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Press Release

May 15, 2014

Contact:Jason Harris
Director of Education
Oklahoma History Center
800 Nazih Zuhdi Dr.
Oklahoma City, OK 73105
405-522-0785
jharris@okhistory.org

Oklahoma Advances Students to National History Day Contest

OKLAHOMA CITY, Okla. -- On May 7-8 more than 500 junior high and high school students competed in the Oklahoma National History Day contest at the Oklahoma History Center to win a place as one of Oklahoma's representatives to the National History Day contest in June at the University of Maryland, College Park. Each year, thousands of students across the state spend countless hours preparing exhibits, documentaries, performances, websites and papers for National History Day. After months of hard work, roughly 70 students and 22 teachers have earned places as Oklahoma's representatives at the national contest. In June, these students will join nearly 3,000 other students at College Park for the chance to win a national medal, special prize, scholarship and more. For many it will be the highlight of their high school careers.

Oklahoma History Day is part of National History Day, a highly regarded academic program for sixth through twelfth 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.

"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 and life."

The list of this year's Oklahoma contest winners can be viewed online at http://www.okhistory.org/historycenter/2014winners/a>





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