More than 400 historians and education professionals judged the students’ work. About $150,000 in scholarships were awarded at the national awards ceremony, and about 100 students took home cash prizes between $250 and $1,000 for superior work.
Three students from Indianapolis Public Schools (IPS) Center for Inquiry School 84 were recently honored at the National Contest for the National History Day program at the University of Maryland, College Park.
Mavis Cropp, Maggie Webber, and Eliza Smiley received the Outstanding State Entry for the Junior Division for their group documentary “Virginia Hall: The Remarkable Woman Who Turned the Tides of World War II.” The team also was presented with an Outstanding Affiliation Award.
About 2,600 students and 600 teachers attended the National Contest, which took place on the campus in Maryland from June 10–15.
The ceremony was the culmination of the week-long contest and a year of student research, project creation, and competition. During the 2022–2023 school year, over half a million students globally completed projects centered around the theme, ‘Frontiers in History: People, Ideas, and Events,” in one of five categories: documentary, exhibit, paper, performance, or website.
Throughout the spring, students competed in a series of contests beginning at the local level. The top students from all 50 states, Washington D.C., U.S. territories, and international schools were invited to compete in the National Contest.
The National History Day Contest was established in 1974 and currently engages more than half a million students annually in conducting original research on historical topics of interest. Students present their research as a documentary, exhibit, paper, performance, or website. Projects compete first at the local and affiliate levels, where the top entries are invited to the National Contest.