History Day Competition Comes to St. Cloud State University

(KNSI) – Middle and high school students will show off their history knowledge at St. Cloud State University.

This weekend, more than 210 kids from ten schools will compete with their history project during National History Day. The event takes place from 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. on Saturday at Atwood Memorial Center and is open to the public.

Minnesota National History Day Program Specialist Natalie Polaschek explains what the students will do at the event. “They are going to be able to share the knowledge that they’ve learned as experts, as historians, on whatever topic they picked. We ask students to start with a theme. This year’s theme is frontiers in history, people, places and ideas.”

She says students pick anything that interests them, from science to history, music, sports and more. The kids go through an authentic historical inquiry process and share their knowledge with each other, the judges and the community.

Polaschek says the competition gets kids ready for a job in the professional world. “Students who know how to look for information, find resources, look for bias, put their own analysis on a topic and be able to come up with the impact of something. It’s really the skills that take them beyond this contest that lead to a bigger benefit.”

She says the event also builds students’ confidence, social skills, and academic skills. Winners at regionals will advance to State History Day on Saturday, April 22nd at the University of Minnesota. State winners can compete at National History Day in Washington, DC in June.

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