Remembering History Through Documenting It: Students Win Big In Annual Awards

We just don't learn from the past; we sometimes even gain praise for it. The 42nd annual Kenneth E. Behring National History Day Awards just took place and awarded more than 300 middle and high school students for their work that informed and reminded people of the glorious past.

There are people who appreciate history more than others including 600,000 students who submitted an entry to the National History Day Contest with the theme, Exploration, Encounter, Exchange in History. By joining, these students from middle (junior category) to high school (senior category) students showed their enthusiasm to make the present clearer with the papers, documentaries, exhibits, performances and websites they came up with (via The Washington Post).

The Washington Post reported that among the 600,000 students who joined, the panel was able to narrow it down to 3,000. The chosen works were presented at the University of Maryland in front of 400 panelists. There were 85 entries awarded each for first, second and third place---winning $150,000 in the form of scholarships and prizes.

As per National History Day's official site for the 2016 contest, some of the entries for the junior category include exhibits about Vietnam refugees and the Black Plague in Europe, documentaries on how ballet came to America and the chronicled journey of Americans to the moon, and a paper about European research development on nuclear physics. The senior category, on the other hand, boasted on documentaries about child labor and chemical industries, exhibits about music after World War I and the women pilots who served during World War II and a paper about the French occupation of Syria.

For those interested to join next year, visit this site to know more about how you can enter the competition. For starters, you have to find out first the annual theme. After knowing the theme, choose a historical topic related to it. The research follows that will involve going through archives, libraries, museums and even conducting your own interviews. It will be up to you what form you want to present your topic. 

Are you also interested with history or have kids who like the subject? Share your love for history on the comments section below and follow Parent Herald for more news and updates.