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Press Release

May 5, 2014

Contact Jason Harris
Director of Education
405-522-0785
jharris@okhistory.org

Hundreds of Students Compete in the State History Day Contest

OKLAHOMA CITY, Okla. -- Each year, thousands of students across the state spend countless hours preparing exhibits, documentaries, performances, websites and papers for National History Day. On May 7-8, 2014, the hard work of a handful of these junior high and high school students will pay off at the Oklahoma National History Day contest at the Oklahoma History Center.

Oklahoma History Day is part of National History Day, a highly regarded academic program for 6th through 12th grade students with more than 500,000 students taking part annually. Students from across the state choose historical topics related to an annual theme and conduct extensive research at libraries, archives, museums and historic sites. Student scholars use research to draw conclusions about their topics' historical significance by presenting their work at regional and state contests before qualifying for the Kenneth E. Behring National Contest each June, held at the University of Maryland at College Park.

"National History Day allows students to do the work of historians, explore the past in a personal and unique way, and then present what they learn to historians and museum professionals," said Jason Harris, Oklahoma's History Day coordinator. "It is one of the best tools for authentic evaluation that classroom teachers can find, and brings students from rural and urban schools together in a unique way, giving them skills that will benefit them in school, college and life."

On Wednesday and Thursday, May 7-8, 2014, these young historians will compete in a variety of categories to earn a chance to represent Oklahoma at the national contest in June. Roughly 70 Oklahoma students will join some 2,800 others from around the world in Maryland to compete for special prizes, scholarships and more.

The Oklahoma National History Day contest begins at 9 a.m. at the Oklahoma History Center located at 800 Nazih Zuhdi Dr. in Oklahoma City. For more information or to receive a teacher's packet for next year's contest, contact the state coordinator at 405-522-0785.





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