By TODD GOTTULA
UNK Communications
KEARNEY – As many as 200 middle school and high school students will present projects on various historical figures at the annual Central Nebraska History Day contest hosted by the University of Nebraska at Kearney.
The event begins at noon March 11 in the Ponderosa Room inside UNK’s Nebraskan Student Union. An awards ceremony is scheduled for 3 p.m.
Schools participating in the event, which is for students in grades 6-12, include Lexington Public Schools, Arapahoe, Cozad, McCook, Loup County, Faith Christian School of Kearney, Franklin, Loomis and St. Mary’s Catholic in O’Neill.
The theme of this year’s competition is Leadership and Legacy in History.
Students compete in individual or group competitions in their choice of five different categories: poster exhibits, performances, research papers, documentary film and website design.
“Participating students have been developing projects on various figures from American and world history,” said James Rohrer, event coordinator and UNK history professor. “Judges will evaluate the projects based upon the quality of the research, conformity to contest rules, and their effectiveness in illuminating the theme of Leadership and Legacy.”
Students who place at the district level can compete in the Nebraska State History Day contest in Lincoln in April. Winners at state may then compete in national competition in May at the University of Maryland.
History Day is a national educational program aimed at giving students the opportunity to pursue historical research on a chosen theme, and use their creativity in developing competitive projects based on their research.
History Day is sponsored by the UNK Department of History, with support from the Buffalo County Historical Society and Kearney Public Library.
The competition is open to the public to attend and observe.
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Writer: Todd Gottula, Director of Communications, 308.865.8454, gottulatm@unk.edu
Contact: James Rohrer, event coordinator, UNK Department of History, 308.865.8769, rohrerjr@unk.edu
