Young historians advance

Nearly 70 students will be representing Tennessee at National History Day later this summer. Those students placed first or second in their categories at Tennessee History Day on Saturday.

Tennessee History Day participants entered projects in five categories: documentaries, exhibits, performances, websites and papers. While projects must relate to the annual theme, students are encouraged to be creative when choosing a topic. This year's theme was "Exploration, Encounter, Exchange." 97 students received medals for their efforts, 27 students were awarded special prizes, two educators were recognized as teachers of the year and one teacher was named Behring Teacher Ambassador.

This year, National History Day will be held June 12 through June 16 on the University of Maryland campus in College Park, Maryland.

"I am proud of all our students," said Tennessee History Day coordinator Jennifer C. Core. "I'm impressed by how enthusiastic they are about their selected topics and how effectively they present their findings to a sophisticated audience. I always learn something from our students and I know the judges do as well. This year our students researched topics ranging from World War II prisoners of war to Ada Lovelace to Suleiman the Magnificent."

The judges at Saturday's competition - including university professors, graduate students, high school teachers, librarians, archivists and other public historians - picked the winners from the 152 submitted projects.

Since 1974, History Day has grown from a small local competition in Cleveland, Ohio with about 100 students into an event that attracts about a half million students nationwide each year.

For more information about the program in Tennessee, visit www.historyday.org or contact Jennifer Core, History Day's statewide coordinator, at (615) 741-8934 or via e-mail at historyday@tennesseehistory.org.