UW-Green Bay to host hundreds for National History Day, March 4
GREEN BAY – More than 350 middle and high school students representing more than 230 projects from 16 Northeast Wisconsin schools will gather for a regional National History Day competition on Saturday, March 4. It is the 15th consecutive year that the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay will serve as the host campus.
In keeping with this year’s theme of Taking a Stand in History, project topics include the Boston Tea Party, 1968 Olympics, William Wilberforce and the Transatlantic slave trade, Martin Luther King, Jr., Seneca Falls Convention, Temple Grandin and autism, Scopes Trial, Jesse Owens, and many others. Topics about local history include Robert LaFollette, the 1933 Milk Strike, Theodora Winton Youmans, Carrie Chapman Catt and women’s rights. Students hail from public and private schools, in a six-county area including Brown, Kewaunee, Marathon, Oconto, Outagamie and Waupaca.
“We are proud to have UW-Green Bay serve as host for this exciting academic competition,” said UW-Green Bay’s Deb Anderson, coordinator for the Northeastern Wisconsin region. “National History Day provides students of all abilities and interests an opportunity to learn about a topic of their choosing and present it in a creative way. I am impressed by the depth and breadth demonstrated by the students…in their topic selection, research, and final projects.”
Anderson shares the story of one young student who was making a research-oriented, pre-competition field trip to the UW-Green Bay Cofrin Library’s archives, who remarked to his teacher, “Best day ever! I have never done anything this cool in school before.”
“We are excited to be part of creating a strong passion for history,” Anderson adds.
Students can enter the National History Day competition in a variety of categories, including historical papers, exhibit displays, documentaries, performances and websites. They are required to use primary sources for projects, which often include interviews with individuals who have lived history.
The 2017 National History Day competition will be held in the University Union and Mary Ann Cofrin Hall at UW-Green Bay, 2420 Nicolet Drive. It is free and open to the public. The all-day event begins with an opening ceremony at 9 a.m., with judging taking place from 9:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m. Awards will be presented in the University Theatre at 3:30 p.m.
Winners from the regional competition will move on to the April 22 state contest, and may have the opportunity to compete at the national competition in Washington, D.C. in June. On an annual basis, National History Day serves more than 600,000 students annually in all the U.S. states and territories.
In addition to students, families, educators and friends, this regional National History Day competition relies on 80 volunteers, including UW-Green Bay students, faculty, alumni and community members, to keep it running smoothly, Anderson said.
Its financial sponsors are the Brown County Historical Society, the Green Bay-De Pere Antiquarian Society, the League of Women Voters, the Fox Wisconsin Heritage Parkway, the Historic Allouez Society and the De Pere Historical Society.
For more information, contact Deb Anderson at UW-Green Bay Archives at (920) 465-2539 or andersod@uwgb.edu.
About the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay
The University of Wisconsin-Green Bay is a comprehensive public institution offering undergraduate and graduate programs to 6,700 students. The University transforms lives and communities through exceptional and award-winning teaching and research, innovative learning opportunities, and a problem-solving approach to education. For more information, visit www.uwgb.edu.
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