VIEW THIS EMAIL AS A WEBPAGE >>

21 September 2023 — Celebrating Fifty Years of National History Day, and Looking Forward to the Maritime Competition

The National History Day competition is celebrating its fiftieth birthday! The competition began as a modest pilot project led by Case Western Reserve University professor David Van Tassel; 127 secondary school students from the Greater Cleveland area participated in “History Day.” Drawing on the model of science fairs, Van Tassel challenged students to analyze and interpret history, using an assigned theme as a lens in examining their chosen topics. The theme he assigned that year was “Ohio and the Promise of the American Revolution.” The program expanded to include students from all over Ohio, and by 1978 it was spreading to neighboring states; the first national History Day contest took place in 1980. Today, National History Day is a nonprofit education organization that focuses on the teaching and learning of history, offering teacher professional development programs, producing curriculum tools, and conducting the annual National History Day series of competitions, which draw the participation of over half a million students. 

Students participating in National History Day can compete individually or as part of a group of up to five students; projects can take the form of a paper, a performance, a documentary, an exhibit, or a website. Competition is divided by age group into junior and senior divisions. Each student or group of students is advised by a teacher from their school. 

Students can compete individually, or in groups. Here, North Carolina students March Mycroft, Connor Slack, and Mukund Udayakumar from Pine Springs Preparatory Academy accept an award from judges for their group documentary on the “The British Empire.”

The theme for this year’s competition is “Turning Points in History.” As the contest guide puts it: “A turning point is an idea, event, or action that directly, or sometimes indirectly, causes change.”

The National History Day website nhd.org and additional materials such as this video offer students a wealth of guidance on both the logistics of participation and on selecting and refining a topic.

Since 2010, NMHS has been an enthusiastic part of the National History Day Program. We offer a special prize for the best NHD projects with a maritime theme for students in participating states. This year we have National History Day competitions in Alabama, Arkansas, California, Delaware, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Maine, Massachusetts, Mississippi, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Texas, Virginia, Washington, and Wisconsin. Students with the top projects receive a one-year membership / Sea History subscription and recognition on the NMHS website. Additionally, first-place projects receive a $100 scholarship, while second-place winners are awarded a $50 scholarship.

Juliet Ivers, first place winner in the senior division, accepting her award at the Florida National History Day state competion for her documentary, “The Aqualung: A New Frontier in Scuba.”

Do you have a student in your family, your friend circle, or your neighborhood? Would you consider sending a note or email to your local school? Another way you can help our National History Day program is to help spread the word. 

As we look forward to seeing what exciting projects these students develop as they gain new insight into our maritime history, we hope you join us in saluting fifty years—and the promise of many more—of the National History Day program.

Look for the past year's winners on the NMHS website, we will be posting that very soon!

Sea History Today is written by Shelley Reid, NMHS senior staff writer. Past issues can be read online by clicking here.