaries. These products are entered into competitions in the spring at local, state and national levels where they are evaluated by professional historians and educators. The program culminates with the Kenneth E. Behring National Contest each June.