More than 1,200 students from throughout the state competed May 6 and 7 at National History Day—California, which was organized by the Sacramento County Office of Education. Of those, 89 students were chosen to advance to the National History Day Competition June 12–16 at the University of Maryland.
The 1,215 students who participated in California's contest represented 235 schools in 31 counties. Each of their projects focused on the theme Exploration, Encounter, Exchange in History. More than 200 historians and education professionals volunteered their time and expertise to evaluate student projects.
Each fall more than 600,000 students nationwide begin the year-long National History Day program. Students begin by creating projects in the classroom and some move on to compete in a series of history contests progressing from district to county, and then on to the state contest. Students research historic documents and artifacts, conduct oral histories, search the internet and libraries for information on their topic, and travel to historic sites. They present their work in a variety of ways including museum-type exhibits, video documentaries, websites, original performances, 2-dimensional displays (posters), and traditional research papers. In California more than 35,000 students participate in National History Day each year.
Photos and listing of award winners are available on the State History Day website. For details about National History Day—California and Sacramento County's annual competition, contact History Day Coordinator Craig Irish.
Sacramento County Student Projects Receiving Awards
- "The Locke of Life" (Group Exhibit)
Monterey Trail High School (Elk Grove Unified School District) students Courtney Chang, Christine Hoang, Amber Lee, Helen Thai and David Thong
Winner of a California Historic Places Award, sponsored by the California Office of Historic Preservation and the California Historical Society - "The Discovery of Oxygen" (Group 2-Dimensional Display)
Mather Heights Elementary (Folsom Cordova Unified School District) students Akhil Nekkanti and Jacob Steelman
Gold Medal Winner