Each year more than half a million students participate in the highly regarded academic contest known as National History Day. This year the Issaquah History Museums are proud to host the top contestants from Liberty High School on April 13th from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the historic Train Depot Museum (78 1ST Avenue NE).
National History Day encourages students to explore issues, ideas, people, and events of their choosing. Supported by thousands of teachers, historians, and community members, students learn the skills and techniques of the historian while producing projects that are judged in local, regional, and national competitions.
This year four hundred students from Liberty High School are developing projects related to the 2013 theme “Turning Points in History.” After conducting extensive research through libraries, archives, museums, oral history interviews, and historic sites, the students will analyze and interpret their sources and draw conclusions about their topics’ significance in history. The result will be highly interesting and informative websites, exhibits, and documentaries.
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“The project-based focus of History Day to instruct students in history and research methods is one of the most effective strategies I’ve used as an educator” noted JoAnn Olsson, Librarian at Liberty High School. “I have been working with History Day in various capacities for around 15 years. In that time, I have seen hundreds of students learn to love history. Even the students who have no interest in social studies, love selecting their own topics and becoming immersed in the events of the past which help explain and bring light to their topics.”
Join us at the Depot to enjoy presentations by eight to ten of the top contestants from Liberty High School, many of whom will be advancing to a state-wide competition where their projects will be evaluated by professional historians and educators. Winners of the statewide competitions will advance to the Kenneth E. Behring National Contest held each June at the University of Maryland. The Liberty High School students are being sponsored in their competitions by the Liberty High School PTSA and the Issaquah Schools Foundation.
Come watch our community’s newly minted historians share their discoveries! Admission is free. Refreshments will be served.
Please contact the Issaquah History Museums if you would like more information about this event, or want to learn about ways you can support the program, 425-392-3500 or info@issaquahhistory.org.