West Virginia University Libraries and the West Virginia & Regional History Center will host the 2017 West Virginia state National History Day Competition April 8 at the Downtown Campus Library.
The public may view student exhibitions from 12:30 p.m. to 2 p.m. April 8 in the Milano Reading Room in the Downtown Campus Library. In addition, the WVRHC will offer tours on the hour between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. Its current exhibit is “Jerry West: An American Icon.”
National History Day is an international, award-winning non-profit education organization that operates multiple programs that engage more than half a million middle- and high-school students and teachers around the world. The centerpiece of NHD is its annual national competition, the National History Day Contest.
NHD offers budding historians the opportunity to complete a large, several-months-long historical research project, either alone or in groups. By participating in the program, students will gain valuable college and career preparation skills of collaboration, research, writing, and entrepreneurial thinking that comes from the study of history and civics essential for handling global challenges.
The project categories span a wide range. Students can create an exhibit, write a research paper, act out a performance, direct a documentary or design a website. All projects must involve the current year’s theme: Taking a Stand in History. Each of the five categories will be judged, and the winners of the state competition will advance to the national competition in College Park, Maryland, June 11-15.
At the 2016 National Contest, West Virginia student Claire Galvin received the Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers Prize for her performance, “The Exploration, Encounter, and Exchange of Elisha Kent Kane.” The award recognizes outstanding use of the newspaper resources that are available on the Chronicling America website.
Since 2011, the WVRHC has received three National Endowment for the Humanities grants to make 20 historic West Virginia newspapers available through the Chronicling America program.
WVU hosts the state contest through a collaboration of the Department of History, WVU Center for Democracy and Citizenship Education, and WVU Libraries, and in partnership with the West Virginia Department of Education. For more information, contact Lori Hostuttler at 304.293.1116 or lori.hostuttler@mail.wvu.edu.
-WVU-
mm/04/05/17
CONTACT: Monte Maxwell,
communications coordinator for WVU Libraries
304.293.0306; monte.maxwell@mail.wvu.edu
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