National History Day is a fun event that encourages students to become historians by developing research, analysis, presentation and social skills.

Whether working individually or in groups, junior (grades 6-8) and senior (9-12) division students select a topic related to an annual theme. They conduct extensive historical research using primary sources, articles, and books, then distill their research and analysis into a dramatic performance, multimedia documentary, museum exhibit, website, or research paper.

National History Day and its state affiliate Washington History Day provide leading-edge training and curriculum materials to help educators meet and exceed education standards. Annual workshops help educators learn how to adopt National History Day in their classrooms, while also offering strategies that make history education interesting, exciting and fun for students.

Students may choose to compete in regional contests held in February and March, entering their project against others in the same division and category. Regional winners advance to the Washington History Day state contest, held in late April or early May. Students who finish in first and second place at State in each category go on to the National contest, held in mid-June at the University of Maryland in College Park.

NATIONAL HISTORY DAY can be found at www.NHD.org.