Feb. 23, 2018

Northwest to host National History Day event for youth

About 190 students in grades six through 12 and hailing from 11 counties are expected to compete Friday, March 2, at Northwest Missouri State University as part of the annual National History Day, the world’s leading program for history education.

This year’s theme, “Conflict & Compromise in History,” asks students to push back against the idea that history is just facts and dates and instead look at people and events of the past to gain better perspectives and understanding of history. The contest invites students to apply the skills of a historian as they conduct research for projects they hope will take them all the way to the National History Day competition this June in College Park, Maryland.

A student may enter the competition in one of four categories: exhibit, performance, documentary or research paper. Students also may compete individually or with a group.

Since its founding in 1974 in Cleveland, Ohio, National History Day has grown from a contest with about 100 students to a national academic program that engages 2 million people annually. The National History Day program in Missouri is supported by the State Historical Society of Missouri, the Missouri Humanities Council, Subway, HyVee and eight Missouri universities including Northwest.

The program is funded by The History Channel, ABC-CLIO, Jostens, as well as private foundations. Judges are university professors, high school teachers, museum curators and other public historians. More than $150,000 in scholarships are awarded to top national winners, including a full tuition scholarship to Case Western Reserve University.

Locally, students and teachers may find more information about how to participate in National History Day in northwest Missouri by contacting Dr. Elyssa Ford, the Region 1 coordinator in Missouri and an assistant professor of history at Northwest, at 660.562.1213 or ebford@nwmissouri.edu.

For more information, visit the National History Day website at www.nhd.org or the National History Day in Missouri website at www.nhdmo.org.