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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.
| Example Project | Category | Project Elements |
|---|---|---|
| Pasteurization: Reshaping the Dairy Industry | Junior Group Documentary | Documentary Process Paper and Annotated Bibliography |
| Rodgers and Hammerstein: Spotlighting Social Conflict Through Musical Theater | Junior Individual Documentary | Documentary Process Paper Annotated Bibliography |
| Forging a New Frontier for Female Athletes: Dr. Christine Grant's Relentless Pursuit of Gender Equality | Senior Group Documentary | Documentary Process Paper and Annotated Bibliography |
| Born Under Discrimination: How Jazz Became the Soundtrack of the Civil Rights Movement | Senior Individual Documentary | Documentary Process Paper and Annotated Bibliography |
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 Project | Category | Project Elements |
|---|---|---|
| The Apgar Score: Advancing the Frontier of Neonatal Medicine | Junior Group Exhibit | Exhibit Process Paper and Annotated Bibliography |
| The "Best" Medical Advancement of the Era: Frederick Banting and Charles Best Chart a New Frontier by Discovering Insulin | Senior Group Exhibit | Exhibit Process Paper and Annotated Bibliography |
| The Triangle Shirtwaist Factory: Fiery Conflict Sparks Compromise | Senior Individual Exhibit | Exhibit Process Paper Annotated Bibliography |
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.
| Example Project | Category | Project Elements |
|---|---|---|
| American Quakers in WWII: A New Frontier in Immigration Legislation | Junior Paper | Paper (Includes Process Paper and Annotated Bibliography) |
| Los Alamos: The Manhattan Project’s Secret City and Origin of the World’s First Atomic Bomb | Junior Paper | Paper (Includes Process Paper and Annotated Bibliography) |
| The Harlem Hellfighters: Scorned by Compromise, Exalted through Combat, Tried by Racial Conflict | Senior Paper | Paper (Includes Annotated Bibliography) |
| The Switch in Time that Saved Nine: The Supreme Court’s Conflict and Compromise Concerning New Deal Legislation | Senior Paper | Paper (Includes Annotated Bibliography) |
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.
| Example Project | Category | Project Elements |
|---|---|---|
| Annie Wittenmyer: Leading a Frontier in Hospital Safety Conditions | Junior Group Performance | Performance Process Paper and Annotated Bibliography |
| Striding Towards Justice: How the Nuremberg Trials Were a Frontier in International Law | Junior Group Performance | Performance Process Paper and Annotated Bibliography |
| The Wright Brothers: Paving the Runway for Modern-Day Aeronautics by Flying Through the Frontier of Air Travel | Senior Group Performance | Performance Process Paper and Annotated Bibliography |
| Pay It No Mind | Senior Individual Performance | Performance Process Paper and Annotated Bibliography |
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.
| Example Project | Category | Project Elements |
|---|---|---|
| Mayo Clinic: Revolutionizing Medicine and Patient Care | Junior Group Website | Website (Includes Process Paper and Annotated Bibliography) |
| Vietnamese Refugees in Iowa: Ray's Humanitarian and Controversial Relocation | Junior Individual Website | Website (Includes Process Paper and Annotated Bibliography) |
| Females in FFA: Forging New Frontiers in Farming and Beyond | Senior Group Website | Website (Includes Process Paper and Annotated Bibliography) |
| Khrushchev, Corn, and Cold War Diplomacy: Garst Grows Relations with Russia One Ear at a Time | Senior Individual Website | Website (Includes Process Paper and Annotated Bibliography) |