Contact: Kara O’Keeffe
[email protected]
608-261-9596
Madison, Wis. – The 2019 National History Day South Central Wisconsin regional contest sponsored by the Wisconsin Historical Society will be held on Saturday, February 23, 2019, at University of Wisconsin – Madison. The 2019 theme is, “Triumph & Tragedy in History.”
“The National History Day Wisconsin regional contests are a great way to showcase talent from area students,” said Jenny Kalvaitis, National History Day coordinator. “This program teaches students how to develop skills in writing and research as well as how to think critically.”
This year’s theme, Conflict & Compromise in History, requires students to look at history through multiple perspectives.
National History Day is like a science fair, but for history and was established over 30 years ago. It is an exciting academic enrichment program that helps students learn about historical issues, ideas, people, and events. This yearlong academic adventure fosters students’ enthusiasm for learning and their love for history.
“It is a very valuable experience for my students to learn to present the results of their research in different formats, each informing the other, and it is equally valuable for them to present their projects to the judges, people who are seeing the projects with fresh eyes and judging them by different criteria from mine,” said Kathy Haig, English and Humanities Teacher at Wisconsin Heights High School.
Each year over 10,000 students around Wisconsin present their ideas on the national theme through a variety of mediums including, documentaries, exhibits, papers, performances and websites.
Wisconsin has eight National History Day regions based on county groupings. Some regions have a sponsoring institution and a regional coordinator, who coordinates the regional contest as well as provides an additional level of support to participating teachers.
Winners at the regional level will move on to the state competition which will take place on April 13, 2019, in Madison at the University of Wisconsin – Madison. For more information, visit www.wisconsinhistory.org/NHD.
