Categories

Students perform for National History Day
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Documentary

Documentaries are great for students who like to work with computers and multimedia. A documentary should reflect your ability to use audio-visual equipment to communicate a topic’s significance in history. Documentary projects should be ten minutes or less, provide credits to showcase cited resources and include a hard copy of your process paper and an annotated bibliography.

Project - Category - Elements - for the National History Day Projects
Example ProjectCategoryProject Elements
Pasteurization: Reshaping the Dairy IndustryJunior Group DocumentaryDocumentary
Process Paper and Annotated Bibliography (261.47 KB) .pdf
Rodgers and Hammerstein: Spotlighting Social Conflict Through Musical TheaterJunior Individual DocumentaryDocumentary
Process Paper (74.89 KB) .pdf Annotated Bibliography (221.26 KB) .pdf
Forging a New Frontier for Female Athletes: Dr. Christine Grant's Relentless Pursuit of Gender EqualitySenior Group DocumentaryDocumentary
Process Paper and Annotated Bibliography (180.72 KB) .pdf
Born Under Discrimination: How Jazz Became the Soundtrack of the Civil Rights MovementSenior Individual DocumentaryDocumentary
Process Paper and Annotated Bibliography (153.04 KB) .pdf
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Exhibit

Exhibits are a three dimensional representation of your research and interpretation of your topic’s significance in history. Exhibit projects use color, images, documents, objects, graphics and a 500 student composed word limit (not including citations) to showcase your analysis of the topic. Labels and captions should be used to creatively with visual images and objects to enhance the message of the exhibit.

Example Exhibit Projects
Example ProjectCategoryProject Elements
The Apgar Score: Advancing the Frontier of Neonatal MedicineJunior Group Exhibit Exhibit (222.52 KB) .pdf
Process Paper and Annotated Bibliography (247.76 KB) .pdf
The "Best" Medical Advancement of the Era: Frederick Banting and Charles Best Chart a New Frontier by Discovering InsulinSenior Group Exhibit Exhibit (167.55 KB) .pdf
Process Paper and Annotated Bibliography (162.04 KB) .pdf
The Triangle Shirtwaist Factory: Fiery Conflict Sparks CompromiseSenior Individual Exhibit Exhibit (311.68 KB) .pdf
Process Paper (71.42 KB) .pdf
Annotated Bibliography (200.16 KB) .pdf
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Paper

A paper is a traditional form of presenting historical research and is an individual effort with a 1,500 - 2,500 word limit. Various types of creative writing (for example, fictional diaries, poems, etc.) are permitted, but most conform to all general and category rules.

Paper Example Projects
Example ProjectCategoryProject Elements
American Quakers in WWII: A New Frontier in Immigration LegislationJunior PaperPaper (Includes Process Paper and Annotated Bibliography)
Los Alamos: The Manhattan Project’s Secret City and Origin of the World’s First Atomic BombJunior PaperPaper (Includes Process Paper and Annotated Bibliography)
The Harlem Hellfighters: Scorned by Compromise, Exalted through Combat, Tried by Racial ConflictSenior Paper Paper (1.25 MB) .pdf (Includes Annotated Bibliography)
The Switch in Time that Saved Nine: The Supreme Court’s Conflict and Compromise Concerning New Deal LegislationSenior Paper Paper (887.12 KB) .pdf (Includes Annotated Bibliography)
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Performance

A performance is a dramatic portrayal of your topic’s significance in history and must be an original production. It should be scripted based on research of your chosen topic and should not exceed the time limit of ten minutes. Students are welcome to use costumes, music and props during their performance but must be responsible for all materials during the contest.

Performance Example Projects
Example ProjectCategoryProject Elements
Annie Wittenmyer: Leading a Frontier in Hospital Safety ConditionsJunior Group PerformancePerformance
Process Paper and Annotated Bibliography (238.19 KB) .pdf
Striding Towards Justice: How the Nuremberg Trials Were a Frontier in International LawJunior Group PerformancePerformance
Process Paper and Annotated Bibliography (588.89 KB) .pdf
The Wright Brothers: Paving the Runway for Modern-Day Aeronautics by Flying Through the Frontier of Air TravelSenior Group PerformancePerformance
Process Paper and Annotated Bibliography (178.73 KB) .pdf
Pay It No MindSenior Individual PerformancePerformance
Process Paper and Annotated Bibliography (180.97 KB) .pdf
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Website

All website projects must be created through NHDWebCentral and reflect the your ability to use website design software to communicate the topic’s significance in history. Websites are a collection of web pages, interconnected by hyperlinks, that present both primary and secondary sources and your historical analysis. In order for websites to engage and inform viewers, websites should incorporate interactive multimedia, text, non-textual descriptions (e.g., photographs, maps, music, etc.) and interpretations of sources.

Website Example Projects
Example ProjectCategoryProject Elements
Mayo Clinic: Revolutionizing Medicine and Patient CareJunior Group WebsiteWebsite (Includes Process Paper and Annotated Bibliography)
Vietnamese Refugees in Iowa: Ray's Humanitarian and Controversial RelocationJunior Individual WebsiteWebsite (Includes Process Paper and Annotated Bibliography)
Females in FFA: Forging New Frontiers in Farming and BeyondSenior Group WebsiteWebsite (Includes Process Paper and Annotated Bibliography)
Khrushchev, Corn, and Cold War Diplomacy: Garst Grows Relations with Russia One Ear at a TimeSenior Individual WebsiteWebsite (Includes Process Paper and Annotated Bibliography)
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